{"id":29390,"date":"2016-08-12T12:53:20","date_gmt":"2016-08-12T16:53:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=29390"},"modified":"2017-03-14T14:04:18","modified_gmt":"2017-03-14T18:04:18","slug":"catalyst-stewardship-ray-martin-helps-emu-partners-launch-center-sustainable-climate-solutions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2016\/catalyst-stewardship-ray-martin-helps-emu-partners-launch-center-sustainable-climate-solutions\/","title":{"rendered":"A catalyst for stewardship, Ray Martin helps EMU and partners to launch the Center for Sustainable Climate Solutions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Holding his 19-month-old grandson, Ray Martin told the audience gathered at Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) Thursday afternoon why he had made a generous donation to study and combat the issues of climate change.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re playing fast and loose with God\u2019s creation,\u201d Martin said. \u201cI feel as if I owe it to him,\u201d nodding toward his grandson, \u201cto leave our planet, our earthly home, in good shape.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Center for Sustainable Climate Solutions, launched Thursday with a $1 million donation from Martin, will aid that goal. Led by EMU, the center will also include Goshen (Indiana) College and Mennonite Central Committee as founding institutions, with additional partners expected to join later.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Center will stimulate and motivate our commitment at all levels,\u201d Martin said. \u201cIt will be a visible statement to the larger world that Mennonites are serious about climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n

Collaboration with other like-minded groups and organizations will create \u201can impact felt much beyond Mennonite circles,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

An oversight board, chaired by EMU provost Fred Kniss<\/a>, is developing more concrete plans and objectives for the Center. Kniss said the work will focus on four areas: connecting with a national and global network, researching best practices, educating by sharing findings, and innovating through new ideas and methods.<\/p>\n

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Members of the oversight board and leadership team gather.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWhen a generous donor with a passion for addressing an important problem is able to link hands with an institution that shares his or her passion, good things can happen,\u201d Kniss said. \u201cWe have an exciting year coming up. There\u2019s a lot of work to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mobilizing commitment<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Each of the three founding partners will have two representatives on the oversight board, with Deidre Smeltzer<\/a>, vice president and undergraduate academic dean, and Jim Yoder<\/a>, professor of biology, serving as the EMU representatives.<\/p>\n

The interim EMU leadership team that will guide the work includes Jenni Holsinger<\/a>, associate professor of sociology; Jonathan Lantz-Trissel<\/a>, sustainability coordinator; Scott Barge<\/a>, director of institutional research; and Jack Rutt<\/a>, special projects support for the provost\u2019s office. The oversight board expects to select a permanent director to start in fall 2017.<\/p>\n

The new initiative fits well with a Mennonite tradition of \u201ctransformative education,\u201d said Interim President Lee Snyder<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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The Rev. Mitch C. Hescox, president of Evangelical Environmental Network, was present for the afternoon ceremonies.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt feels like today we are taking a rather bold step forward to address climate change,\u201d Snyder said. \u201cHowever we are grounded in the strength of God\u2019s faithfulness and a global faith community where we share the call to be good stewards of the planet for the well-being of all of God\u2019s creatures.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among those present to celebrate the launch were members of the climate change activism community, including The Rev. Mitch C. Hescox, president of Evangelical Environmental Network<\/a>; Karen Leu, program coordinator of Interfaith Power and Light<\/a>; and Charlie Strickler, co-founder of Climate Action Alliance of the Valley<\/a>, and several other members; and Tom Benevento, of New Community Project<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Lead donor Martin prefers to be called an \u2018investor\u2019 in the future<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Martin, a native of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, who now lives in northern Virginia, attended Eastern Mennonite College from 1959 to 1961 before finishing his bachelor\u2019s degree in economics at Goshen. He went on to a long career in international development and global health work through USAID, the World Bank and other organizations.<\/p>\n

This past April, he contacted EMU to broach the idea of making \u201ca major investment in addressing climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martin said he selected EMU to lead the effort due to his familiarity with the school, which was \u201chugely formative\u201d in his life, along with EMU\u2019s longstanding commitment to sustainability and its innovative, \u201ccutting-edge\u201d spirit with initiatives like the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding<\/a> and leadership for the Collaborative MBA<\/a> program.<\/p>\n

\u201cEMU\u2019s history and the various programs that EMU conceptualized and launched were just evidence of an institution that had a lot going for it,\u201d Martin said. \u201cI came to see EMU was doing even more than I had realized, and I decided EMU as an institution to lead this might be a good bet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martin cited capital projects and curricular alignment as two overt signs of EMU\u2019s commitment to sustainability<\/a>. The campus has one of Virginia\u2019s largest commercial-scale solar arrays atop Hartzler Library, as well as LEED-certified residence halls and other energy-efficient buildings, and five campus gardens.<\/p>\n

EMU also offers a major in environmental sustainability<\/a> and weaves creation care into curricular offerings. This scholarly commitment was solidified in EMU\u2019s accreditation with Southern Association of Colleges and Schools by the inclusion of an expansive Quality Enhancement Plan titled Peace with Creation: Sustainability from an Anabaptist Perspective<\/a><\/em>.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Kenneth Newbold, Goshen College provost, visits with EMU Interim President Lee Snyder. With Mennonite Central Committee, Goshen College is a partner in the new center.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A second partnership with MCC<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), meanwhile, received another major gift from Martin this past year to start a maternal-child health project in memory of Martin\u2019s wife, Luann. MCC East Coast region executive director Bruce Campbell-Janz says he looks forward to partnering with the climate change effort, as well.<\/p>\n

Quoting scripture from Hebrews 10, which encourages the church to \u201cprovoke one another to love and good deeds,\u201d Campbell-Janz thanked Martin for his \u201choly provocation\u201d on this issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m excited about the founding of the Center and the challenge it presents to MCC to deepen its engagement,\u201d Campbell-Janz said, noting the importance of climate change as a social justice issue. \u201cThose least responsible for the climate change process are often the most affected.\u201d<\/p>\n

Likewise, Goshen College \u2013 <\/span>which operates the Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center and provides leadership for the Mennonite Creation Care Network \u2013 <\/span>sees this new effort as a natural place for partnership.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis work really does confirm our longtime commitment as a denomination to address climate change, environmental stewardship and the care of the creation that God has provided for us,\u201d Goshen College Provost Kenneth Newbold said. \u201cIt gives us yet another tool and resource to advance the important efforts we have undertaken. We\u2019re here to focus on solutions and take action.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kniss, his EMU counterpart, said the oversight board will \u201cflesh out\u201d next steps in the coming months. An additional advisory board of experts will provide further input, and a broader consultation with partners is planned for spring 2017.<\/p>\n

\"Center<\/a>