A New Institute for the Environment and Sustainability

For several decades, over 70 faculty in various schools at Georgetown have conducted research and taught courses concerning the environment and sustainability. About ten years ago, the Georgetown Environment Initiative (GEI) was launched, with philanthropy from a donor who wished to remain anonymous. More recently, after an international search, we hired a new director of GEI, Professor Peter Marra, who holds the Laudato Si’ Professorship in Biology and the Environment and a Professor in the McCourt School of Public Policy. Most recently, the University brought on board a Vice President for Sustainability, Meghan Chapple, to lead university operations to achieve institutional goals of the university in sustainable achievement of its mission.

Next fall, in a collaboration among the Graduate School, the McDonough School of Business, and the Environment group, a new Masters in Environment and Sustainability Management will be launched. This graduate program will educate the next generation of leaders in global and other businesses that are navigating the Environmental, Social, and Social Governance (ESG) goals of the enterprise in diverse settings.

Georgetown intends to build a tightly coordinated partnership between the academic and the operational activities of the university, with the two leaders, Marra and Chapple, working hand in hand. Students of educational programs can gain practical experience working on the sustainability activities of the university, learning by doing. The operations staff can contribute to the educational programming by course involvement.

On the educational front, this week President DeGioia charged a faculty advisory committee to oversee the activities of an Institute for the Environment and Sustainability. Thus, the GEI has evolved to the status of an institute, potentially involved in more education programs, appointing tenure-line faculty (often shared with other units), and conducting original research activities. The advisory group of faculty have mostly been involved in the activities of the GEI for some years. Many see this institute as the cumulation of much work that they have conducted during those years.

The hope of the larger university enterprise in environment and sustainability is that we will take advantage of our proximity to many national and international environmental organizations and the Federal government policy-making institutions. Having an environmental and sustainability institute in DC offers special advantages to a university in achieving impact on the day-to-day lives of publics around the world. In addition to potential impact on policy, we hope the partnership between the academic and the operational will highlight how universities can act as examples of complex organizations that demonstrate resolve and action to reduce their own negative impacts on the environment.

The success of these endeavors will be crystallized when an inclusive culture is built to provide a welcoming home for all the faculty, operations staff, and students who devote their energy to protecting the future of our planet through local and/or global activities.

There is an urgency to these endeavors. This work is core to Georgetown’s mission of living as people for others. It appropriately has galvanized widespread support. Georgetown has an obligation to get this right.