The mission of the Center for a Sustainable Environment (CSE), formerly the Office of Sustainability (OS) and the Environmental Change Institute (ECI), was to provide assistance to the University in providing national and international leadership on sustainability by supporting education, research, and engagement and to develop and implement strategies for a sustainable campus environment.

The CSE worked with programs and initiatives related to the Sustainability Council, Sustainability Task Forces, and Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP). Furthermore, the CSE worked to report the sustainability initiatives of the University to voluntary environmental surveys and made sure the University continued to reach the standards they have signed to.

The CSE also worked on outreach by maintaining a website and sending out a weekly electronic newsletter. Information on the website and in the newsletters included seminars/ conferences/ workships, course offerings, funding opportunities, and other announcements related to sustainability on campus.

The center was approved by the Academic Senate on December 3, 2012. During summer 2013, the CSE employed three full-time employees and one student intern.

A gift from the Alvin H. Baum Family Foundation supported the CSE.