by Rhonda Kitch, AACRAO Vice President at Large, Registrar at North Dakota State University
In addition to new furniture, paint and windows that open, as part of the move to new space AACRAO welcomed in a new era for the staff regarding waste. Gone is the single serve coffee maker and staff are testing their hands at grinding and making communal coffee; gone are the Styrofoam cups, ceramic mugs line the cupboard and the dishwasher is there as needed. And trash, recycling and organic waste containers are clearly marked and easily accessible. In addition, the office has individual climate controls and lights set on timers to reduce energy consumption.
This change in focus started even before AACRAO unpacked in the new office. Specifically, the old (and somewhat tired) office furniture that filled the One Dupont Circle space for years was donated to Glebe Elementary School for use in their buildings. One of the principals shared how excited she was to have filing cabinets so she could finally have a clean office.
“Arlington Public Schools is a very fortunate school district but we still have very little furniture funding and what you donated has been the biggest treat,” said Jamie Borg, Principal. “We put the beautiful wooden “podium” in the main office and it is now used for visitor sign in. Everyone loves it.”
A number of the other Higher Education associations at One Dupont Circle and DC public schools also benefited from our donations. Effort was made wherever possible to limit the materials that ended up in the landfill. I am proud of our efforts to limit our impact on the environment.