April 15, 2004

To the Oberlin College community,

At its March meeting, the Board of Trustees adopted the following
Environmental Policy Statement, proposed and approved by the General
Faculty Planning Committee:

The core mission of Oberlin College is the education of its students. One
aspect of such education is the demonstration by its actions of the
College’s concern for, and protection of, its physical environment.

Oberlin College must be a responsible steward of the environment. As such,
the College will seek 1) to reduce the rate at which it contributes to the
depletion and degradation of natural resources; 2) to increase the use of
renewable resources; and 3) to consider other measures that can enhance the
physical environment in which we live. The development of priorities and
the implementation of decisions regarding energy production and use, the
use and development or our grounds, facilities construction, modernization,
maintenance, transportation, and materials use will be informed by the
environmental impact they have. The President or delegated officials will
periodically advise the community of the College’s progress in this area.

This policy statement comes out of the work of the Environmental Policy
Advisory Committee (EPAC). I appointed this committee two years ago to
produce a comprehensive report with recommendations and goals for the
College’s environmental stewardship. This report will serve as the basis
for Oberlin’s implementation of its environmental policy. It’s posted on
the College web site at www.oberlin.edu/oncampus/.

The members of EPAC who produced this report are: Fran Baumann, former
Chair of Oberlin City Council; David Benzing, Danforth Professor of
Biology; Norman Craig, Emeritus Biggs Professor of Chemistry; Andrew Evans,
Vice President for Finance; Sal Filardi, Associate Director of Facilities
Planning and Construction; Rebecca French, student, OC ’04; Sylvestre
Gaudin, Assistant Professor of Economics; Carl Gerber, OC alumnus ’58 and
former senior adviser at the US Environmental Protection Agency; Claire
Jahns, OC alumna ’03; Richard Morgenstern, OC alumnus ’66, former EPA and
Resources for the Future; David Orr, Distinguished Professor of
Environmental Studies and Politics and Director of Environmental Studies;
John Peterson, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies and Biology;
Debbie Schildkraut, Assistant Professor of Politics; Bill Skinner, Emeritus
Professor of Geology; and Caroline Turner, student, OC ’04.

I am happy to thank them for their excellent work. Michael Lynn, Associate
Dean of the Conservatory, has recently joined the committee, which will now
turn its attention to the implementation of our policy and monitoring our
progress. EPAC welcomes your suggestions and comments.

Sincerely,
Nancy S. Dye, President