Keep’n It Green Award winners announced

Radford University honored three individuals April 19 for their commitment to campus sustainability with the 2017-18 Staff Senate Keep’n It Green awards.
Winners of the Keep’n It Green awards and the Highlander Cup Sustainability Competition were announced April 19.

Radford University honored three individuals April 19 for their commitment to campus sustainability with the 2017-18 Staff Senate Keep’n It Green awards.

The university’s Staff Senate sponsors the awards each year to recognize a student, faculty member and staff member who display leadership and dedication in promoting sustainability on campus. Awards were given to individuals who “go above and beyond the pursuit of these goals,” said Sustainability Manager Josh Nease at the presentation.

He, along with Radford University President Brian O. Hemphill presented the awards during a ceremony on Heth Lawn.

This year’s winners were:

  • Tucker Morgan, student award
  • Jillian Webber, staff award
  • Alison Wisecup, faculty award

Morgan is a junior economics major from Reston. He is a member of the Student Sustainability Leadership Team and has led the charge in launching the Food Recovery Network at Radford University. The program partners with Dining Services to deliver leftover, prepared food to the local community kitchen instead of the landfill.

“Tucker’s motivation, passion and leadership was and is critical in the successful development and implementation of this program,” Nease said.

Webber serves as the resident director for Draper and Ingles residence halls and Greenhill Apartments. This year, she worked closely with the Sustainability Office to develop curriculum for the inaugural Highlander Cup Sustainability Competition.

“She goes out of her way to teach others about recycling and sets a good example for reducing, reusing and recycling,” Nease said.

Wisecup is “consistently integrating sustainability into her curriculum in innovative ways,” Nease said. This year, her survey research methods class collected an array of data on campus and community recycling, and then took a team approach to develop a web-based survey to assess student and faculty attitudes and behaviors toward recycling.

In addition, Wisecup and other Radford University authors received an AASHE Sustainability Award at the organization’s national conference for their study finding that communications and programming around energy conservation is a cost effective way to reduce student electricity use.

Staff Senate presented its first Keep’n It Green award in 2011. Criteria are based on one or more of the following: energy and water conservation, waste reduction/recycling, behavior change and/or awareness and economic impact.

The Keep’n It Green award committee accepted online nominations throughout March.

Each award winner received a certificate framed with recycled wood taken from the old Dedmon Center swimming pool. Ron Walker, a carpenter in Facilities Maintenance and Operations, built the frames.

At the ceremony, Nease also announced winners of the spring semester Highlander Cup Sustainability Competition, which consisted of three separate sustainability challenges: Power Down, Water Conservation and RecycleMania.

Norwood Hall residents won the overall event and the water conservation competition. Jefferson Hall prevailed in the Power Down challenge, and Washington Hall triumphed in the RecycleMania competition.

 

May 7, 2018
Chad Osborne
540-831-7761
caosborne@radford.edu