LAUREL — Jones County Junior College was one of 25 higher education institutions across the nation awarded a 2010 Kresge Foundation Fellowship Award, designed to provide education on green building and sustainability in higher education.
Kelly Atwood, recycling coordinator for JCJC, has been chosen to represent the college at the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, (AASHE) conference in Colorado this fall. The fellowship program will offer Atwood the opportunity for training, networking, and inspiration for campus green building. The fellowship award will compensate for her travel, lodging, and conference registration expenses.
Jones is a member of AASHE which consists of higher education institutions working to create a sustainable future. The annual conference will provide Atwood the opportunity to tour the University of Denver and meet professors for an in-depth discussion of several current academic programs which emphasize various aspects of social sustainability.
“I’m very excited about the opportunities the AASHE conference will provide our college,” said Atwood. “This year’s theme focuses on a just and sustainable world, with focus on curriculum, social justice and the global campus. At Jones, our focus is on student engagement. Sharing this information with our students can inspire them to see their role in their communities, state, nation and world.”
Jones began its first major green effort on campus when it partnered with Sumrall Recycling in the fall of 2009. Due to the amount of recyclables now picked up from Sumrall Recycling, disposal fees for the campus have been cut in half. Around the same time, the college benefited from the donation of a compactor from Enviro.
“The relationships we have with Sumrall Recycling and Enviro are valued tremendously,” said Rick Youngblood, VP of Business Affairs. “The footprint Jones is leaving on the earth is much less now than it was prior to our recycling program. We are excited about furthering our green efforts through Kelly’s training in Colorado. Our goal is to continue a green awareness with our employees and students, encouraging good stewardship of the precious resources we enjoy every day.”
Atwood said she hopes to learn about more opportunities to grow the recycling program at the two-year college. Her additional training, thanks to the Kresge Foundation, should provide numerous ideas.
“Providing my college with sustainability information can make Jones a model in green building, sustainability efforts and social awareness. There will be over 100 presentations and 500 speakers offering state-of-the-art technology and information at the conference; the hardest part will be choosing from so many great presentations,” said Atwood.
The Kresge Fellowship Program is one of the key educational and outreach programs within the Advancing Green Building in Higher Education Initiative. This capacity-building initiative, launched by Second Nature and funded by The Kresge Foundation, focuses on addressing some of the crucial challenges faced by colleges and universities to ‘build green’ on their campuses. Through this initiative, Second Nature is helping higher education institutions build champions for green building and learn about the resources and networks available to construct and renovate campus buildings in ways that save money, reduce environmental and health impacts, serve as educational tools, and increase student enrollment.
Second Nature is a Boston-based nonprofit organization that works to accelerate movement towards a sustainable future by helping senior college and university leaders in making healthy, just, and sustainable living the foundation of all learning and practice in higher education.
The Kresge Foundation is a $2.8 billion private, national foundation that seeks to influence the quality of life for future generations through its support of nonprofit organizations.
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