University Committee for Environmental Sustainability: Genesis and Projects

On November 13, 2023, Interim President Katia Passerini convened the first meeting of the University Committee for Environmental Sustainability in the Regents Suite. Two years in the making, the initiative was guided by Judith C. Stark, Ph.D., professor of Philosophy and the Environment, and received unanimous support from the Faculty Senate on Earth Day 2023.

The committee co-chairs at the time of its creation were Monsignor Joseph Reilly, S.T.L, Ph.D., and Victoria Pivovarnick, associate vice president of Facilities and Business Affairs. Over the last ten months, they led members in developing the agendas for the committee’s work. Since Monsignor Reilly has become Seton Hall’s president, Reverend Roberto Ortiz has taken on the role of co-chair. The committee’s membership includes administrators, students, deans, faculty and staff from across the University.

Initially, its work focused on becoming acquainted with Pope Francis’s groundbreaking encyclical, Laudato Si that was promulgated in 2015. By the spring 2024 meetings, the Environmental Sustainability Committee began a review of the Laudato Si Action Plan with its seven goals for enacting a robust "care for our common home." Seton Hall is committed to the Laudato Si Action Plan that includes the following seven goals: respond to the cry of the earth; respond to the cry of the poor; foster ecological economics; adopt sustainable lifestyles; offer ecological education; develop ecological spirituality; and support local communities.

The members of the Committee continue to deepen their understanding of these central goals. "Plans to implement an action plan at Seton Hall are the focus of the on-going work of the Committee," explains co-chair Victoria Pivovarnick. She notes that the entire Seton Hall community, which includes various offices and constituencies, "will be asked to contribute as we continue to move toward reaching the goals set by Pope Francis in Laudato Si."

In convening the Environmental Sustainability Committee and giving it the charge at the initial meeting, Interim President Katia Passerini, Ph.D., provided context and inspiration for the Committee’s on-going work. Leading by example, Passerini not only delivered the charge but indicated the value and urgency of the Committee’s work for the sustainability efforts of the entire University.

For the next few months, committee members will be working with sub-committees, for example, spirituality, education and simple lifestyle. "Undoubtedly, this will generate projects and actions bringing the wisdom of Laudato Si into campus life in new and vibrant ways," notes ESC co-chair Reverend Roberto Ortiz. Members plan to engage in conversations within their departments, organizations, and offices to alert and invite the entire University community to join these efforts.

Although not directly sponsored by the committee, two of its members received a grant last spring from Idea Hall. These members are Linda Karten, senior director of marketing and communications and Professor Judith C. Stark. Their project is called "Mindful Eating:  Food Matters." With this grant they are organizing a Fall Harvest Luncheon to be held on October 4, 2024—the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi. The menu will be completely vegetarian and will highlight the importance of food choices in combatting climate change, as well as offer strategies for reducing food waste. The Fall Luncheon will be held from 12:30-2 p.m. in Bethany Hall and all university members are invited to attend. Come and enjoy a delicious vegetarian lunch and discover the ways that individual and group efforts can enhance environmental sustainability both locally and globally.

Categories: Nation and World