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Sarah Johnson Redlich '82, Trustee
Remarks at Johnson Hall of Science Dedication Ceremony
October 20, 2007

I want to thank Dan and Ann Sullivan for their outstanding stewardship of the University. It's a very different place than it was when I joined the Board nine years ago, and it is due to the stewardship of Dan and Ann.

I also want to say that I'm on several other boards, and the Board of Trustees of St. Lawrence is the most functional board I have ever been a part of, and I'm very proud to be a part of it.

Thanks also to T-cubed: Tom Greene, Tom Budd and Tom Coakley, as well as Randy Croxton, Richard Green and the many more individuals that have been involved with this project. I remember especially the students working on the planning, and how they would test the various materials to be used. I think they really enjoyed testing the countertops, pouring acid on them, pounding them with hammers, until they found just the right ones that couldn't be destroyed!

Most of all, I want to thank my parents, for all of the support that they have given me. When I was growing up, my six brothers and sisters and I would sit at the dinner table, and our mother, who was in medical school, would tell us about the cadavers she had been working on! I think that's where I developed my great love of and interest in science.

For the first three years that I was on the Board of Trustees, I expressed my views on prioritizing the use of funds for capital improvements, and I watched as facilities were developed for athletics and for student life. It got to the point where only Mike Ranger, a fellow Trustee and good friend would listen to me, not because of his or my belief in the project, but because I held him prisoner on the plane rides from New York to Ogdensburg!

Mike sent me an e-mail a few days ago, giving me praise for having the determination to follow through with my vision. He said that he had at first thought it was a "red-eye-induced fog."

I graduated from St. Lawrence 25 years ago, as a biology major, studying in a building that needed to be replaced then. Things may move slowly, but I did see it through!

Applications were up 45 percent this year, which is an amazing number. Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Terry Cowdrey told me that as she was touring the building with a high school student, his eyes just lit up and he told her, "this science building is awesome!" I thought that was an interesting view and a great comment.

But this building means more than just a great facility for our faculty and students. What does it mean to the outside world? It represents the future of architecture and the opportunities are endless. We have one point over the minimum qualifications for Gold in LEED standards, which is just phenomenal. There are very few Gold LEED buildings in the country, so this will get a lot of attention from other universities.

Sustainable architecture is only a small piece of the pie, though. While we will use less energy and see real savings from using the new instant hot-water heaters and better insulation, reducing energy use by 30 percent, what it means that taking action personally is most important. Changing our personal habits and raising awareness, we can each achieve 50 percent lower energy use, and that is significant. We must educate the population regarding these easily attained goals.

I can only keep my side of the street clean. The current generation has one of the greatest challenges ahead of them, between the divisiveness of global warming issues as well as other concerns. The most divisive issue in this country since the Civil War, according to polls I have read, is the issue of pro-life versus pro-choice. And then there is the Middle East crisis, which is on a significant collision course. They are all difficult issues to contemplate, and I don't envy the young people who will have to deal with them.

Institutions of higher education have to provide a foundation in which to prepare this future generation of leaders to use facts, perform and analyze research, then use this factual information to education and activate individuals to find solutions to these life-altering issues, leading to healthy outcomes.

I had lunch a couple of weeks ago with Julie Packard, of the Oceanographic Institute and head of the Monterrey Bay Aquarium. She told met that the Ph of our oceans is changing rapidly and the scientists don't know why. Life exists in a narrow band of Ph and if it continues to change at its current rate, we won't need to worry about global warming or acid rain. What she said scared me.

I want my grandchildren to inherit and Earth where they are able to ski in the mountains, go white-water rafting and take a safari to Africa and be able to see all of the "big five" game in their natural habitat. With population growth in China and India, and increased energy usage throughout the world, it makes me feel overwhelmed. No matter what your beliefs or views on these issues, I think we can all agree that it is a good thing to reduce our carbon footprints and to pay attention to the choices we make, such as eating organic produce to prevent toxic chemicals from being released into our waterways, and to buy local, in order to support our local communities sustainably.

In the U.S., we voluntarily subscribe to LEED standards, the certification requirements were developed by the United States Green Building Council, a non-profit organization. I challenge you all to visit the council's Web site and educate yourself around this issue.

I learned yesterday, as I said before, that we have applied for LEED Gold certification, which is a tremendous achievement, and speaks to the outstanding efforts by our trustees, staff, faculty and students and their ability to work together as a team. This is the heart of how St. Lawrence functions, and why I love working with this school.

With this building, we will be launched into a new level of ability to compete successfully with most of our peer schools. We now have the space to do that. 

As I said last night, we can only do what we can do. Otherwise, we will become overwhelmed. And I can only keep my side of the street clean. Thank you for coming here on this spectacular day, and sharing this achievement with us.