Last November, BC president Jerry Weber, Ph.D., and Rob Viens, Ph.D., dean of the Science Division, traveled to Cambridge, Massachusetts, to participate in Harvard University’s Executive Education for Sustainability Leadership program. The courses are designed to teach leaders across different industries strategies in positioning sustainability as a driver of organizational engagement, agility and innovation. Viens has been an early leader in BC’s sustainability initiatives going back to 2000 and the launch of the college’s first Earth Week celebration.
He noted that one highlight was learning more about how Leith Sharp, the director and lead faculty of the Harvard program, was able to implement change at an institution steeped in tradition.
“A lot of times there’s a grassroots sustainability effort, then a top-level sustainability initiative, but those two groups aren’t necessarily working together,” said Viens. “Leith was able to navigate that at Harvard by bringing those groups together, creating consensus, and developing goals they could all work toward.”
To continue the momentum, Viens remains part of an online group formed at the session, which includes an entrepreneur, a member of a wealth management firm, a major hotel company and a California energy firm.“It’s helpful to see where our challenges are the same, and different, across a wide variety of organizations,” said Viens. “I’m excited to put the core concepts I’ve learned into practice.”
Last Updated July 31, 2019