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May 2008
President Knapp Signs Climate Commitment to Celebrate Earth Day
On April 22, President Steven Knapp kicked off GW’s Earth Day celebration by joining members of the Presidential Task Force on Sustainability and representatives of the University’s environmental student organizations to sign the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment on the DuquПs Hall Terrace. The climate commitment recognizes the responsibility institutions of higher education have as role models for their communities and in training the people who will develop the social, economic, and technological solutions to reverse global warming. On the terrace, student organizations handed out pamphlets about the University’s recycling program and environmental organizations, and graduating students were asked to sign the “Green Graduation Pledge” to consider the “social and environmental consequences” of their future jobs. After the signing, Knapp helped plant a cherry blossom tree, one of 10 to be planted on the Foggy Bottom and Mount Vernon campuses to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the University’s The Cherry Tree yearbook. Tours of the Green GW House, an eco-friendly student townhouse on 22nd Street concluded the day’s events. In his address, Knapp said the signing was “a small but significant next step” for the University. “As the first university in the District of Columbia to sign the commitment letter, we are proud to join other universities and colleges around the nation in making this important pledge,” said Knapp. “GW signs as a partner with Washington, D.C., in this promise to work toward securing the health of our planet.”
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