09 autumn reporter 1-20 - Franklin College

College earns governor’s award
PHOTO BY DENISE SZOCKA
Pictured in the front are: Tom Patz, manager for organizational development and safety, Thomas Easterly,
commissioner of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, Carmen Alejo ’11 Green Team
student leader, Ray Pena ’12 Green Team student leader, Lisa (Combs) Fears ’89, vice president for
planning, plant and technology, and Rick Bossingham, assistant commissioner of IDEM’s Office of Pollution
Prevention and Technical Assistance. In the back are: Les Petroff, food service director, Mark Lecher ’00,
director of plant operations; Alice Heikens, biology professor, Betsy Schmidt ’85, director of development
research, and Larry Bridges, superintendent of grounds.
By Samantha Parker ’11
Pulliam Fellow
Franklin College has received an Indiana Governor’s Award for Environmental
Excellence in recognition of its campus composting program.
During a ceremony held on Sept. 10 at the Indiana University Purdue University-
Indianapolis campus, Indiana Department of Environmental Management Commissioner
Thomas Easterly presented the award to college representatives Tom Patz, project manager
for organizational development and safety, and Lisa (Combs) Fears ’89, vice president for
planning, plant and technology.
Through the college’s award-winning composting program, yard and appropriate
cafeteria food waste was collected and deposited into bins located on campus. Faculty
members integrated the program into their courses by asking students to keep statistics
and data to determine what combination of brown and green materials resulted in the
fastest breakdown of materials and what produced the best nutrient-rich compost.
Compost harvested from the bins was used in landscaping around campus.
The composting efforts resulted in 50 tons of waste being converted, saving the college
approximately $6,500 in vendor fees and landscaping materials. The composting program
is just one example of the college’s comprehensive commitment to campus “greening,”
said Patz. Other efforts include installation of energy-saving lighting, green classroom
practices, native tree planting, recycled material purchases and student and community
educational program development.
“We are thrilled that Franklin College has received this recognition from the governor’s
office,” said Patz. “Our campus Green Team is a wonderful example of the collaboration
that occurs at Franklin College in an engaged, talented and active community of lifelong
learners.”
The Green Team is a voluntary committee of student leaders, alumni, faculty and
staff who influence how decisions are made and resources are allocated to achieve the
institutional goal of climate neutrality. The college president and his cabinet members
also are involved.
Trayless dining helps
support campus greening
By Amy (Kean) VerSteeg ’96
Editor
Returning students may have noticed
something missing from the dining hall
the first time they had a meal in the Napolitan
Student Center — plastic trays. Sodexo food
services introduced the trayless dining
concept at Franklin College in August.
According to food service director
Les Petroff, the college has seen a reduction
of about 1,000 gallons of water usage per
week since the change was implemented.
The amount of detergents and electricity
needed for clean-up also has been reduced.
Over the long run, dining overhead should
reduce as the need to purchase or replace
trays diminishes.
Sodexo Inc., parent company of Franklin’s
student dining services, began challenging
college campuses to go trayless in 2008 as
part of a corporate commitment to reduce
water, waste and negative impact on the
environment. In the first year, the company
reported that 150 of its 600 campus clients
retired their trays, which calculated to be a
savings of about 200 gallons of water a day
per 1,000 meals served.
In a press release, Tom Post, president of
campus dining for Sodexo Inc. said,
“Campuses that have tossed the trays also
report reduced food waste.”
Some colleges cite that trayless service
also has helped decrease over-eating among
students because they opt to keep socializing
during mealtime rather than leave the table
to get more food.
According to the USDA, Americans waste
almost 25 percent of all food produced
annually in the United States, every person
generates 1.3 pounds of food waste daily
and food waste accounts for 12 percent of all
U.S. landfill material.
WWW.FRANKLINCOLLEGE.EDU AUTUMN 2009 13