Celebrating sustainability

EnviroSLAM to showcase environment and energy initiatives

Phil Valko (left), assistant vice chancellor for sustainability, leads a tour of the solar panels atop Hillman Hall. Faculty, administrators, alumni, students and regional community members will gather at the Saint Louis Art Museum April 19 to discuss local and global sustainability (Photo: Sid Hastings/Washington University)

Washington University in St. Louis, the first university to ban plastic beverage bottles and which now offers a Doctor of Sustainable Urbanism degree, will hold an inaugural celebration and discussion of sustainability, environment and energy initiatives on its campuses and across the globe.

“EnviroSLAM: A Showcase of Environment, Energy and Sustainability at Washington University” will be held from 6-9 p.m. Wednesday, April 19, at the Saint Louis Art Museum. The event will bring together alumni, university administrators, faculty and staff, plus members of the regional sustainability community.

Guests will see multimedia exhibits on 20 different university initiatives and listen to presentations from:

  • Peter H. Raven, the George Engelmann Professor Emeritus of Botany, president emeritus of the Missouri Botanical Garden and a biodiversity expert once heralded by Time magazine as a “Hero of the Planet;”
  • Barbara A. Schaal, dean of the faculty of Arts & Sciences, the Mary-Dell Chilton Distinguished Professor, and immediate past president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world’s largest multidisciplinary science society; and
  • Taylor Blevin, a senior in the School of Engineering & Applied Science, and recent alum Jamal Gaddis (2015), who will speak about their experience and leadership participating in international climate negotiations, conducting ecology research, and advancing renewable energy.

Students interested in attending should complete a registration form through the event website. It will be held at the LEED Gold-certified East Building, 1 Fine Arts Dr., St. Louis, Mo., 63110.

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