Responsibility & Renewal, UMass Dartmouth Sustainability Assessment and Climate Action Plan

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responsibility and renewal

and educationally-depressed region in the 1960s (Gifun, UMass Dartmouth, 1960-2006: Trials and Triumph). They saw the campus as a work of art that could expand the vision of students and residents of the region. The campus is still an architecturally-imaginative example of the optimism of the period in which it was conceived. Now, under the influence of the philosophy of sustainability, and a revised master plan, it is being re-conceived to serve once more as a model of a new phase of growth and innovation; a vision of sustainable growth with respect for the environment and the adoption of the most cutting-edge technologies to promote better use of resources. Underlying this transformation is the same bold assumption that produced the campus against all odds in the 1960s: the university can lead the way toward a different kind of future through its example and its educational efforts. It can then work more productively in cooperation with citizens and organizations in the community, including the newly-formed Regional Council on Sustainability. Producing a future of sustainable practice for the university and the region involves changing assumptions and adopting new paradigms about stewardship and the “common wealth.� This publication is a first step along the path to establishing a solid foundation for sustainability, in this university, in the students and faculty who study and apply its principles, and ultimately in the larger society.


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