Championing KSU's Sustainability Initiatives

Monday, May 12, 2008

BEN CHAMPION TO DIRECT K-STATE'S MULTIPLE INITIATIVES IN SUSTAINABILITY

MANHATTAN -- Kansas State University has multiple initiatives going on to encourage the campus to go green.

The K-State administration has recognized the need for university-wide leadership of these initiatives, so Ben Champion, a 2002 K-State graduate and Rhodes scholar, is returning to campus to coordinate these efforts. Champion has been appointed to the newly formed position of director of sustainability for the university, tasked with developing a university-wide approach for addressing sustainability at K-State.

According to Tom Rawson, vice president for administration and finance, "Ben will provide leadership for sustainability efforts and be the spokesperson for K-State's initiatives in this area."

Champion will provide leadership and oversight to existing initiatives such as campus recycling and construction of green buildings on campus, but he will also identify opportunities for new initiatives, help develop curriculum, facilitate interdisciplinary research, work with students, and engage the broader community in areas where K-State can be a leader in terms of sustainability.

Champion earned K-State bachelor's degrees in chemistry, natural resources and environmental sciences with minors in Spanish and political science in 2002. He is a 2003 Rhodes scholar who in January of this year completed a doctoral degree in geography at Oxford University researching sustainable food systems.

Champion was an intern for Rep. Dennis Moore in summer 2002. He was a Udall Scholarship winner in 2000. He also was a finalist in the 2002 Truman scholarship competition. He is an Eagle Scout, a Kansas Honors Scholar, a K-State Putnam Scholar, a Howard Hughes Undergraduate Research Scholar, as well as winner of June Hull Sherrid Biology Scholarship. He was an environmental director on his residence hall floor and president of Students for Environmental Action at K-State. He is a member of Alpha Chi Sigma chemical fraternity and Golden Key and Phi Beta Kappa National Honor Societies. The son of Mike and Paula Champion, Olathe, he is a 1998 graduate of Olathe South High School.

For information on "green" activities at K-State, visit http://www.k-state.edu/media/webzine/green/index.html