Becoming Sustainable in Our Own Way: Sustainability at the Flagship Massachusetts Public University

This presentation was delivered at the 2016 World Symposium on Sustainable Development at Universities . It outlines a case study of the comprehensive sustainability efforts undertaken by the University of Massachusetts Amherst and evaluates its progress by applying Kotter’s 8-step approach to change management to multiple phases of the campus development efforts. Emphasis is placed on efforts to integrate sustainability goals with campus master planning, facility plans, green building policies, governance and educational and operations teaching and research initiatives. The presentation also outlines concrete steps for comprehensive physical planning that universities may consider as they integrate change management practices for sustainable development into their campus’ vision of sustainability. Publication of a paper of the same title will be published by Springer in Handbook of Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development in Higher Education - Volume 3, 2017