Month: April 2019

Recognizing Cherie Taylor for 20 Years of Service to UConn

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Congratulations to Cherie Taylor for celebrating 20 years at UConn this year!  I’m fortunate that 15 of them have been in her role as my Administrative Coordinator, and as the office manager and “mater familiae” for the OEP, which was recently reconfigured and refocused as UConn’s Sustainability Office.  She’s been the perfect complement to me as Director, given my skill set and management style, and has helped our office make a positive difference, not only for the University, but also (as you can see by the testaments below) in the lives of the staff and students who have worked here over the years.  Happy Administrative Professionals Day, Cherie!  Thanks for all you do.  – Rich Miller, Director, Office of Sustainability

“Cherie is our #1 supporter, and will do anything to help us out in anyway that she can, and that does not go unnoticed. In and out of the office, Cherie always has out backs. One time, I needed to print a poster for a research presentation, and I didn’t realize I had to submit the request so far in advance. Cherie called the Print Shop and had the order rushed, and because of her I had my poster printed on time. That is just one of the ways Cherie goes above and beyond to help out the interns in the office.” – Caroline Anastasia

“Cherie is absolutely magical. If any intern comes to her with a tough problem that they have been unable to solve, she swoops in to fix it with no expectations greater than a thank you. Her care for the well-being of the people in her life is made abundantly clear every day when I walk into work and see some kind of snack or baked good ready to save me if I’ve had to skip lunch.” – Emma MacDonald

“If our office was a plant, Cherie would be the entire root system. She ultimately holds together the office, connects us with so many other departments on campus, and provides us with the information, motivation, and accountability we need. Roots grow and make new connections. Cherie makes things happen and knows exactly who, how, and when to do all that she does. I have never heard or seen anyone get things done faster than Cherie does. Roots also store energy and nutrients for the plant for future use. Cherie stores years of experience and knowledge – not just about the office and this campus community, but also about life. Thank you, Cherie, for giving your advice to us. Although roots may not be seen from an outside view, they are so vital for growth, beauty, and life of the plant. Thank you for being our roots and dedicating so much for the office, we appreciate you!” – Mara Tu

“Cherie is a force of nature and she makes things happen! She is such an important part of keeping the office running. She consistently goes above and beyond to make sure that everything is done right and that everyone in the office takes care of themselves.” – Charlotte Rhodes

“Cherie always takes the time to notice the little things that make people happy and often uses this knowledge to brighten people’s days when they need it the most, whether it’s bringing in snacks, making a pot of coffee, or complimenting someone’s outfit.  Additionally, Cherie always has everyone in the office’s best interests in mind by expecting a high standard from us, but also remaining understanding and going above and beyond to deliver whenever we need her help.  She definitely is the mother of the office, and we are all grateful for the care she takes to help make the OEP such a wonderful place to work.” – Jon Ursillo

“Cherie has been a steady presence in the office since my first day on the job, and my experience at the OEP has been made that much better for this. Cherie has always made me feel welcomed and appreciated in the office, and clearly cares about the interns and our well-being. She has so much faith in our success, and has helped me feel better on multiple stressed or sad occasions. I am also quite confident that the office would not have achieved half of what we’ve accomplished if it weren’t for Cherie keeping us all on track.” – Sophie MacDonald

“Thank you for always being our greatest advocate, for guiding us with encouragement, and for the care you have shown each of us both during and after our time at the OEP.” – Christen Bellucci (’18)

“Cherie runs a tight but loving ship. She’s always willing to lend support to anyone that needs it and if Cherie’s on the case, best believe things get done!” – Rose Croog (’17)

“Cherie treats us like we’re her own family, always has our back no matter what, and teaches us some super valuable life lessons – like pushing in your chair and not putting pictures of monkeys on your resume!” – Katie Mae Main (’18)

“Cherie is amazing! She made me feel so welcomed from our very first phone conversation during my hiring process. I’m so thankful to have been a part of the OEP group and gotten to know her. Congratulations on 20 years! ” – Jennifer Williams

“Cherie has been a rock for me at OEP through the many years and many changes. With her heart of gold she has always put others ahead of herself.  She supported me through my almost 13 years here and helped me navigate the UConn culture.  She also had the knack of finding leftover meeting food for me which is always welcomed and appreciated. – Paul Ferri, EH&S Manager

“Whether you go to Cherie for advice on department operations, the inside scoop on UConn administrative changes, or a confidential chat on a personal matter, you always know you’ll get a straight answer, the wisdom of a sage, and just enough sarcastic humor to spice things up.  Thanks for all you do Cherie.  And since I am POSITIVE we cannot convince you to stay on another 10 or 15 years, good luck wherever in the world your future takes you.” – Jim Hutton, Environmental Compliance Specialist

Cherie is undoubtedly the glue that keeps UConn’s high achieving sustainability program together. Her organization, persistence, and wealth of institutional knowledge impresses me every day!  The personal investment Cherie makes toward supporting our student interns is what truly separates her in my opinion. We rely heavily on and have high expectations of our student sustainability interns. Cherie does anything she can to ensure their success, even if that means cooking for them or providing life guidance. And I’ve been the lucky recipient of more than one baked good… sometimes daily! Cherie It’s been a pleasure learning from you in my first year at UConn. Thank you for all your support – you’ve been a great teammate! The little things you do that make our lives easier and better don’t go unnoticed, so today we thank you and celebrate your achievement at UConn. Congratulations!- Patrick McKee, Sustainability Program Manager

Greg Anderson Wins Lifetime Achievement at 2018 ELAs

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Earlier this month, Greg Anderson accepted the first Lifetime Achievement Award in the 15-year history of UConn’s Environmental Leadership Awards

From 1973 and the moment he arrived in Storrs as a young assistant professor in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Greg Anderson has been a campus environmental leader, dedicating time and effort, above and beyond his internationally recognized research and academic pursuits, to making UConn a greener place. Four-and-a-half decades later, having been named a Board of Trustees’ Distinguished Professor, and served as an EEB department head, then a Vice Provost for Graduate Research & Education (VPGRE), Greg remains the “heart and soul” of the environmental movement at UConn.

Even as a semi-retired, emeritus faculty member, working from his lab in Torrey Life Sciences for the past few years, Greg is still as active, engaged and passionate about the environment as anyone on campus! Nearly 25 years ago, he founded and remains a leader of the committee that oversees UConn’s thought-provoking Teale Environmental Lecture Series.  Similarly, more than two decades ago, Greg established, and still co-chairs, the Campus Arboretum Committee, which has planted, identified, preserved and mapped out the locations of dozens of specimen trees across campus. In fact, just this past year, Greg has worked with the co-president of EcoHusky to begin a tradition of planting a graduating Class Gift Tree, using crowd-sourced funding by students and friends of the Arboretum, plus tools and expertise provided by UConn’s landscape architect and arborist staff.

His moral support and leadership has also been key to an environmentally-responsible campus.  In 2008, while serving as VPGRE, he was the senior administrator most responsible for convincing then-President Mike Hogan to sign UConn’s pledge for developing a Climate Action Plan (CAP) and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. Greg was at the front of the room, standing proudly alongside then-state DEP Commissioner Gina McCarthy (who later served eight years as head of President Obama’s EPA), when Hogan signed onto this important climate leadership commitment. And he was there four years later when Susan Herbst reaffirmed UConn’s carbon commitment upon her arrival as the University’s President.

Greg Anderson
Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, John Volin (right) and Director of the Center of Biological Risk, Associate Professor (EEB), Mark Urban (left), congratulate Greg Anderson for receiving the ELA Lifetime Achievement Award
Greg Anderson also delivered an inspiring keynote address to a full house of award winners, runners up, finalists and nominators during UConn’s 6th ELAs, held at the UConn Foundation on April 4th, 2019.

That year, and for several years after, Greg helped organize an annual series of panelists and guest speakers on topics relevant to Climate Impact, Mitigation and Adaptation, and he was instrumental in bringing his longtime colleague, Gene likens, a pre-eminent ecologist and founder of the Cary Institute for Ecosystem Studies, to UConn as President Herbst’s Special Advisor on the Environment.   The CAP has since driven UConn’s rise to the top of national and international green campus lists, according to the Sierra Club’s annual “Cool Schools,” Best Colleges, and GreenMetric World University rankings, among other sources.

The inaugural UConn Environmental Leadership Award for Lifetime Achievement looks great in the hands of Greg Anderson, the “heart and soul” of UConn’s Environmental movement for more than four decades.

2017-2018 ELA Honorees

Athlete Perspectives: Basketball Green Game Days

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We would like to spotlight our senior intern Caroline Anastasia, who has now been part of 10 Green Game Days!

More than 35 student volunteers from Ecohusky, EcoHouse, and the OEP gathered at Gampel Pavilion for two basketball Green Game Days in March to educate Husky fans about recycling and

create an atmosphere buzzing with energy about the environment. Volunteers promoted recycling by engaging with fans as they entered the stadium and by standing next to trash and recycling

containers to make sure recycling was properly sorted. Additionally, by making these games carbon neutral through the purchase of offsets, we prevented a total of 8.5 metric tons of CO2 from entering the atmosphere!  We would like to thank all of our volunteers who made these events possible and to especially spotlight our senior intern Caroline Anastasia, who has now been part of 10 Green Game Days!

 

In celebration of these events, we talked with student athletes at UConn who are passionate about the environment and appreciate the outreach that happens at events such as our Green Game Days. Here is what they had to say…

 

“Much like the human body, I believe what you put in and what you do to your body is eventually going to affect what comes out. The environment is an organism too. So, the things that we’re experiencing are a result of what we’ve done to the planet.

Education and knowledge are what changes everything. People are born uncivilized until they learn something or they’re influenced by something that leads them to make change for the better.”

– Carlton Steer, Senior Sociology Major, UConn Football Defensive Line

 

“A large majority of pollution is in our waters – oceans, rivers, lakes, ponds, etc. We’ve seen it in most of the places we’ve raced. While it may not directly affect our regatta performance, it’s a sign of a larger problem that affects all of us – if we see it here, then it’s probably worldwide, and it might be worse where people care less about the environment. It’s disheartening, it’s hard on the eyes, it’s damaging to the wildlife, and it’s why we need to keep pushing for more people to care.”

– Maxwell Miller, Sophomore Finance Major, Sailing Team President   
           

 

“In order to properly advocate for the right to health for all, it is essential to equip people with the knowledge and skills to take responsible action to protect the environment. Through caring for our planet, we make the basis for just, sustainable, and equitable health outcomes possible.”

– Jen Koo, Junior Allied Health Sciences Major, Track & Field

Thank you to the student-athletes we talked to for your thoughtful reflections. Best of luck to our Husky women’s basketball team in the Final Four tonight!