In a major step toward achieving its Sustainability and Climate Action Plan, Butler University has established a campus-wide Office of Sustainability. Research ecologist, educator, and long-time Director of the Center for Urban Ecology and Sustainability (CUES) Julia Angstmann has been named Butler’s inaugural Executive Director of Sustainability.

Under the auspices of the University’s Finance and Administration Division—which includes Facilities Operations—the Office of Sustainability will continue to direct the robust framework of curricular and co-curricular programming formerly offered by CUES, including The Butler Farm, the Sustainability Leadership Cohort, meaningful student internships and volunteerism, community education, and curricular support. In addition, the Office will convene the Butler Sustainability Leadership Council to energize and facilitate systemic change throughout the University. With its expanded purview, the Office will also serve as a leader and collaborator on campus-wide strategic initiatives and policies, including land and water management, waste diversion, intelligent building technologies, community partnerships, green fleet development, and responsible institutional investing.

“We know that climate change weighs heavily on our students’ minds,” says Julia Angstmann. “More than 70 percent believe it’s more important than all or most other issues. I’m incredibly honored to lead Butler’s environmental stewardship efforts and to help infuse sustainability more fully into our curricula, operations, and campus culture.”

The formation of the Office is subsequent to the February 2024 meeting of the Butler University Board of Trustees, during which the Trustees approved the implementation of Butler’s proposed Decarbonization Roadmap. This customized Roadmap, developed by HEAPY Engineering, sets forth a multi-phased, multi-decade plan for Butler to achieve a 45 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and net carbon neutrality by 2050. The University’s transition to clean energy will likely include the adoption of strategic energy management, solar energy, and geothermal energy technologies.

Being mindful of the need for fiscal prudence, the University is actively pursuing external funding to fully staff the new Office and to implement each phase of the decarbonization roadmap.

“The creation of Butler’s Office of Sustainability is absolutely the best next step if we are to achieve our Sustainability and Climate Action Plan goals,” says President James Danko, who signed the President’s Climate Leadership Commitment on behalf of Butler in 2012. “And given the dedication and talent that Julia Angstmann and her team from CUES will bring to the new Office, we are in an excellent position to make more progress than ever before. We are committed to doing this because it’s the right thing to do—for current and future generations of Butler students and for the greater good.”

The new Office of Sustainability is located in Gallahue Hall, Room 115, and can be reached at sustainability@butler.edu.