Date: January 9, 2018
To: The NYU Community
From: President Andrew Hamilton and Provost Katherine Fleming

Few challenges will be more pressing in the decades ahead than climate change. Our principal campus is situated in a coastal city; our medical center sits at the water’s edge. Those of us who were present for Hurricane Sandy’s aftermath received a powerful preview of how rising sea levels, for one, could disrupt the normal rhythms of our lives.

The University is committed to continue taking concrete actions to reduce its carbon footprint; to make sustainability a higher priority within our community, both individually and institutionally; to operate more sustainably; and to be a sustainability leader in higher education.

To advance those goals, we are pleased to announce the appointment of Cecil Scheib as the Assistant Vice President for Sustainability.

Cecil returns to NYU after nearly six years during which he served as the Managing Director of the Building Resiliency Task Force for the City of New York and Chief Program Officer at Urban Green Council. As Director of Energy and Sustainability at NYU from 2007 to 2012, Cecil was intimately involved in shaping NYU’s program of green efforts and ambitions. From the co-gen plant to the Green Grants Program, from electrical usage reductions to greater diversion of NYU’s solid waste, from weaving sustainability into our procurement to the drafting of our Green Action Plan, Cecil had a guiding hand in it all. Cecil – who was a founder of the eco-village Dancing Rabbit – earned a BS in civil and environmental engineering from Stanford University; is a New York State licensed professional engineer; and is a Certified Energy Manager and LEED Accredited Professional.

NYU can point to significant strides it has made in recent years. Aggressive energy-management, including lighting, controls, and equipment, allowed NYU to meet its 30% carbon reduction commitment years ahead of schedule. The building of our sophisticated co-generation plant, which went online in 2011, has helped further reduce electrical consumption and provided us with resiliency during black-outs. We have incorporated sustainability into our building design discussions and construction practices. And commuting to classes and work at NYU relies much more on greener strategies – mass transit, bicycling – than many of our peer institutions.
 
We will look to Cecil to build on this strong base and make NYU into a recognized national leader.

In naming Cecil, we also want to note the work of Dianne Anderson, who is currently and will remain Director of the Office of Sustainability.  She will continue to shape important established sustainability programs as part of her ongoing leadership role within the office. Dianne has been pivotal to motivating and uniting students, staff, and faculty across campus over the last 10 years, and we thank her for her excellent work.

We consciously chose to make this announcement in early January. Sustainability is a priority for both of us, and by making this appointment now, we hope to emphasize the importance of sustainability at NYU this year and for many years to come.   

Please join us in welcoming Cecil Scheib back to NYU and wishing him well in his new assignment.