Culture and Sustainability Task Force
10/8/13
Summary
Summary of Conversation Topics
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Created a heritage geo-database, which Sam Lingeman in Campus Planning will link to
o Geo-database already, base layers, buildings at UNH, properties and more
o SEE SLIDES
o Will take cultural database and put it into the Dig Safe system to include in his that
system
 Will now show up with the many other items listed in a Dig Safe report i.e.
cables etc.
o 2 levels, arch sites and heritage buildings
o Followed national register of historic sites
 Had talked about the pool and other sites that are already being discussed on
campus
o What should be included? What buildings? What basic data?
 Both Architectural
o Build from this Best practices for tangible cultural heritage places on campus
Sila: Play in February
o Anything we can be doing to support efforts of production?
 Right now looking to get in touch with leaders of other indigenous culture. Any
connection to scholars of Inuit culture,
 Virtually no one that can add expertise on Inuit culture, and especially anyone
that can speak to Inuit culture with respect to climate change.
 Sara Cleaves is leading the charge in that area, have connected with Jennifer
Moses in the Art Dept.
o Play will have 5 performances
 Encourage faculty to put on their spring syllabi
Key Agreements
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Working group?
o Collect historical significance of a building
o Who would that be?
Tying collection of stories into the 150th anniversary in 2016: collect 150 stories about campus
history
Outstanding Questions
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Next Steps
The group identified the following next steps (or commitments) during the meeting:
What
Who
Send slides of geo-database information to group
Megan H.
Jess sending information on BSU event
Jess
Anyone in CAST who would like to be a part of the review
All members
process of the liberal arts and sustainability curriculum awards,
please let Jess or Megan know
o Can also give feedback on applications via
email
Send copy of Resilience manifesto to CAST
Culture and Sustainability Task Force – 10/8/13
By When
Deadline for
applications is
end of October
Tom
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Culture and Sustainability Task Force
10/8/13
Detailed Notes
Participants
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Nelson Barber, Paul Business School
Doug Bencks, Campus Planning
Jackie Cullen Sustainability Institute at
UNH
Kristina Durocher, UNH Museum of
Art,
El Farrell, Sustainability Institute at
UNH
Jessica Fish, Center for Humanities
Curt Grimm, Carsey Institute
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Meghan Howey, Anthropology
David Kaye, Dept. of Theater
Tom Kelly, Sustainability Institute at
UNH
Mike Middleton, Education
Robert Macieski UNH Manchester and
Museum Program
Ann Steeves, TF Ambassador
Facilitator: Meghan Howey, Jessica Fish
Content Manager: Jackie Cullen
Introduction of TF Ambassador, Ann Steeves
Possible initiatives for her to work on
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Interested in Sustainability in general, dual major in EgoG, focused on food sustainability,
involved in Real Food challenge campaign
Work study job with 4-H Cooperative Extension, have a lot of history on UNH, annual reports
from 1920’s to present with a lot of pictures included. Interesting to think about being a leader in
sustainability and translating into an environment where people have “buy in” to sustainable
lifestyles. Institutionalizing the concept of sustainability on a larger scale
o Great to talk about what’s in all of the boxes that Cooperative Extension has
o 2014 is the 100 anniversary of Cooperative Extension
Update on Heritage Management Plan
Show and tell, discussion, Megan
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Haven’t made a lot of progress on the plan but Doug put in touch with Sam Lingeman, Campus
Planning
Created a heritage geo-database, which Sam will link to
o Geo-database already, base layers, buildings at UNH, properties and more
o SEE SLIDES
o Will take cultural database and put it into the Dig Safe system to include in his that
system
 Will now show up with the many other items listed in a Dig Safe report i.e.
cables etc.
o 2 levels, arch sites and heritage buildings
o Followed national register of historic sites
Culture and Sustainability Task Force – 10/8/13
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Had talked about the pool and other sites that are already being discussed on
campus
o What should be included? What buildings? What basic data?
 Both Architectural
o Build from this best practices for tangible cultural heritage places on campus
Question from Nelson Barber: McConnell to my knowledge, hasn’t been any tracking of the
history of the building, how did we get there, what happened in the building, etc. Now we’ve
moved to the new building and will build a history there, should every college/building have a
person who is the designated historian to capture and record that information?
o Staff member, student
o How do we even capture the data of the recent transition when it’s 40 years from now?
o UNH has archives now that are substantial but not necessarily comprehensive
 Opportunity to collect information
 There does exist a wealth of information now on buildings, events that have
happened, etc. Who collects that?
 Should archive staff come to CAST and explain what they do,
 Potential to build off of the system that already exists
 Staff/faculty that has been in the buildings for decades don’t have a place where
their information is stored
 Ties into the oral history project that Kristina is doing/has talked about
 Archives are structured network vs. doing it in a decentralized way, like
representatives in the buildings
 Bill to come to CAST, explain what’s collected and how, and have conversation
about other aspects that we’re wondering about.
 Pettee House – daughter moved to CA, took it with her and put it at UC
Berkeley,
 Encourage oral histories to be recorded, passed down
o Michigan has an app: MSUseum: of archeological sites
 Student archeological students built the app.
 A lot of potential there for student project
o As UNH begins celebrating 150th anniversary, collecting 150 stories
 Terminal point, definite goal, attainable
 Anniversary will be year 2016
 Great opportunity for fundraising, might help in attaining funds for videos and
work into a project of that scale
o Can have a campus oral history class
o The idea of valuing what came before is a huge shift
o Using buildings as a way to reignite affiliations, former alums,
o How many departments already have their own archival materials as part of their website
or other materials?
 Retired faculty member in education is taking time this year to create such a site
Review: currently no heritage management plan at UNH, CAST can be driving force behind
creating one
o First step forward to create a working log of all sites that we know exist, archeological
sites, potential native American sites
 Have a document of what we know with 100% certainty exists
Follow up with Bill to get him in to talk to CAST
Begin to talk to people about buildings knowledge
Geo-database
o Names of confirmed sites
Culture and Sustainability Task Force – 10/8/13
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o
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Historical significance
 Very high label was given only to things that could be on national register
o Precise vs. imprecise markings
o Veteran Dorms, WW2 married housing
 Information could be included in memorial room in the MUB
o Including UNH Manchester
 Manchester campus: Already have workup of historic significance of the couple
of site there, both on national registry
o Mark Ducey in Natural Resources
 Students go through farms on campus, can go through cultural features too.
 How to map cultural sites on a farm
 Many students walk past cellar holes all the time
o Question: Database has original architects, renovation architects, building materials etc.
 Also have aerial photos of 40’s and 50’s that are overlaid onto this information
o Architectural Minor exists on campus, tapping into those students
Working group?
o Collect historical significance of a building
o Who would that be?
o Rank them like national register of very significant, etc.
o Biodiversity context discussed for years, this kind of database that would support
management decisions but also teaching and research, even something like 150th
anniversary
o Work in concert with 150th anniversary
 Advancement
 Mica Stark interim for Communications and Marketing, good person to
start with
 Foundation, presidential events, alumni association
Tom Lee Land Committee
o Will be in contact when he schedules the first meeting
Soul Food Junkies: Update
Collaboration with Black Student Union
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Race/Ethnic Studies, Black Student Union
Oct 21st
Culture Identity through food in black community, also food justice, access to food.
BSU is very excited about it. President will help Jess moderate afterwards, Month of Food
Citizenship is also now involved
Jess will be in touch offline about getting the word out
o Sending flyer out via email
Also have a lot of race and ethnic studies in the next month, Calendar handed out and will be
attached in email
Liberal Arts and Sustainability Faculty Grants
Offered by UNHSI
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Deadline is end of October, collecting applications now
Courtney Marshall last spring, Race and economic/environmental aftermath of Katrina
Megan and Jess on committee to review applications
Culture and Sustainability Task Force – 10/8/13
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Anyone in CAST who would like to be a part of the review process to please let Jess or Megan
know
o Can also give feedback on applications via email
o Last year got 9 applications, gave out 8
o Stipend is $3000, $2000 for initial development, $1000 when implemented
o Have to have department chair approval
 Limits in some departments on what would be Discovery Category
o Restricted to faculty? For now, yes
o Have another category for co-curricular opportunities
o http://sustainableunh.unh.edu/casrfp
RGSCP initiative update: Tom Kelly
Responsible Governance and Sustainable Citizenship Project
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Responsible Governance and Sustainable Citizenship Project: RGSCP
Funding from settlement for Tyco illegalities a decade ago, state of NH settled, weren’t sure they
would get what they wanted in court so they made a settlement
Large chunk given to the state, overseen by secretary of state, supposed to go towards
business/corporate ethics
Long history of disconnects between holders of the money and UNH
Drawn in because of collaborations for years with classics dept., Interest by secretary’s office that
history be a part of this rather than technical ethics course,
o Got together and discussed how sustainability and ethics can be explored
o Proposal accepted, $5 million dollar endowment to COLA for classics program to host
initiative
o Official language” will promote this citizenship, principled leadership, responsible
governance and …… TOM
Will in short run do something that focuses on the Tyco case and the ethics of corporate boards
Cultural questions of ethics/governance and institutions
Website, as things get rolling we’ll bring it to this committee for updates
Any activities proposed so far?
o Discussion to try to do something this fall, one possibility to look at ideas of B
corporations
 Area I (tom) don’t know a lot about: essentially US legal culture upholds the
notion f corporate responsibility being of service to shareholders
 Being challenged by alternative form of corporation
 More than 20 states have passed legislation to create B corporations that
have the triple/quad bottom line
 Environment, working conditions, other social environmental values are
requirement not option
 Rather than look back on Tyco, look forward in context of movement
 Will be effort to get into NH legislature
 Whole discourse of conception of what a corporation is and isn’t
 One course now of ethics
Controversy surrounding decision of how money was allocated
o St. Anselm got a chunk, other institutions upset because St. Anselm is private
Ken Fuld, Tom, Steve T is Chair for first term, Sec. States office rep, Steve Brunet from classics
on the steering committee
o In language designating who will be on committee i.e. Tom or a designee
Culture and Sustainability Task Force – 10/8/13
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Symposium this summer with Siobhan
Sustainability and Ethnicity
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Manifesto on resilience will be published in a resilience journal
o Discusses sustainability and race and other issues
Tom emailing a copy to group
Many people interested in African burial ground in Portsmouth NH
Place-based. Connects sustainability science, co-production of knowledge with
community/practitioners
Sila update
David Kaye
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Sila is the winner of the cultural stages international play-writing prize
Play that won fit into this committees mission, culture and sustainability at it’s heart
Playwright from Quebec,
o What’s happening to Inuit communities in the Canadian arctic,
o Drilling, environment
Focuses on what happens when we get very tunneled vision
What happens when there are different groups but all disconnected
o i.e. activists stumbling over each other rather than combining in a cohesive way
Taps into Inuit mythology and culture
Central characters in play are polar bear and her cub
o Depicted through puppetry
Planning to make it a substantial event, in addition to world premiere of production a month later
at underground railroad theater in Boston
Meeting with Sara Cleaves, Deb Kinghorn, Amy Cunningham, Fiona Gettinger from SEAC
o Tying in with dialogue on water on campus
o Connecting with leading people there to make sure it’s an official event around that
dialogues
o Lining up speakers for panel after each performance
 Combo of people on campus as well as outside, trying to see where we can find
funding
 Sheila Watts Cloutier Inuit woman, activist, Inuit culture and what’s happening
to them as a result of climate change.
Play is third week in February
Playwright competition:
o Cultural stages, UNH international drama and dance initiative
o Event every two years, alternates between international playwriting contest and an artist
in residence, hopefully focused on a play focused on a culture outside the US
o Right now focusing on Croatia, world premiere of a translation of a Croatian play
Brainstorming session over the summer
o Idea was the possibility of some sort of co-production with NHPTV that focused on all of
this thinking we’ve been doing around culture and sustainability.
o Might be an opportunity for them to talk about what’s been going on in their heads,
whatever their discipline, intercut that with elements of Sila.
o Intercut with Esculous plays into one play, interesting how they can be tied into dramatic
pieces
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o
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Long and short is that NHPTV is down to skeletal staff, no real production element other
than ongoing programming.
 Really means we pay 100% of cost, and NHPTV more likely to air it
 For a piece like this, talking about a fairly big chunk of change, and also time
sensitive, production would begin right after Winter break
 Idea is far-reaching but not dead yet
 President interested but not enough to put up money for it
Anything we can be doing to support efforts of production?
o Right now looking to get in touch with leaders of other indigenous culture. Any
connection to scholars of Inuit culture,
o Virtually no one that can add expertise on Inuit culture, and especially anyone that can
speak to Inuit culture with respect to climate change.
o Sara Cleaves is leading the charge in that area, have connected with Jennifer Moses in the
Art Dept.
Play will have 5 performances
o Encourage faculty to put on their spring syllabi
Bike Rack project: Update
Collaboration with other TF’s on waste?
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Jennifer Moses w/ Ken Fuld
Designed by students and built in the Art Dept. Developed into a course being offered this fall
o Yesterday heard student proposal for racks to be built on campus
o 9 presentations, down to 5, three will be built, work with Aesthetics committee,
transportation office,
o Transforming from a place where people ride bikes to a bicycle culture
Ideas for Ann’s Blog posts
Deb Kinghorn – director for Sila
Blog about the bike rack sculpture projects
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