We foster in one another creativity, critical insight, empathy and intellectual courage, the hallmarks of a transformative liberal education and the foundation for active citizenship and lifelong inquiry.

We fulfill our mission through a pervasive university commitment to provide:

• Rigorous, intentional and experiential undergraduate liberal education for life and livelihood;
• Strong, distinctive professional and graduate programs that build on and strengthen our proud tradition of liberal education;
• Multicultural and international learning experiences for a diverse world;
• Exemplary student-faculty research and scholarship that enhance teaching and learning;
• An inclusive campus community that challenges students to develop their intellectual, personal, cultural and social competencies;
• Educational opportunities responsive to the needs of our communities, state, region and beyond; and
• Academic leadership in transforming liberal education.

The University offers undergraduate programs and degrees in the arts, humanities, social sciences, health sciences, sciences, select engineering fields, education, nursing and business. The institution also offers graduate programs related to areas of strength within the institution, including business, education, nursing, human sciences, humanities and sciences.

UW-Eau Claire mission statement amended by UWS Board of Regents Res. 8623, adopted 11/8/2002; Res. 9774, adopted 6/11/2010; and Res. 10716, adopted 6/10/2016.

We are noted for rigorous, integrated, globally infused undergraduate liberal education and distinctive, select graduate programs. We are leaders in preparing students for lifelong contributions to society through career, service and personal achievement.

1. Leadership
2. Diversity and inclusiveness
3. Innovation and continuous improvement
4. Stewardship and sustainability

The University Planning Committee is appointed by the chancellor to oversee strategic planning at the university.

2023 (Extended to Spring 2024)

• Nikki Andrews, Director (Enrollment Management)

2024

• Jidong Zhang, Assistant Professor (Accounting and Finance)
• Saori Braun, Associate Professor (Kinesiology)

2025

• Greg Kocken, Head of Special Collections and Archives, Associate Professor (McIntyre Library + History)
• Alex Schultz, Project Coordinator (Facilities Planning and Construction)

2026

• Rochelle Hoffman, Student Affairs Program Specialist (Student Support Services)
• Jarrod Hines, Associate Professor (Psychology)

2028

• TBD

2022-23 - Serving from UWEC – Barron County

• Troy Kozma, Chair, Professor and Academic Chair (Philosophy and Religious Studies)

Ex Officio

• University Senate Chair
• University Staff Council Chair
• Director of Institutional Research
• Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration
• Student Senate President

Staff

• Chancellor's Office Chief of Staff
• Corry Mahnke, Events and Special Projects Coordinator, Office of the Chancellor

All meeting minutes are available here with your UW-Eau Claire password.

The UW-Eau Claire Sustainability & Climate Action Task Force

Finalized Recommendations

Overarching Goal: To position UW-Eau Claire and UW-Eau Claire Barron County as regional leaders in sustainability and climate action education, engagement, and programming

Planning, Implementation, and Assessment

• Create a Chancellor’s Advisory Council on Sustainability and Climate Action that reports directly to the Chancellor
• Establish a campus Sustainability Coordinator and Office of Sustainability

Engaging our Campus and Chippewa Valley Community

• Create the Chippewa Watershed Project to expand Sustainability and Climate Action curriculum and programming
• Create a Sustainability and Climate Action Certificate for Students/Community
• Create High Impact Sustainability and Climate Action Learning Experiences
  • International Programs and Research
  • Service Learning/Internships/Academic Connections
• Collaborate with Advising, Retention, and Career Counseling (ARCC) to locate potential employers interested in hiring or offering internships
• Model specific sustainability and climate action practices across the UWEC campuses
  • Vendor and purchasing contracts and travel offsets
  • Campus certifications (Bee campus; LEED certification; STARS, etc.)
• Create training modules regarding waste, public transportation, and other sustainability and climate issues for students, faculty, and staff
• Elevate a culture of sustainability through strong web-presence, campus signage

Cutting Carbon

• Pursue fiscally practical, easily implemented energy efficiency projects in all UWEC and UWECBC buildings
• Create a de-centralized, geo exchange heating/cooling system for HSS / HFA (feasibility study completed October 2020)
• Investigate and apply innovative financing and true cost of carbon accounting to prioritize carbon emissions and energy reduction efforts
• Create a utility/energy master plan for UWEC campuses
  • Establish benchmark energy performance standards in all UWEC and UWECBC buildings
  • Implement deep energy retrofits for older low efficiency buildings in all UWEC and UWECBC buildings
  • Set targets and purchase or acquire on-campus Renewable Energy generation capacity to achieve those targets
  • Geo System conversions for 50-100% of campus
• Support and publicize carbon-free electricity commitments by Xcel Energy and investments already made by UW System and SOS
• Purchase, if and as needed, renewable energy credits (RECs) or green power contracts to meet the interim targets
• Identify carbon emissions and energy reduction initiatives in which the benefits and costs could be shared by the City of Eau Claire and UWECBC
• Create a joint renewable energy initiative by 2025 among local partners

Co-Chairs:

• Karen Mumford (faculty chair), Associate Professor and Director, Watershed Institute
• Tony Rongstad (university staff chair), Sustainability Analyst, Facilities Maintenance
• Lauren Becker, Environmental Geography major, American Indian Studies minor, Director of the Student Office of Sustainability

Faculty Members:

• Jim Boulter, Professor of Chemistry, Watershed Institute for Collaborative Environmental Studies faculty
• Tarique Niazi, Professor of Environmental Sociology, Watershed Institute for Collaborative Environmental Studies faculty
• Lauren Wentz, Associate Professor of Biology, UW-Eau Claire Barron County 

University Staff Members:

• Kristina Beuning, Greenhouse and Animal Care Manager, Department of Biology
• Jackie Lee, Academic Advisor, Advising, Retention and Career Center
• Cory White, Assistant Track and Field Coach (part-time), Safety, Health and Environmental Specialist, Phillips-Medisize (full-time)

Student Members:

• Katrina Kawak, Environmental Public Health major, Chemistry minor, Women’s Studies certificate, Intern for Gender and Sexuality Resource Center, previous student manager of the Student Office of Sustainability
• Maddie Loeffler, Environmental Geography major, American Indian Studies certificate, Secretary of the Geography and Anthropology Club, member of the Art Student Associatio

Xcel Energy: 

• Oscar Brandser, Accounts Manager

City of Eau Claire:

•  Ned Noel, City Planning Office 

Support: 

• Jennifer McGeorge

Purpose

Stewardship and Sustainability are core values of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Yet, while the
university has undertaken numerous sustainability activities and initiatives, it has not developed a
comprehensive plan to incorporate stewardship, sustainability and resiliency into all facets of campus
life. Ultimately, such a plan is necessary for the campus to achieve its goal of becoming carbon neutral
by the year 2050. The Chancellor’s Sustainability and Climate Action Task Force will explore, formulate
and make recommendations that will be incorporated into the university’s Campus Facilities Master
Plan. Planning efforts will focus on people and place:

• Equipping faculty, staff and students with knowledge about sustainability and climate impacts
  that enables them to be instruments of change beyond our campus boundaries;
• Creating a campus culture that instills the importance of preserving and enhancing the natural
  resources of campus through sound stewardship;
• Identifying and implementing energy efficiency, travel/transportation, waste flow and other
  appropriate action steps that provide the highest rate of return on investment and directly
  contribute to achieving carbon neutrality goals.

The Chancellor’s Task Force on Sustainability & Climate Action will embody these principles:

• It will broadly represent our campus community;
• It will report directly to the Chancellor;
• It will use fact-based models to consider effectiveness of recommendations;
• It will gather input from a wide variety of sources;
• It will not be restricted by current institutional structures;
• It will make specific recommendations necessary to meet the identified goals;
• It will communicate outcomes and recommendations to the campus community.

Charge to the Sustainability & Climate Action Task Force

Within the UW-Eau Claire and UWEC-Barron County community, we recognize sustainability is realized
at the intersection of equity, economy, and the environment. The return on investments in sustainability
includes impacts on financial wellbeing, human and environmental health, ecological and societal
resilience, and future members of the Blugold family’s right to prosperity.
The call is challenging. No community is immune to the health, economic, and social consequences of
climate change and unsustainable practices. The best scientific assessments tell us we must begin this
transformation immediately.

This Task Force is charged with making recommendations for a strategic plan focused on Stewardship,
Sustainability and Resiliency that will address the known impacts our campus community will face as a
result of the Climate Crisis. Input will be gathered from students, staff, faculty, and administration. In
particular, the S&CTF will create a Sustainability and Climate Action Plan for the institution focused on
the nine key facets found below. The task force will address these topics and make impactful
recommendations to address these specific areas of sustainability and climate action.

The Task Force WILL:

• Determine immediate and long-term actions necessary to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
• Establish campus expectations and requirements for all building and infrastructure initiatives
  undertaken at UWEC;
• Identify strategies for including faculty and staff consideration of sustainability and climate into
  annual evaluation, promotion, and tenure decisions;
• Facilitate new opportunities by providing support for faculty and staff to innovate within their
  departments and units;
• Institute communication and visibility strategies about sustainability and resiliency efforts as an
  institution;
• Formulate benchmarks, monitoring, and assessment procedures;
• Determine strategies for the inclusion of sustainability and climate across our campus community,
  spanning curriculum, scholarship, alumni networks, personal action, and campus-wide culture;
  and
• Determine ways in which our University must exhibit leadership in sustainability and climate
  initiatives.
• Consider existing organization / structural limitations and recommend ways to implement
  initiatives within those constraints.

The Task Force WILL NOT:

• Identify obstacles and/or challenges without developing solutions.
• Be afraid to make audacious choices.
• Be limited by the existing organizational constraints mentioned above.

There are potentially tremendous opportunities found in proactive responses to developing resilient,
low-carbon operations and institutional cultures. Investments made now in mitigating UW-Eau Claire
climate impacts, preserving our natural resources, and adapting to future climates will make our
university more sustainable and provide crucial leadership in our community. And by engaging students
in this transformation of the University, they will be better prepared for careers and leadership roles in a
rapidly changing world.