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NIRSA represented at American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment Summit

Sustainability Consortium members present Statement of Shared Principles at event

College presidents and other Summit attendees in Washington, DC. Photo by Lisa Nipp for ecoAmerica.

NIRSA Executive Director Kent J. Blumenthal represented NIRSA at a Summit of the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) on June 11 and 12 in Washington, DC. Attending were approximately 70 of the more than 300 college and university presidents who have signed a commitment to neutralize global warming gases and provide the education and research to help all of society do the same. Speakers included Senator John Kerry, U.S. Representative Jay Inslee, EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson, and Hon. Eileen Claussen, President of the PEW Center on Global Climate Change.

Executive Director Blumenthal was invited to participate by Dr. Anthony Cortese, convener of the Higher Education Associations’ Sustainability Consortium (HEASC), and President of Second Nature in Boston, Massachusetts. NIRSA, as a member of HEASC, crafted a “Statement of Shared Principles & Activities,” which was signed by all 12 HEASC member associations and presented at the ACUPCC Summit.