http://www.jmu.edu/bethechange

James Madison University - Index

James Madison University - Madison Magazine - Summer 2009 - Index

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Sustainable friends
change JMU culture
Maria brought the science and Towana brought the business. Together they spurred one of the most significant shifts in JMU Maria Papadakis
and Towana
history — one that has influenced every component of campus. When President Linwood H. Rose looked around in 2007
Moore brought
for two people to chair a new commission on environmental stewardship, he tapped Maria Papadakis, professor of integrated their expertise
to bear on the
science, and Towana Moore, associate vice president for business services. Together they surmounted the huge task of pulling
commission on
together a plethora of programs and people, all interested in changing the culture of JMU into an incubator of ideas, plans and environmental
stewardship.
dreams of a university community practicing the emerging arts and sciences of environmental stewardship. Papadakis says, the
group tackled the “big environmental domains: air, water, transportation, energy, renewable energy, agriculture, soils.” She also brought her science to
bear. “We’re a moving target … as people are saving energy we’re also adding new facilities. To get a handle on this, we go in and measure the impacts
of different savings initiatives.” That’s the science. Moore looked at their mission with a practicable eye. “From a business point of view,” she says, “we
were interested because we’re looking at ways to save money … and it’s the right thing to do.” What Papadakis and Moore found was a lot of natural
collaboration. In fact, Moore says, “it is one of the things that’s so nice about working at JMU. Our whole alternative fuel program is a collaborative
project between facilities management and the faculty in Maria’s area. It’s so much better when you have everybody working together.”
While Moore and Papadakis were leading the charge for JMU’s responsible environmental future, they became friends. “Getting to know Maria
has been the icing on the cake,” Moore says. “I’ve gotten a really great friend,” Maria echoes. Sustainable friends.
BE the CHANGE
Learn more about Moore and Papadakis at www.jmu.edu/BetheChange/