General

America East, Member Schools Establish Sustainability Initiative

BOSTON – The America East Conference is prioritizing sustainability, establishing a network that will advance its member institutions’ environmental profiles and work to create a greener conference. The sustainability initiative will be a collaboration of America East, the conference’s Academic Consortium and its member institutions.
 
“We are thrilled to formally announce our new initiative that will focus on prioritizing sustainability across the conference,” said Executive Director of the America East Academic Consortium, Marsha Florio. “This is a high-stakes issue and we look forward to working together to gain an understanding of what our campuses are doing in this area and building on it collectively as a group to create greener campus communities across the America East footprint.”
 
The initiative will initially be connected through athletics, building on existing partnerships to further the conference’s collective sustainability goals and share best practices. The group will identify shared goals and synergies that are unique to America East and work collectively to implement them while creating ways to expand programming for students and student leaders to connect across the membership.
 
The group’s work will build up towards an in-person conference hosted on UMass Lowell’s campus in June of 2022. The comprehensive event will bring together students, faculty and staff from America East institutions, as well as national and international experts from the industry.
 
“UMass Lowell is delighted to work with our America East partners in leading this endeavor,” said UMass Lowell Chancellor, Jacqueline Moloney. “We have had tremendous success in combining our athletic and sustainability efforts to enrich our student athletes and enhance the fan experience. By working together, America East schools can carve out opportunities on the athletic, academic and operational fronts while advancing sustainability across the conference.”

The group will also explore ways that the Academic Consortium can leverage additional resources and funding opportunities, including joint research and teaching projects focused on sustainability.
 
Established in June 2014, the America East Academic Consortium (AEAC) is dedicated to facilitating inter-institutional academic and administrative collaboration between the 10 universities that comprise the America East Conference. To learn more about the AEAC, please visit the initiative’s website at www.theaeac.org.
 
 
About America East: The America East provides its member schools and their athletic programs a platform upon which student-athletes can achieve both collegiate and life success through the promotion and nurturing of athletic excellence, academic achievement and leadership, on and off the field. One of the most comprehensive Division I conferences in the country and progressive in its approach to its more than 3,400 student-athletes, America East recognizes champions in each of its 18 sports and consists of 10 member institutions spanning from the Mid-Atlantic to Northeast regions of the United States including: University at Albany, Binghamton University, University of Hartford, University of Maine, UMBC, UMass Lowell, New Jersey Institute of Technology,  University of New Hampshire, Stony Brook University and University of Vermont. For more information, visit www.AmericaEast.com or follow the America East Conference on Twitter @AmericaEast. 
 
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