CCCU News

WASHINGTON, D.C.—In recognizing the partnerships of various organizations dedicated to issues of sustainability and creation care, the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities is proud to celebrate Campus Sustainability Day as part of its efforts in Christian Higher Education Month. In addition to Campus Sustainability Day, the CCCU joins with groups such as Renewal for the second annual Day of Prayer for God’s Creation.

As part of the Day of Prayer, the students of Renewal are inviting all Christians to join us in fasting from one source of energy use for the day. Examples include: not driving for the day, shutting off lights, fasting from cell phones, television, computers, or other sources of electricity, eating vegetarian for the day, etc. 

For additional information on the Day of Prayer, go to http://renewingcreation.org/get-involved/pray/2009-day-of-prayer-for-gods-creation.

In addition to the Day of Prayer, Renewal and the CCCU partnered in these ways in 2009:

• A very successful first year: October 2009 officially marks Renewal’s first full year as a student-led movement active and growing on campuses across the USA and Canada. In this short time, Renewal has expanded their network to about 40 campuses, the vast majority of which are members of the CCCU.
• At the CCCU Presidents Conference: Ben Lowe, one of Renewal’s coordinators and author of Green Revolution (IVP 2009), participated on a creation care panel during the 2009 Presidents Conference, sharing about how students are stepping up to lead environmental stewardship initiatives on campuses across the council. 
• The Green Awakening Tour: Renewal’s coordinators hit the road during the spring semester and visited 35 campuses over the course of 7 weeks, covering thirteen states and two Canadian provinces. They spoke in classes and at gatherings of all sizes, and met with faculty, staff, and students to learn what was going on and strategize creative ways to help their communities become better engaged in caring for creation. 
• Green Awakenings Campus Report: Renewal launched a research project that will highlight the growing environmental stewardship efforts on Christian campuses across the United States and Canada. Here is an opportunity for us to show the world what it looks like when Christian students and campuses come together to care for Creation. (Tentative release date: January 2010)

Other Partnerships Regarding Sustainability

In addition to the work with Renewal, the CCCU is rooted in other efforts with leading sustainability organizations, working with member and affiliate campuses and the BestSemester off-campus programs to further the work of being good stewards of God’s Creation.

Creation Care Fund

            Buoyed by generous funding from the Creation Care Fund, the CCCU awarded six institutions mini-grants to begin the process of sustainability. Many articles detailing the progress have been published. Schools featured include Milligan College (TN), Tabor College (KS), Northwestern College (IA) and Eastern Nazarene College (MA).

As part of the mini-grant projects each recipient has committed to conduct an environmental sustainability audit. One of the tools used to this end is STARS: a Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System. STARS is a voluntary, self-reporting framework for gauging relative progress toward sustainability for colleges and universities and was one of the rating systems discussed at both the CCCU President’s Conference in January 2009 as well as at the Creation Care Webinar in April 2009. And just last month the CCCU became a founding partner with AASHE to launch STARS 1.0.

In addition to the mini-grant, the CCCU created a Creation Care online directory. Going forward, it is the CCCU's desire that this page be a launching pad for creation care resources that will grow as a result of input from our institutions.

Evangelical Environmental Network

CCCU President Paul R. Corts and many presidents and top officials of CCCU institutions have joined the Evangelical Climate Initiative and signed its landmark statement “Climate Change: An Evangelical Call to Action,” which has 270 signatures to date. Another growing movement is the “Presidents Climate Commitment.” To date several CCCU schools are signatories. In light of this growing interest, the CCCU aims to encourage even more members to take actions that will move their campuses toward more responsible stewardship of their resources and the environment.

Higher Education Associations Sustainability Consortium (HEASC)

Higher Education Associations Sustainability Consortium is a national sustainability network with resources available to support presidents, top administrators, academic faculty, staff in facilities, financing and more. CCCU is one of their members and has a monthly conference call with HEASC and other members who care about sustainability efforts. Colleges and universities are encouraged to create events on campus and elsewhere that draw participants for the exchange of ideas and knowledge among faculty, staff, students, and members of their local communities.

BestSemester Off-Campus programs

Several of the BestSemester off-campus study programs are thinking globally and acting hopefully. Through our curriculum and efforts, students understand that in policy initiatives and personal choices, each decision matters. To read more, go to the current issue of BestSemester Magazine. That issue and past issues can be found at www.bestsemester.com.

The Council for Christian Colleges & Universities is a higher education association of 181 intentionally Christ-centered institutions around the world. There are now 110 member campuses in North America and all are fully-accredited, comprehensive colleges and universities with curricula rooted in the arts and sciences. In addition, 69 affiliate campuses from 24 countries are part of the CCCU. The Council’s mission is to advance the cause of Christ-centered higher education and to help its institutions transform lives by faithfully relating scholarship and service to biblical truth.

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