Committee on Environmental Responsibility
Mission: The Committee for Environmental Responsibility (CER) was created by the students, faculty and staff of Haverford College and founded on the socially responsible principles of the college. CER has a deep concern and respect for all communities of which it is a part, both social and ecological. Our mission, therefore, is to educate our community towards an awareness of global concerns and to set a positive example of forward thinking, environmental stewardship for our campus and for other colleges to follow. To do this, CER works to ensure that environmental concern is an integral part of Haverford College’s daily life informing our curriculum, administrative decisions and maintenance of facilities and grounds.
History: At the fall plenary meeting of 2000, the students of Haverford College voted to form the Committee on Environmental Responsibility Resolution on campus. The resulting Committee for Environmental Responsibility (CER) was composed of four students appointed by Student’s Council, two professors, two staff members, and an administrator appointed by the President of the College, and was charged with creating an environmental policy for Haverford. Over the next two years, CER members researched college environmental policies, presented drafts of policies at faculty and staff meetings, and held open community meetings on the evolving policy. In the fall of 2003, the policy, A Vision For a Green Haverford, was formally accepted by the President and senior administrators, and is official college policy. The policy affirms Haverford’s support of environmental principles and guides current and future college practices. Additionally, CER was recognized as a Presidential Committee, and as such is directly responsible to the president and senior administration.
Due in a large part to CER’s efforts, the Gardner Integrated Athletic Center was built with environmental principles in mind, and received LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certification at the Gold level. It is one of the first LEED certified athletic buildings in the country. Other projects that CER continues to be involved in include developing an environmental curriculum at Haverford, raising student awareness through campus wide energy and paper saving campaigns, and bringing composting to the dining hall.
Current Members
Meg Dickey-Griffith ‘09
Ben Pyenson ‘09
Alex Mirachi ‘11
Emily Walden ‘09
JP Cashiola ‘10
Bruce Boyes, Research Machinist and Instrument Maker
John Francone, Director of Haverford College Dining Services
Fern Hall, Assistant Director of Facilities Management: Housekeeping Services
Claudia Kent, Manager of Grounds
Previous Members
Kaye Edwards, Associate Professor for Independent College Programs
James Ransom, Associate Professor of English
Kathleen DiJoseph, Physical Plant
Karl Johnson, Associate Professor of Biology
Fran Blase, Associate Professor of Chemistry
Phebe Matsen ‘08
Carly Giffin ‘08
Hannah Shulman ‘07
Ingrid Weiss ‘07
Stephanie Rudolph ‘06
Allison Rosenberg ‘05
Andrew Cantino ‘05
Joseph Townsend ‘04
Ethan Roland ‘04
Christine Lamanna ‘04
Katherine Hoff ‘03
Stuart Evans ‘03