ABOUT THE EVENT

Ball State University has embedded sustainability deeply in the academic and organizational structure which has created opportunities, ranging from process improvement to inventive education outreach and research.

This webinar will explore that history by providing insight on delivering value, overcoming complications, and leveraging resources, national guidelines, and the expanding scoring/rating systems used in public sustainability reporting.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

• The need for parallel management
• Distributing the "ownership" of sustainability
• Onboarding of new administrators, faculty, and staff
• Integrating activity across business affairs and academic affairs

MEET THE PRESENTER

Robert J. Koester, AIA LEED AP, is a tenured Professor of Architecture at Ball State University. He has taught Design-for-Sustainability in multiple educational settings, including undergraduate and graduate Sustainability Studios, Sustainability Seminars, Vital Signs (Diagnostics) Courses and the DaylectricTM Lighting Design Studio, as well as professional development workshops.

He was honored in 2011 by the College of Architecture and Planning Alumni Association with the Charles M. Sappenfield Award of Excellence for “outstanding dedication, contribution and commitment to the education of the students of the College of Architecture and Planning.”

He is the Founding Director (2020) of the Academy for Sustainability which delivers an on-line Graduate Certificate in Sustainability and an on-campus undergraduate Minor in Sustainability and is the Founding Director (1982) of the Center for Energy Research/Education/Service (CERES) at Ball State University (BSU), which continues to provide interdisciplinary academic support focused on energy and resource use, alternatives and conservation. He also is the Founding Chair (2001) of the university-level Council on the Environment (COTE) which continues to serve as a clearinghouse for campus-wide sustainability implementation. He has served as the Founding Co-Chair (1996) of the BSU Greening of the Campus Conference Series, the 9th (and last) of which was held in March of 2012 and featured dedication of the BSU district-scale geothermal heating and cooling system. He was the Founding Liaison (2006) to the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) and serves now as Liaison (2016) to the Climate Leadership Commitment (CLC), while continuing as the Charter Liaison (2010) to the Sustainability Tracking Assessment and Rating System (STARS). In addition, he was a Founding Member (2006) of the Board of Directors of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), a Founding Member (2001) of the Formal Education Committee of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and a Founding Member (2001) of the Board of Directors of the Indiana Chapter of USGBC.

In 2012 he piloted development of a methodology used by universities throughout the U.S. to qualify carbon reductions for transaction in the voluntary carbon market, so as to generate (new) “carbon capital” for accelerating and deepening emissions mitigation; encompassing individual building as well as campus-wide energy conservation/alternative energy implementation. This work, now embodied as the Second Nature Carbon Credit Purchasing Program (C2P2) was launched with funding from the Chevrolet Climate Reduction Initiative.

From 2002-2006, he collaborated with the (now sunset) Sustainable Building Industries Council (SBIC) and Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) in using a curriculum model which he structured to offer workshops throughout the country for federal procurement officers on how to implement “Design Strategies for Low-Energy, Sustainable, and Secure Buildings”.

He has provided consultation on design-for-sustainability to the National Wildlife Federation Campus Ecology Program, the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, the University of Massachusetts/Amherst, Pratt Institute and the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design (AICAD) Partnership for Academic Leadership on Sustainability (PALS) [which received Second Nature’s 2012 Climate Leadership Award].

In addition, he participated in Agents of Change (AOC), a 3-year project, funded by the U.S. Department of Education Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) to better prepare students as future teachers, architects, and stewards of the built environment. He co-authored “The Indiana Department of Education K-12 School Design Guidelines”, in which social, economic and environmental sustainability are used as performance-design metrics. In addition he provided energy and daylighting performance modeling on the Cope Environmental Education Center; the first Living Building in Indiana.

He has presented on his leadership in sustainability education, research and service at international conferences in Austria, Canada, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, and Switzerland and at domestic conferences including the national meetings of AASHE, ACSA, AIA, APPA, ASES, SBIC, SCUP and USGBC. Moreover, he has published extensively through peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, books; as well as software and video productions.

His university continues to garner exceptional recognition for its world-class sustainability work and his students continue to win or place in national design-for-sustainability competitions; all of which reflect the impact of his relentless day-to-day sustainability leadership

CONTINUING EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS:

ISSP credential holders will earn 0.5 CEUs for attending this webinar.