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Letter to President Stewart

Dear President Stewart:

On Friday, February 2nd, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released its report delivering sobering statistics that with 90 percent certainty, human activity is responsible for global warming. The report, which includes the work of one of our fellow Hamiltonians, Jonathan Overpeck ’79, alarmed many of us. It admonishes that continued accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, at even a moderate pace, will cause our planet to experience a rise in temperatures by the end of the century which mirrors previous warm spells between ice ages nearly 125,000 years ago, and a forecasted rise in sea levels of 7 to 23 inches by 2100. The startling evidence is now on the table, with a clear message that we no longer have the luxury to continue on a neglectful course, but must accept our situation and change our behavior immediately in order to ensure a healthy future.

It is on behalf of a number of Hamilton College graduates that we emphasize the need for our college community to respond to the thesis of the United Nations report, with a plan for Hamilton to become a leader in environmental sustainability and stewardship. It is our hope, as concerned alumni, to initiate a dialogue aimed toward increased environmental education and activism on the Hill. Our vision is to engage a cross-section of current students, faculty and staff, as well as administrators, trustees and alumni. We believe that an enhanced emphasis on sustainability directly relates to the mission of our college, which includes identifying problems, clarifying questions, thinking creatively, experimenting with solutions and frequently taking collaborative action.

The release of the Sustainable Endowments Institute’s “College Sustainability Report Card: A Review of Campus & Endowment Policies at Leading Institutions,” sparked additional concern and motivation to address this issue. The report released on www.grist.org on Tuesday, January 30, and graded 100 colleges and universities in the sustainability categories of administration, climate change & energy, food & recycling, green building, investment priorities and shareholder engagement (www.endowmentinstitute.org/sustainability/). Disappointingly, Hamilton received an overall grade of a C, while a number of similarly sized colleges scored higher, including Williams College and Middlebury College, receiving an A- and B+, respectively.

Despite being overshadowed by a majority of below average grades, Hamilton did receive an A in food & recycling, which as alumni we applaud. Many of us worked over the course of our four years at Hamilton to improve recycling on campus and to promote a focus on locally grown foods. Therefore, it is rewarding to see these projects prosper. We are distressed, however, by the two Fs that we received in shareholder engagement and endowment transparency, as well as the D in administration and C in investment priorities. As faithful alumni, it is our goal to work together to improve the college’s grades in these areas in the near future.

The 2006 official openings of the Science Center, Glen House, Art History Center, the Charlean and Wayland Blood Fitness and Dance Centers and the modern sports medicine clinic made for a groundbreaking and exciting year at Hamilton. The start of 2007 is proving to be equally exciting with the college’s largest single donation from Keith and Wendy Wellin for improvements in the arts. We would like to see 2007 continue on a progressive and productive path with this year’s focus geared toward reducing our environmental impact at Hamilton College.

We propose that the college start by including environmental stewardship within its mission statement. Middlebury College, for example, adopted a new mission statement in the spring of 2006 and received an A in the category of sustainable administration. The first two sentences read: "At Middlebury College we challenge students to participate fully in a vibrant and diverse academic community. The College's Vermont location offers an inspirational setting for learning and reflection, reinforcing our commitment to integrating environmental stewardship into both our curriculum and our practices on campus." In addition, Middlebury committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by eight percent below its 1990 levels by 2012, and their ski programs are carbon neutral. We believe that Hamilton can develop its own unique standards. If we commit to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions with demanding yet feasible goals, then we will begin to take responsibility for our global impacts.

In addition, we believe that while we affirm our commitment to sustainability in our mission statement that we can simultaneously work toward building upon our Environmental Studies department. We are excited to see this multi-disciplinary program offered as a major. Now, we would like to see the professors and students of the department provided greater resources for the advancement of environmental science and policy education. They will play an important role in fostering the environmental awareness that we hope will pervade the college community. In addition, we think that it would benefit the current and prospective students, as well as young alumni, if the Career Center developed relationships with alumni who have experience in environmentally focused fields. It is our goal to see students, alumni and faculty work together to develop a stronger environmental consciousness, one that compels us to establish leading sustainability programs at Hamilton College.

Furthermore, we see a strong need for improvements in our shareholder engagement, investment priorities and endowment transparency. In order to engage our alumni in the college’s needs for environmental improvements, we propose the establishment of an alumni fund for environmental conservation projects. We are confident that this fund would provide greater incentive for alumni giving, as donations would support the college and the environment. In addition, we think that Hamilton College should look to Williams College as an example for a passing grade on all three of the aforementioned categories. Williams provides a particularly strong example of endowment transparency, due to their inclusion of students, faculty and alumni in open and active discussions on improving the college’s sustainability record.

Finally, it’s our goal for Hamilton to reach out to other colleges to establish a cooperative initiative that focuses on improving the quality of our global environment by making changes at our local campuses. We propose that Hamilton begin this endeavor by signing the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment, which currently has 55 American college and university president’s signatures and is committed to uniting academic institutions to exercise leadership in eliminating global warming. In addition, we believe that Hamilton could play a leadership role in convincing liberal arts colleges to set productive sustainability standards, perhaps beginning with NESCAC schools.

It is with great confidence that we challenge Hamilton College to take the next step and prove to the 99 other critiqued colleges and universities that we are ready to be an environmental leader. We respect the pace of institutional change and have a realistic understanding of the time it will take to meet these targets. This challenge, unfortunately, does not allow typical leniency and requires that we find ways to catalyze administrative advancement. We hope to make immediate progress toward these goals in the coming months and we would like to devise a comprehensive plan for Hamilton’s long-term sustainable development. We see April 26th as an opportune time to announce our commitment to the environment, when the 45th Vice President of the United States, Al Gore, a global leader on environmental issues, comes to campus as the 2007 Sacerdote Great Names Series speaker.

Richard B. Alley, one of the lead authors of the UN report said it best in the New York Times Saturday, February 3rd headline article titled, "Science Panel Says Global Warming Is 'Unequivocal.'" He said, "Policy makers paid us to do good science, and now we have very high scientific confidence in this work — this is real, this is real, this is real. So now act, the ball’s back in your court."

Thank you for your consideration, President Stewart. We look forward to working with you in the future.

Sincerely,

Noelle Short ’05
Director
Graduates for a Greener Hamilton

Julia Hysell ’04, GGH Executive Board Member
Kaitlin Bear ’05, GGH Executive Board Member
Matthew Himmel ’05, GGH Executive Board Member
Peter Holzaepfel ’05, GGH Executive Board Member
Zachary Hesse ’05, GGH Executive Board Member