Staff Spotlight: Meet Patricia Jerman

Name: Patricia L. Jerman Title: Manager, Sustainable Universities Initiative What is the Sustainable Universities Initiative? It’s an effort by the state’s three research universities (USC, Clemson, and MUSC) along with 13 other affiliated state schools to get students thinking about how the environment, the economy, and social factors all interact. We try to help them understand that if you make a change in one of those three factors you will inevitably change the other two. The SUI also works with the institutions to help them practice what they preach by demonstrating environmentally friendly ways of doing things. The SUI is funded by the V. Kahn Rasmussen Foundation, which is a Danish organization interested in sustainability issues, and I am actually jointly employed by USC, Clemson, and MUSC. How does the SUI work? Initially we tried to get a lot of different kinds of projects going to see which ones would be the most effective. We’ve had success with programs like mini-grants to encourage faculty to add sustainability and environmental content to courses. Two of our big successes are incorporation of service learning and environmentally themed courses in USC English 101 classes and Clemson’s technical and business writing courses. Another exciting focus has been MUSC’s emphasis on environmental threats to children’s health. We’ve brought faculty, staff, students, and community members together at workshops and conferences focused on issues ranging from green building to health and the environment. We’ve also supported various student projects. Some of our biggest successes have been in facilities management—smarter, more environmentally friendly ways of doing things—and the proliferation of green buildings at USC, Clemson, and Winthrop. And we’re proud of the USC Environmental Advisory Committee, which puts people from different departments into the same room to improve USC’s environmental performance. How do you describe your job? As a facilitator and networker. A lot of my job involves helping people to make connections, find things they need, and figure out how to get things done. How long have you been with the SUI? I started in 1997. The original funding is officially over, but we have applied for a renewal that would extend its work beyond the academic institutions’ borders. How did you get involved in this? After I received my master’s degree from the University in public administration in 1978, I was Gov. Dick Riley’s environmental advisor, then worked as an environmental consultant and served as the director of the S.C. Wildlife Federation. All that gave me a broad understanding of environmental issues and lots of contacts to ask for advice. What’s been the best part of the SUI job? Working with some really creative and interesting people. I’ve been doing environmental work for all of my adult life and this has been some of the most satisfying because it focuses on taking a pro-active position on what we can do rather than focusing on what someone is doing wrong and trying to get them to stop. What do you do to unwind? I read a lot, garden, play with the cats and I like to get out into the woods when I can. 3/05