Understory view of American Hornbeam found on campus

Campus Sustainability

Sustainability: meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. (definition of Sustainability by the 1987 UN Brundtland Commission)1

In 2015, the United Nations published Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a "plan of action for people, planet and prosperity." The publication outlines 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the image below.

Hood College supports the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Hood College is striving to improve our own policies, practices, and procedures within each of these goals. The Campus Sustainability Committee has been tasked with guiding the College administration in these efforts.

This website highlights steps the campus has taken within each goal and will be developed over time:

Goal 2: Zero Hunger

Goal 4: Quality Education

Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy

Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

1 - United Nations Academic Impact website on Sustainability: https://www.un.org/en/academic-impact/sustainability

Degree available

B.A. Sustainability Studies

Hood College pioneering the field of sustainability studies (Frederick News Post, 5/21)

The College Sustainability Committee (CSC) advises the Office of the President regarding advancements in environmental, social, and economic sustainability and equity on the Hood College campus. Further, working with community partners, the CSC advises promotion of appropriate sustainable practices via outreach which will have impacts beyond the campus.

Committee Charge

The CSC provides leadership in identifying mechanisms to integrate sustainability concepts into all core functions of the college by making recommendations in such areas as formal and informal education, transportation, waste management, procurement, food services, student life, water and energy use, and community outreach. The CSC considers the feasibility of all recommendations in light of the college’s resources and strategic priorities before bringing them forward to the President for consideration.

Current Members of CSC:

Peter Brehm
Drew Ferrier
Debbie Ricker
Susan Simonson
Ron Wiafe

To contact the committee with an idea, question, or concern, email: sustainability@hood.edu

Spring of 2022, Sustaining Hood was formed by Sustainability Major students and other students who care deeply about the future of Hood College as a cornerstone of the Frederick Community. Sustaining Hood is a student driven intiative which incorporates sustainable principles into how we think about the Hood College Community and the functioning processes of development.

The club identifies our understanding of sustainability by the epistemology of systems thinking. A systems perspectives necessitates diverse, collaborative knowledge in problem identification and problem-solving strategies. As defined by the club, sustainability is about the interaction of all the parts of a problem and not just the sum of the parts, or the symptoms of a larger issue.

Sustaining Hood has accepted the four-pillars of sustainability as group values used for decision-making for collaborating with other projects and undertaking projects led by the group.

1. Human

2. Social

3. Environmental

4. Economic

Sustaining Hood is supported by faculty advisors Drew Ferrier and Katie Huy of the Biology Department's, Center for Coastal and Watershed Studies. Club advisors empower students to explore experiential learning opportunities that encourage collaboration with all of the Hood College departments that keep a functioning system. Students implement the pillars of sustainability values when deciding how, when and with whom to interact to increase the use sustainable practices and system's thinking on campus. Sustaining Hood works closely with the Sustainability Studies major to provide educational activities that turn into campus-wide sustainable reform.