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Faculty Senate
University of Mississippi
Faculty Senate March 20
Agenda
Call Meeting to Order
Approval of February 14
Minutes
Report on Plus/Minus Grading –
Prof. Maurice Eftink
Senate Committee Reports
Executive Committee
Academic Affairs
Academic Support
Finance
University Services
Governance
Old Business
– Smoke
-free Campus action
New Business
–
ASB communication concerning a Green Fund (see
attached)
Adjournment

Ole Miss Green Fund Summary

What is a Green Fund?

A Green Fund is a pool of money that is used for the implementation of energy efficiency, renewable energy, and sustainability projects, programs, and policies. Green funds vary in many ways from institution to institution. They differ in their size, scope, name, source of funding,
organization, and leadership and can be tailored to meet the desired goals of an institution.

Benefits of a Green Fund?

Our Wallets:

The financial benefits of a Green Fund have proven to be extensive and by increasing and
expanding our emphasis on sustainability by implementing a Green Fund Ole Miss can achieve
significant financial savings.
  • The University of Tennessee in Knoxville , reduced their energy use by 5% and saved $599,000 from March 2008 to March 2009 by using the student environmental facilities fee to fund continuing energy efficiency upgrades.
    Source: http://www.utk.edu/tntoday/2009/03/24/syt-update/
  • The Harvard Green Loan Fund has saved nearly $5 million with a 29.9% return on investment.
    Source: http://green.harvard.edu/loan-fund

Our Image:

Ole Miss has exhibited its long-term commitment to environmental sustainability through creation of the Office of Sustainability and the signing of the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment.

  • By signing the President’s Climate Commitment, Ole Miss has made a commitment to becoming climate neutral. Implementing a Green Fund increases the ability of our university to achieve this goal and keep our commitment.
  • Five Schools in the Southeastern Conference have Green Funds (Texas A & M, University of Georgia, University of Kentucky, University of Tennessee, and Vanderbilt). Ole Miss has the opportunity to lead Mississippi by being the first school in the state to have a Green Fund. The innovative and forward -thinking nature of a Green Fund has the potential to intrigue future students and receive national recognition.

Student Support for a Green Fund

Campus-wide Vote:

From October 24th – 28th, nearly 15% (2433 students) of the UM student body voted on the Green Fund.
  • 95% voted in favor of establishing a Green Fund
  • 85% voted in favor of establishing a Green Fund supported by an addition to tuition, showing that environmental sustainability is of great importance to current and future students
  • On January 31st, 2012, the ASB Senate voted unanimously in favor of the Green Fund legislation and ASB President Taylor McGraw has also shown his support for the Green Fund by sending the legislation to the Chancellor for approval, all of which further show student’s desire for greater involvement in our university’s environmental stewardship.

The Ole Miss Green Fund

Many schools use a mandatory student fee to create and sustain their Green Fund, in essence a solution to the unavailability of consistent financial resources for sustainability projects.  Acknowledging the time it would take to get a an IHL policy change to implement a mandatory student fee, and in an effort to facilitate faster implementation, and thereby more quickly see the savings and benefits of the Green Fund, we are proposing an alternate model of funding. In this model, students would be allowed to opt-out of a default donation of 4$ to the Green Fund. Their $4 would then be matched by the university. Additionally, because this model will still not be sufficient to fully fund sustainability initiatives of the quantity and scale possible with mandatory fee models, we propose an additional baseline contribution from the university each semester. This would secure the capacity of the Green Fund and thus maximize the benefits possible. Additionally, considering the success of the Harvard Green Loan Program, incorporating a Green Fund Loan option that enables our generous alumni to contribute to the Green Fund would greatly increase its effectiveness

The Ole Miss Green Fund Committee

The Green Fund will be managed by the Green Fund Committee.
The Green Fund Committee shall consist of the following representation:
  • 4 voting students serving two-year terms
    • 1 student will be the Associated Student Body Director of Sustainability position
    • 1 student will be from a UM student environmental organization
  • 2 voting faculty members appointed by the Faculty Senate;
  • 1 non-voting chairperson from UM Office of Campus Sustainability, to be responsible for basic committee oversight, coordination, and facilitation;
  • 1 voting advisor from each of the following departments: Facilities Planning, Physical Plant, Strategic Planning, and Student Affairs
– Members should demonstrate reasonable knowledge and concern for environmental sustainability including but not limited to clean, renewable energy practices and resource efficiency and conservation principles.
  • Student membership will be granted by the chairperson according to the application procedure
    • At least one student member should represent a student environmental organization
  • Faculty membership will be granted through appointment by Faculty Senate
  • Staff membership will be granted through nominations by relevant departments
The Green Fund Committee will create an annual report including projects funded, costs and benefits of funded projects, data collected as a result of funded projects; this is to be made available to the Ole Miss community and reported to the University Chancellor, Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance, and the Provost.
Funds will be managed by The Green Fund Committee, under the Office of Sustainability. The Committee will award funds to projects proposed by students, faculty, and/or staff based on the following guidelines:
  1. Projects shall reduce Ole Miss’ negative impact on the environment.
  2. Ole Miss students, staff, and faculty are able to submit project proposals; individuals and organizations outside of Ole Miss are not
  3. Preference will be given to projects that demonstrate the greatest reduction of Ole Miss’ impact on the environment for the least cost.
  4. Some preference will be given to projects that are able to repay the fund through a revolving loan system
  5. Projects shall have publicity, education, and outreach components.
  6. Student participation will be encouraged.
  7. The Ole Miss Green Fund will not fund projects that are solely for research purposes; however, a research component will not necessarily disqualify a project for funding
  8. All projects shall have a mechanism for evaluation and follow up after funding has been dispersed. At a minimum, a project plan must include a report made to the Green Fund Committee after implementation, and accountability in the form of original documents, expenses, and/or purchase orders;
  9. If a project is expected to have on-going benefits (i.e., annual cost savings), the project plan must include a mechanism for reporting these benefits back to the Green Fund Committee on an annual basis;
  10. Projects must have publicity, education, and outreach considerations;
Funded projects would focus on:
  • Efficient use and conservation of energy, water and other resources
  • Increasing Ole Miss’ use of renewable energy from sources such as solar, wind, geothermal, and other renewable energy technologies
  • Reducing campus waste
  • Educating the campus community about environmental sustainability
  • Making environmentally informed and sustainable choices more accessible to students, faculty, staff, and the Ole Miss community
  • Reducing Ole Miss’ greenhouse gas emissions