The position of sustainability coordinator has been left vacant since the previous coordinator, Linsey Edmunds, left the position at the end of the spring 2023 semester.
According to an email sent to The Equinox by Marc Doyon, director of facilities services, on Oct. 19, the search for a replacement coordinator had been approved and the position was posted on the University System of New Hampshire job listing website.
On the job listing website, the position was posted a day earlier on Oct. 18.
However, this did not come without frustration from people connected to the Office of Sustainability, like members of the Eco-Reps and previous interns for the office.
Emails from Sept. 22 received by The Equinox showing communications between junior and Eco-Reps President Chloe March and Stacy King, executive assistant for the President’s Office, state the “search was underway,” and, “The position will be posted on the website in the coming days.”
In an interview with March, she said she reached out to several members of the KSC administration and had little to no luck with getting any solid information. She said most replies said administration were close to posting the position or close to coming to a decision.
“This is such a vital role on campus … It’s not like other people can pick up the pieces.”
March noted when she spoke with Edmunds before she left the position, that it might take some time for the school to find a new coordinator. However, March said the school has known since January.
One part of the role of the sustainability coordinator is serving as the advisor for the Eco-Reps. Currently, Sasha Davis, environmental studies, geography and sustainability department chair, serves as the advisor.
March said Davis has run into similar issues regarding communication about the office.
Similarly, in previous communications between The Equinox and Doyon, while unavailable for an interview at the time, he stated in an email from Oct. 6, “I expect to get approval to start a new search for that position by early next week.”
Before the search gained approval from the cabinet members of Keene State, the position had to undergo a review process to see if any changes needed to be made, according to Nathalie Houder, vice president for finance and administration. She noted during the search they did not have to wait until Edmunds officially left the position to start the search process. However, she did not know when the process for approval officially began.
She also noted this position was already budgeted for in the fiscal year 2024.
“It was one of those positions that we were looking to see where there might be other opportunities across campus that might be able to work on that role’s responsibilities without perhaps adding a role,” Houder said. “But we did go through that process and I think that’s our duty is to evaluate positions on this campus, especially given the economic environment and our own financial constraints, so we went through that process.”
Houder said before members of the cabinet went to approve the position, they decided to give approval to academics to reinstate internships through the office, which currently employs two students.
Previously, according to senior and former head mechanic for the Green Bikes program, Natalie Deshaies, the office had six student interns and four students working with Green Bikes.
Currently, there are no students employed to work for the Green Bikes program. Although, she noted that to her knowledge the program is still up and running through volunteer work.
“Sasha Davis, who is the department chair of the environmental studies had to work a lot with them [KSC] to get the budget approved and we have him as a budget manager, which they finally just did. So we do have two interns who are starting to do the work needed for the college,” she said.
“The Green Bikes Program, however, has been kind of lost in the shadows.”
Junior Carissa Miller, the current energy intern, works with reporting carbon emissions data and creating the greenhouse gas inventory for the KSC campus. She said she used to have a partner last year to do the work.
Now, she does the work by herself.
“If I hadn’t done it last year, I would have no idea what I was doing because the reason I was like, ‘Yeah, I’ll take it on by myself,’ was because I really enjoyed it last year and I know what I’m doing,” she said.
Additionally, she used to report to Edmunds during her internship and meet with her weekly to track her progress and answer any questions. Now, she does not technically have anyone to report to. She noted if she were to report to anyone it could be Davis because he set up the position.
She said a lot of the work Edmunds previously did like the AASHE STARS Reporting, a self-reported ranking system that measures a college’s sustainability outcomes, might not be done.
March is the second intern for the sustainability office.
At the time of the interview on Oct. 5 (prior to being an intern), she said she opened the Thrifty Owl for free as it is usually a paid position to run the program.
She noted at the time there was no one running the store. She explained it is a great resource for students, but there was no one maintaining it.
On the topic of the STARS reporting, March said she did not think our score would remain at the current level of gold because of the lack of a sustainability coordinator.
The school’s commitments to sustainability include a 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, running 100% on renewables and qualifying as a zero-waste campus by 2030, according to the KSC website. March said that without a coordinator, it does not look like the school is completely committed to these goals.
“These need to be taken down if you don’t have a commitment to them, we can’t be having that up there,” March said. “It’s greenwashing.”
However, Houder said that KSC is still using LR-100, fuel derived from waste vegetable oil, to heat the buildings of the school and is still committed to its sustainability goals.
“This time frame of not having somebody in this position shouldn’t have any impact on whether or not we achieve those goals,” she said.
She noted they still continue to look for ways the school can be sustainable and work with the facilities team to coordinate that.
Houder said while she wishes they were able to move more swiftly in the hiring process, they want to make sure they hire the right person to fill the shoes Edmunds left.
Linsey Edmunds could not be reached for comment.
Tim Bruns can be contacted at
tbruns@kscequinox.com
