Babson Duo Honored With Inaugural Shelley Kaplan Sustainability Award
Babson College is pleased to announce the first ever recipients of the Shelley Kaplan Sustainability Award
– Steve Tolley, for sustainability in practice, and
– Vikki Rodgers, for sustainability in research/academics.
Kaplan Sustainability Award
Shelley Kaplan
The Kaplan Sustainability Award was established in 2013 to honor Shelley Kaplan, who, in his 12 years of service, led the development of Babson College’s sustainability program, creating significant environmental, social, and economic value at Babson.
Kaplan was able to incorporate sustainability into all aspects of his work, making a profound and lasting impact not only in the energy, waste, and water that was reduced during his tenure but also by providing education and awareness of this important topic of sustainability to all who have worked with him.
The Kaplan Sustainability Award is awarded to groups or individuals (faculty or staff) at Babson College who have advanced Sustainability at Babson in one of two areas:
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Sustainability in Practice
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Sustainability in Research/Academics
Steve Tolley
Tolley has been the Assistant Director, Grounds, Building Services & Sustainability at Babson College since July 2006. Previously he served as Grounds Manager since April 2004. He serves as Babson’s representative on the Town of Wellesley Sustainable Energy Committee. Under his leadership, Tolley and his coworkers have helped the College make great strides in the area of sustainability:
- Babson was honored in 2012 by Wellesley’s Board of Selectmen as one of several organizations that provided a leadership role in helping Wellesley become the first and only EPA designated Green Power Community in the state. Wellesley continues to hold this laudable designation.
- Babson has achieved a Silver Rating from the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System™ (STARS), the newest and most extensive rating program for sustainability in higher education.
- Babson has reduced its carbon footprint by more than 33 percent during the past nine years in an effort to reach our goal of becoming a carbon-neutral campus.
- Babson’s new residence hall will be LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver rated or better.
- As a result of a sponsorship grant from Toyota obtained by the Babson Energy and Environmental Club, the College installed a pair of EV charging stations for plug-in electric hybrids, which are available to anyone visiting the campus.
- Babson has joined Wellesley Municipal Light Plant (WMLP) to become an EPA Green Power Partner by purchasing 5 percent of our electricity as green power from renewable sources such as wind and implementing a multimillion-dollar series of energy conservation projects during the past three years to reduce energy consumption in support of WMLP’s goals
- Diverting food waste to be composted at local farms, producing valuable soil instead of being incinerated
- Babson adopted single stream recycling in 2011. The college’s recycling rate has improved from 13% in 2006 to 27% in 2014.
Vikki Rodgers Associate Professor of Environmental Science
Vikki Rodgers
Rodgers joined Babson College in September 2007 and currently teaches courses in: Environmental Technology (SCN2410), Economic Botany (SCN3630), Case Studies in Ecological Management (NST2020), and Ecotourism, Biodiversity, and Conservation Policy in Costa Rica (CXD3662). Rodgers received her B.S. in Biology at the University of New Hampshire in 1999 and her Ph.D. in Forest Ecology and Biogeochemistry at Boston University in 2007. Her research interests are focused on understanding the numerous effects humans are having on various natural ecosystems. She is interested in all aspects of global environmental change, including the effects of climate change, land use change, nitrogen deposition, and the spread of invasive species.
Currently she is working at the Boston Area Climate Experiment (BACE) in Waltham, MA, to study how ecosystems shift under various climate change scenarios. She has involved a number of Babson students in her research projects and she co-created and organizes a new concentration in Environmental Sustainability. She also created a new senior award for students who excel academically in Environmental Sustainability. She has organized environmental events on campus that range from academic seminars to a global warming teach-in to networking dinners that connect current students with recent alums working in environmental fields.
Recognition at Babson
RECOGNITION PHILOSOPHY Babson College has three strategic goals: to be known as the educator for Entrepreneurship of All Kinds™; to extend our capabilities to the world; and to ensure a fully sustainable financial model for the College.
Rewards and Recognition We believe supporting the College’s strategy requires alignment and partnership with Human Resources practices as we work determinedly to retain the best and the brightest supported by our rewards and recognition program. By creating an organizational culture of high performance and drive aligned with the College’s strategy, we have designed a recognition philosophy that is agile, engaging, and innovative in order to meet the needs of all of our diverse and multitalented community members. Babson College is committed to being fair, flexible, competitive, and forward thinking when designing and implementing faculty and staff rewards and recognition practices. The College’s recognition program is designed to: Recognize employees who excel in their commitment to living the College’s core values Engage employees through timely and effective recognition of outstanding achievements by their colleagues, managers, and the community Provide managers with the necessary tools to engage team members both individually and departmentally Babson considers both monetary and nonmonetary options when rewarding and recognizing employees. Our goal is to ensure that our employees are valued for the contributions they make to our overall success.