Penn Environmental Group

The University of Pennsylvania Environmental Group (PEG) is a student run group aiming to increase campus awareness of global environmental issues across the Penn community and throughout the world. PEG seeks to incorporate ideals from a diverse community, and expose the campus, community and the world at large to an expanded knowledge of environmental issues.

FarmEcology

Founded as an outgrowth of an Academically Based Community Service (ABCS) class, FarmEcology is a student-initiated endeavor that is raising awareness and educating Penn's campus about the benefits of local foods. The group's projects include coordinating a local food buying club, consulting with Penn Dining and other on-campus food outlets on local food purchasing and hosting speakers and other events relating to eating sustainably.

Undergraduate Assembly

The Undergraduate Assembly (UA) is an elected body consisting of thirty-three undergraduate students selected by their respective schools. It is charged with representing undergraduate interests to the administration, faculty, and all other constituent groups at Penn. As the umbrella branch of six different student government organizations, the UA is given the fiduciary responsibility of allocating approximately $1.5 million to itself and the other five branches. This amount is then distributed to almost all student organizations on campus.

The bulk of UA activity stems from its committees. The leadership of the UA consists of a five-member Executive Board and the Chairs of each committee. It works closely with the administration to implement our initiatives.

The UA Facilities and Campus Planning Committee is working on initiatives such as off campus recycling and socially responsible investing.

Graduate and Professional Student Assembly

The Graduate and Professional Student Assembly (GAPSA) is the University-wide government for graduate and professional students, interacting regularly with the President, Provost, Board of Trustees, and other University officials. GAPSA is governed by elected representatives from each of Penn¹s twelve schools and a student executive board. GAPSA also works with the student governments of individual schools and with other specialized student governments at Penn. GAPSA representatives are part of Penn's Environmental Sustainability Advisory Committee (ESAC).

PennGreen

With the enormous growth of the environmental movement on Penn's campus in the past few years, an environmentally-themed pre-orientation pilot program has been created. The mission of the PennGreen program is to provide incoming freshmen with an environmental introduction to Penn and the City of Philadelphia, offering them a chance to form relationships with environmentally minded peers. The pilot program launched August 2008. After evaluation, the official program is expected to begin with the incoming freshman class of 2013 in August 2009.

To read more about the success of this event, click here.