Sustainability Working Group

Meetings 2024-2025

September

September Minutes

3.3.3.19 Sustainability Working Group

[FS 11/12 #56]

Purpose: The Sustainability Working Group (SWG) is the primary group for promoting and coordinating sustainability values, principles, and practices at UW-River Falls. UWRF defines sustainability as our local and global responsibility to meet the needs of present and future generations, as demonstrated by an integrated set of ecologic, social, and economic values, principles, and practices that frame how we think, choose, and act in personal, professional, and community life. UWRF defines Sustainability Research as research, scholarly, and creative activity that examines, documents, and portrays the breadth and depth of basic and applied contexts of UWRF's definition of Sustainability. [FS 11/12 #115] SWG addresses the planning, design, implementation, and assessment of sustainable campus community programs and policies as well as documentation, such as the Sustainability Tracking and Rating System (STARS), the Climate Action Plan (CAP), and the Sustainable Campus Community Plan (SCCP). SWG is a conduit through which the campus community can recommend curricular, co-curricular, operational, financial, and other sustainable campus initiatives and policies to the appropriate faculty, student, and/or administrative governance or operational units.

Structure & Function: The SWG will consist of 12 voting members (noted below) and be chaired by a qualifying member as noted under Term Limits. There will be one ex officio, non-voting member from the River Falls community. The SWG will have no standing sub-committees. However, it will augment nonvoting members as needed to address the scope of sustainability goals and initiatives.

Members: 12+1

1. Director of Sustainability;
2. Three (3) faculty members: One representative from each college;
3. One (1) faculty at-large; [FS 24/25 #55]
4. One Instructional Academic Staff (Appointed by Faculty Senate) ;
5. Two students: Representing the broader university (Recommended by SWG and approved by Student Senate);
6. Student Affairs Representative;
7. Diversity & Human Resources representative;
8. Facilities Management representative;
1. Sustainability Faculty Fellow Coordinator;
10. River Falls community representative (Ex officio, non-voting).

*Chair is appointed by Faculty Senate.

1. Term Limits:
   • Faculty members are appointed by Faculty Senate on staggered terms of three (3) years.
   • Chair should have at least one year of experience on the SWG prior to his/her one-year appointment.
   • Instructional academic staff member is appointed by Faculty Senate each spring with an option for reappointment.
   • Two students approved by Student Senate each spring for one-year term with an option for reappointment.
   • All administrative staff or their designees are appointed or re-appointed annually at the pleasure of the Chancellor.
   • River Falls community representative appointed at the pleasure of River Falls city government.
2. Duties:

1. Facilitate the continual refinement of a holistic vision for UWRF as a premier sustainable campus community model that fully and systemically integrates inclusivity, global literacy, leadership, and sustainability as a culture of learning and living.
2. Recommend campus sustainability projects, monitor their progress, and submit budget requests on behalf of the entire campus for sustainability-related projects and programs.

Recommendations requiring faculty governance decisions are forwarded to Faculty Senate.

Recommendations requiring student governance decisions are forwarded to Student Senate. All other recommendations are forwarded to Faculty Senate for informational purposes prior to implementation.

Recommendations requiring administrative decisions are forwarded to the appropriate administrator.

The Chair will consult with governance groups and administration regarding shared governance issues as necessary