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Contact: Ashka Naik, 617-722-0036 ext. 209, anaik@secondnature.org

25 Under-Resourced Higher Education Institutions
Awarded Green Building Kresge Fellowships

Second Nature lauds fellows as 'key players' in Education for Sustainability movement

Second Nature has received overwhelming response from the higher education community for the 2010 Kresge Fellowship Program. In total, 60 higher education institutions applied for the 2010 awards. Of these 60 applicant institutions, the Kresge Fellowship Selection Committee selected 25 awardee institutions (pdf) based on their level of need and institutional awareness vis-à-vis sustainable practices.

"The Kresge fellows are becoming key players in the education for sustainability movement. We're thrilled to welcome the selected 2010 fellows to this effort, and we are excited to support them as they champion green building on their own campuses and beyond," says Dr. Anthony Cortese, President of Second Nature.

Second Nature sincerely thanks all the applicant institutions for their interest in this program and strongly encourages these institutions to remain engaged in the Advancing Green Building in Higher Education Initiative via the Campus Green Builder web portal as well as various capacity building activities within the Advancing Green Building in Higher Education Initiative.

In 2009, Second Nature awarded fellowships to 15 senior managers of under-resourced higher education institutions. "The experience I had at GreenBuild 2009 was wonderful and eye opening," said Ron Brooks, Assistant Vice President for Facilities Management at Tennessee State University and 2009 Kresge Fellow, "I can't thank Second Nature and The Kresge Foundation enough for this opportunity."

Through the Kresge Fellowship awards, institutions are provided with educational and networking opportunities to develop their green building and institutional sustainability competence. The Kresge Fellowship Program, within the Advancing Green Building in Higher Education Initiative, builds new champions for campus green building and increases awareness among under-resourced institutions about the benefits of green building and resources available to assist colleges and universities in these endeavors. As part of the program, university executives will be provided with training, networking and inspiration requisite to become green buildings champions at their own under-resourced campuses. These representatives, identified by their institutions, will attend one of two noteworthy green building-related conferences. The fellowship award will compensate for their travel, lodging, and conference registration expenses (up to $2000 per fellow).

Second Nature invites all higher education institutions to participate in the green building focused sessions at the US Green Building Council's (USGBC) Greenbuild Conference and Expo 2010 (Novermber 17, Chicago, IL) and the Association for the Advancement for Sustainability in Higher Education's (AASHE) Conference 2010 (October 10, Denver CO).

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The Kresge Foundation is a $2.8 billion private, national foundation that seeks to influence the quality of life for future generations through its support of nonprofit organizations in six fields: health, the environment, arts and culture, education, human services, and community development. In 2008, it awarded 342 grants totaling $181 million.

Second Nature is a Boston-based, national nonprofit organization that works to accelerate movement towards a sustainable future by helping senior college and university leaders in making healthy, just, and sustainable living the foundation of all learning and practice in higher education. Second Nature is the lead support organization of the American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment, which has been signed by more than 680 school presidents who are committed to eliminating carbon emissions on campus and training students to help society address climate change.

For more information on Second Nature's Advancing Green Building in Higher Education Initiative, please contact Ashka Naik, Program Manager, at anaik@secondnature.org.

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