I am pleased to announce the faculty-in-residence appointment of Associate Professor Katherine Kao Cushing as special assistant to the president and director of sustainability. She will assume her new duties effective July 20, 2009.
Dr. Cushing has served on the University Sustainability Task Force since fall 2008, where she made important contributions in the areas of policy, curriculum and research. For the past three years, she has been working with interested San Jose State students, faculty, staff and administrators to promote campus sustainability and understand the environmental attitudes, behaviors and aspirations of the SJSU community. In this new position, she will apply her knowledge and skills to establish San Jose State as a regional leader in sustainability across all aspects of the university, ranging from teaching and research to facility operations to procurement.
Working with seniors in the Department of Environmental Studies, Dr. Cushing has surveyed over 800 students on their environmental attitudes and behaviors. She has also conducted focus groups of faculty, staff and administrators on sustainability issues. Her most recent sustainability projects include assembling a docket of low-cost campus sustainability projects and assessing sustainability programs across the 23-campus California State University system.
Dr. Cushing earned her PhD from Stanford University in civil and environmental engineering in 1998 and subsequently joined the San Jose State faculty as an assistant professor of environmental studies in 2003. Her research and teaching focus on water resources management and environmental policy implementation. She currently serves as the graduate coordinator and assessment coordinator for her department.
Please join me in welcoming Dr. Cushing to her new position.
- Jon Whitmore, President
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