Dear Partner Institutions, We hope this email finds you well. We’re writing with updates about several ongoing/upcoming projects:

1. RSVP for the Smart and Sustainable Conferences Meet-up: On Sunday, April 3rd from 5-7 PM we’ll hold our semi-annual Big Ten and Friends Sustainability Group (BTFSG) meeting at the Hyatt Regency Baltimore to discuss our governance structure and the Big Ten Prospectus, among other topics. As in Minneapolis, we plan to meet for dinner afterward as well. Please RSVP here. If you have a topic for discussion, please email Michael (mgulich@purdue.edu).
2. Progress Toward Governance Structure: Michael, Erik Foley, and Leanne Bilodeau are reengaging the Governance Working Group to discuss potential structures and the development of a BTFSG charter. They will be reaching out this spring to collect feedback from BTFSG partner institutions. If you’re interested in participating in this discussion, email Michael (mgulich@purdue.edu).
3. Big Ten Prospectus Update: The Planning Team has synthesized the feedback from the pre-AASHE meeting in Minneapolis and significantly narrowed down the outcome/metrics set for each priority area. On Monday, February 15th we met with the MWG to discuss their feedback on the outcomes and metrics, and this week the Planning Team is pulling together a final set of metrics for data collection. After considering the potential burden on partners, we hope to limit the request to no more than one metric per priority area (six total). Please look for a detailed project completion schedule with the data/feedback request next Wednesday, March 9th. No action is required at this time. For those of you interested, we’re sharing the draft resources compiled for the MWG to aid them in reviewing the narrowed outcome/metric sets. Please keep in mind that the draft resources presented here ask the MWG to narrow the bundle to a set of metrics for collection—again, since our conversation with the MWG, we have decided that only a few of these will be sent out for collection.
   • Process background and instructions: This two-pager explains the steps the Planning Team followed in synthesizing feedback and narrowing down the metrics set after the pre-AASHE meeting. It also provides review guidelines for the MWG. This (very roughly produced!) video also provides instructions. 
   • Priority area narratives: These six draft narratives provide: 1) rough background summarizing feedback collected during the pre-AASHE meeting, and 2) informal explanations of the narrowed set of outcomes and metrics, including areas where the Planning Team expressed reservations about a selection and needs specific feedback. Links to the each narrative can be found here:
     • Education
     • Research
     • Organizational Health
     • Diversity and Inclusion
     • Partnerships
     • Financial Stewardship
   • Narrowed outcome and metric set: These two figures illustrate the outcomes and metrics for all priority areas:
   •  All outcomes selected for MWG review (download and zoom-in for increased visibility)
   • All outcomes and metrics selected for MWG review (download and zoom-in for increased visibility)

Please let us know if you have any comments, questions, or concerns about the above. We hope to see you in Baltimore this April!

Denice and Michael (and Emilie)