The 2015 iCAP, chapter 12, objective 1 is, "Create a hub for the sustainability community: to develop a comprehensive online gateway for faculty, staff, students, potential donors, and all interested parties to find information about sustainability research, education, outreach, initiatives, and operations." In the quest to become a pre-eminent research university with a land-grant mission and global impact, integrating sustainable practices in our research, classes, and buildings – every facet of campus – is a necessity and has been identified as a priority by our students and faculty.

We were excited to take another major step in that effort with formal establishment of the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment – iSEE – and the appointment of a permanent director, plant biology professor, Evan DeLucia. This is one of the first recommendations that came out of the 2013 Visioning Future Excellence conversations and was also identified as a goal in the campus strategic plan. The institute will serve as a research and educational hub for environmental and sustainability initiatives for the entire campus community.