Award notes ASU sustainability school’s role in guiding Arizona’s growth
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By GREG LINDSAY
Cronkite News Service
TEMPE (Tuesday, Sept. 9) _ When Pinal County sought advice on managing its growth, students from Arizona State University’s School of Sustainability reviewed the landscape from a helicopter and then offered scenarios to guide planning.
Contributions such as that illustrate how the school adds not only to national and international thought on sustainability but to Arizona’s efforts to deal with growth, say members of an organization that has honored the school.
Valley Forward, which supports efforts to improve the environment and livability in Phoenix-area communities, presented the School of Sustainability with the President’s Award, its top honor, during Saturday’s 28th annual Environmental Excellence Awards.
“By one fell swoop, ASU has kicked up the green movement here in the Valley of the Sun by giving us a higher level of professionals,” said Steve Betts, president and CEO of SunCor Development Co. in Tempe and head judge for the awards.
“I’m anticipating that a great number of professionals they train will stay right here in the Valley of the Sun, which will benefit Arizona,” Betts said.
The school, established in 2007, teaches undergraduate and graduate students to address issues associated with population growth, natural resources, renewable energy, conservation and biodiversity. It is part of ASU’s Global Institute of Sustainability, which conducts research on and educates about sustainability.
“They’re educating the future stewards of the Earth,” said Diane Brossart, president of Valley Forward.
“I think the hope and goal is that these students will stay in Arizona and stay in the workforce and take what they’ve learned and apply it here,” Brossart said.
She said the school has elevated the discussion of conservation issues and built a bridge between government and business. That’s important, Brossart said, because Arizona risks becoming an unattractive place to live if people don’t work to preserve its delicate landscape.
Katherine Spielmann, the ASU School of Sustainability’s associate director, said it’s good for Arizona and good for the school to use Phoenix as a laboratory.
“When you take the sum of the different dimensions of sustainability, the goal is to create an enhanced quality of life in Arizona,” Spielmann said.
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Web Links:
_ ASU School of Sustainability: schoolofsustainability.asu.edu
_ Valley Forward: www.valleyforward.org
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PHOTOS:
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CAPTION WITH BC-CNS-SUSTAINABILITY HONOR: Katherine Spielmann, assistant director of Arizona State University’s School of Sustainability is pictured at the school on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2008. Valley Forward, an organization promoting public-private dialog on livability, has honored the school for its leadership in and beyond Arizona. (Cronkite News Service Photo/Greg Lindsay)