Recently retired professor Maurice Nelischer, the former director of the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development (SEDRD), is taking on a new challenge: overseeing U of G’s sustainability efforts.
Nelischer has been asked by president Alastair Summerlee to serve as the University’s inaugural sustainability director on an interim basis. In that role, Nelischer will review the recommendations of the Presidental Task Force on Sustainability, determine feasibility and efficiency, and take action where appropriate.
“Maurice is uniquely qualified to serve in this capacity,” Summerlee says. “He is a respected scholar with extensive experience and expertise in sustainable community development. He understands the varying needs, issues and interests involved in the intricacies of sustainability.”
Summerlee created the Presidential Task Force on Sustainability in January 2010 to build on existing efforts and help ensure that the University’s teaching, research and operations reflect its commitment to environmental, social and economic sustainability.
After a nine-month consultation, the task force released a report. It included numerous recommendations, including creating permanent advisory committees and a sustainability action network, providing a sustainability module for all incoming students, and appointing a sustainability director.
“I am excited by this new opportunity and pleased with how it illustrates the University’s commitment to environmentalism and reflects the findings and recommendations of the task force on sustainability,” Nelischer says.
He adds that many groups and individuals on campus are already working to reduce their ecological footprint. “My task will be to engage all university employees in this agenda and help them to achieve these goals.”
Nelischer plans to highlight U of G’s sustainability efforts through teaching, research and personal and institutional actions.
“In order to make real gains in the realm of sustainability, we must remember that the issue is complex; we must significantly reduce our impact on the environment while at the same time maintain an economically viable, socially just and culturally rich world,” Nelischer says. “That means everyone on this campus has the capacity to make a difference — and they should.”
The interim report by the Presidential Task Force on Sustainability is available online, and comments and suggestions may be emailed to Nelischer at sustainability.report@uoguelph.ca