At the opening ceremonies of Arizona Western College's fourth Sustainability Fair, to celebrate Earth Day 2011, the first-ever winners of the school's new Sustainability Awards were announced.
Faculty/Staff category: Kevin Mann, Professor of English as a Second Language.
Among Kevin's qualifications:
- Use of green technology as an ESL teaching tool
- Integrating environmental issues into the curriculum
- Inviting leaders on environmental issues to speak in his class
- Outreach about these techniques to other teachers
Student category: Xavier Sanders
Among Xavier's qualifications
- His involvement in recycling on campus
- Leadership in the Science club
- Guided the construction of a recycling bicycle to carry, pickup and drop off collected recyclables on campus
Club category: AWC Science Club
Among the club's qualifications:
- Work on the restoration of the Lower Colorado River through tree cloning, growing, planting program
Other nominees included:
Clubs -- AWC AWS/Skills USA club
Students -- Kayla Ochoa and Anthony Carroll
Faculty Staff -- Kate Turpin (Massage Therapy), Julie Armer (College Publications), Cheryl Farber (Nursing), Alma Barrandey (CDLL), Psychology Faculty, David Sisson (Construction Trades), AWC Facilities Team, and Chip Straley (Theatre).
The first-ever awards were conceived by the new AWC Sustainability Council, which includes representation from students, faculty and staff, as well as NAU and Sodexo. According to the nomination flyer, suggested areas of campus sustainability included energy conservation/production, waste reduction/recycling, going paperless, resource conservation, sustainable purchasing practices, education and outreach, advocacy, and campus leadership.
"For a first-year effort, the entire council was very pleased with the diversity of nominations. We're really hoping this awards process grows and grows," said Ted Martinez, organizer of the Sustainability Fair and AWC Professor of biology.
Each winner received a one-of-a-kind metal sculpture custom-crafted for the occasion by the AWC Welding program.
