3 Honored for Sustainability

Amid local food and music, three members of the NC State community were honored for outstanding contributions to campus sustainability. On April 18 at Farm Feast, an Earth Day event sponsored by University Dining, Carlos Vega, Rick Gardner and Jonathan Casper received the annual Green Brick Award from the Campus Environmental Sustainability Team.

The student recipient, Carlos Vega, is a junior economics major and residence adviser in Honors Village, where he also leads the Honors Village sustainability committee. He helped organize Honors Village participation in Shack-A-Thon, which raised money for Habitat for Humanity, and has implemented a program called Quad Bikes, a pilot project for bike sharing on campus.

“His diligence to succeed has inspired his committee, the community and the student body to be sustainable.  Carlos has greatly impacted the State community,” wrote Brian Peters in his nomination of Vega.

The staff recipient, Rick Gardner, is NC State’s associate director of student leadership and engagement and serves as one of the advisers for the Union Activities Board. Rick has inspired student event planners to make events more sustainable through efforts such as composting and purchasing carbon offsets for large events.

“Thanks to Rick’s leadership, UAB is making less of an impact on the environment and more of an impact on the students,” wrote Kaitlyn Moran in her nomination of Gardner.

The faculty recipient, Jonathan Casper, is an assistant professor in the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management. He organized a campus committee on sustainability in athletics and was instrumental in facilitating NC State’s first green baseball and football games.

“Dr. Casper’s work is influencing the sport management curriculum at NC State and other universities,” said Dorothy Anderson in her nomination of Casper. “He is a leader in the way we think about, plan, manage and educate students and professionals about sustainable practices in sport and athletic operations.”

Each winner received a recycled glass plaque and $300, presented by Jack Colby, assistant vice chancellor for Facilities Operations, and Professor Bill Winner, co-chairs of the Campus Environmental Sustainability Team.