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Stewardship Of The Earth: Greening Benedictine
In the sixty-fourth chapter of the Rule of St. Benedict, abbots are warned to steward resources, human and material, carefully: “… remember to whom [you] will have ‘to give an account of [your] stewardship’” (Luke 16:2). Just recently, Pope Benedict described new sins, including ecological abuse and excessive consumption, and the Vatican has been equipped with solar panels. Tending to environmental issues is the natural nexus between faith and reason, between science and humanities, and between humans and creation – the place we prize so highly at Benedictine University.
Scientists warn with increasing urgency that we may be reaching a tipping point in climate change. Babies are born contaminated with a toxic array of pesticides, phthalates, and other environmental chemicals; cancer, Parkinson’s Disease, autism, asthma, and other environmentally linked diseases are on the rise. And according to the World Health Organization, over a billion people use unsafe water sources. The time is right for Benedictine University to go green.
As part of a three-year, campus-wide effort to green Benedictine, we have planned an array of courses, events, speakers, and activities. Elizabeth Kolbert’s Field Notes From a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change kicked off the first year, with students, staff, and faculty reading the book and discussing the problem of climate change. Michael Pollan’s Omnivore’s Dilemma, which looks at the environmental impact of food, is the reading for our second year. Courses built around environmental topics include Ecology of a Changing Planet, Readings in the History of Biology, Disease and the Environment, World Religions, andCore courses. Students who take four or more courses, in at least two colleges, are eligible for the new Certificate in Environmental Studies. Each year, the Global Studies Program leads a forum on Faith and Reason: What’s Sufficiency? For five years running, Benedictine has hosted the DuPage Conservation Foundation Environmental Summit in January.
As part of our efforts, we will examine our own carbon footprint and environmental practices. Benedictine has been recognized for a reduction in energy consumption made possible by a grant from The Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation to increase lighting efficiency. Dr. Larry Kamin's prairie garden was also recognized. In addition, 75% of the demolition rubble from Kohlbeck residence hall was diverted from landfills and will be recycled in various ways, which will support LEED certification of the next building on that site. Sodexo, our campus food service, buys Fair Trade coffee and has switched to potato-starch disposables.
At the heart of Benedictine University’s institutional mission is a commitment to prepare people “for a lifetime as active, informed and responsible citizens and leaders in the world community.” There is a growing need for enlightened business leaders who are able to find creative ways to benefit not only their organizations, but also society as a whole; in the upcoming academic year, Benedictine University’s M.B.A. program in the College of Business is offering two new concentrations to help prepare the next generation of business leaders: Sustainable Business and Sustainable Leadership. Because environmental concerns like clean air, water, and food are basic to the health of the public, Benedictine’s M.P.H. program requires students to take The Environment and Public Health and Biology and Public Health to assess the soundness of local environments.
Each year, we will present a full slate of educational opportunities, identify additional ways to reduce our institutional footprint, and start conversations that will lead to best practices in sustainability. We expect to engage all parts of the university, academic and business, as we begin this exciting process. St. Benedict admonished abbots, as well as the rest of the community, to listen not just to the most senior of the monks, but also to the youngest, the least in rank. We hope to model for our students a better way of being in the world and also to provide them opportunities to take the lead in caring for the world we will leave them.
Illinois Sustainable University Compact
Students, faculty, and staff at Benedictine University support 350: International Day of Climate Action in Lisle, Illinois, on October 24, 2009.
mail |
Benedictine University
5700 College Road
Lisle, IL 60532 |
key contacts |
Jean-Marie Kauth |
e-mail |
jkauth@ben.edu |
phone |
(630) 829-6272 |
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