Clarkson University’s Response to Wall Street Journal Op-Ed
Yes, WSJ, Clarkson University has an ad out for a Sustainability Coordinator/Alpine Ski Coach.
If the Wall Street Journal had called before trying to poke a university world known for its winter sports and recreation as well as its engineering prowess in implementing best practices in environmental sustainability, they might have heralded Clarkson University for having a Sustainability Coordinator/Alpine Ski Coach job opening.
Turns out when you’re a University that attracts serious students who graduate with jobs that earn the top 2% of salaries in the nation after participating competitively in intercollegiate sports like ice hockey, alpine skiing, and Nordic skiing; that do things like enter clean snowmobile engineering challenges; that has a popular outing club that hikes in the Adirondacks year round; and that has hosted FISU’s 2023 World University Winter Games; you’re going to attract employees who can combine their areas of professional expertise including those who care about saving winter for the next generation.
Maybe Clarkson is unique in higher education for Athletics & Recreation to partner with our Institute for a Sustainable Environment and other divisions to fill a job together. In order to make best use of our students’ hard earned tuition dollars, we seek to collaborate across traditional departments wherever possible for open positions -- particularly those that have defined seasons like a coach. Our coaching staff work with a variety of departments across our University and this hiring is just one example of innovative problem solving at its finest.
Comparing last fiscal year to 2005 when we began assessing greenhouse gas (GHG), we have increased Clarkson’s facility footprint by 54%, decreased our overall electric energy consumption by 2% with a 9% savings on electricity cost, and decreased our natural gas use by 16% with a 17% cost savings all while achieving a 31.4% decrease in GHG. Our energy savings from responsible management of athletic venues and transportation dedicated to winter sports and recreation are a big part of this. We measure and pay attention to what we manage -- and save money.
Look at a map -- more than half of all Canadians live south of Clarkson’s campus in Potsdam, New York which is also an hour northwest of Lake Placid, an international destination for winter. While much of the country is dealing with record heat indexes and contemplating the impacts of climate change, we love winter and we love loving it economically and efficiently.
The WSJ Op-Ed, “Bidenomics and the Boom in DEI and ESG Jobs, Young grads are finding employment helping companies not run afoul of progressive orthodoxies," Published online 7/16, 4:56 pm can be found in their online edition at https://www.wsj.com/articles/bidenomics-and-the-boom-in-dei-and-esg-jobs-college-grads-disclosure-8c284ca0?st=h7u86wey26o9aoa&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
