Contact: Jim Laird
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Mississippi State's work to achieve a "greener" campus, as well as efforts of the university's sustainability coordinator, are being recognized by the Tennessee Valley Authority.
Jeremiah Dumas recently was named a "Campus Sustainability Pioneer" by TVA and the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy as part of the Green Power Switch Leadership Awards recognition program.
"I accepted the award on behalf of everyone on our campus working to achieve greater energy and transportation efficiency, greener purchasing, education and research," said the assistant research professor who leads the land-grant institution's sustainability initiative.
Dumas, an MSU alumnus, said the recognition "helps us get our own campus in order, and does so in a way that educates and showcases our success to all those who work, study and visit here. Not to mention that this type of publicity is also very important from a recruiting standpoint, as we know that sustainability is becoming a factor as students make their college choices."
The Students for a Sustainable Campus organization submitted Dumas' nomination. SSC's president, senior geosciences major Elizabeth A. "Liz" Kazal of Ocean Springs, also attended the TVA awards program in Memphis, Tenn.
TVA, local distributors of its power and members of the environmental community launched Green Power Switch in 2000 as the first-of-its-kind program in the Southeast.
The effort is designed to help ensure that renewable energy from wind, solar and landfill gas is added to TVA's power supply. For more, visit www.greenpowerswitch.com.