Environmental Justice Campus Committee

Duke’s Environmental Justice Campus Committee (EJCC) is a coalition of students, faculty, and staff representing affinity groups and departments across the university that is working to better incorporate environmental justice into Duke’s curriculum, programming, and decision-making.

The Environmental Justice Campus Committee (EJCC) was started in the Fall of 2020 to better address campus environmental justice by doing the following:

• Collaboration – We see this space as an opportunity for student groups, centers and entities who may not usually work together to come together and find opportunities to collaborate on programs, events, etc. 
• Curriculum development – Creating new, interdepartmental coursework centering around environmental justice and utilizing the knowledge and finding opportunities to incorporate EJ themes into existing coursework and requirements. 
• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion – This committee is a great opportunity to bring environmental opportunity directly to the doorstep of Duke’s diverse student body, and to bring themes of justice, race, and culture to the environmental student body. 
• Major programming – Engaging students in EJ topics outside of the classroom is critical to creating a conscientious campus environment. In 2021, the EJCC hosted its first Environmental Justice Symposium, consisting of 15 guest speakers from around the world. Check it out HERE: https://emilynagamoto.wixsite.com/ej-symposium-duke
• EJ faculty/staff opportunities – This work cannot fall on students alone and one of the EJCC’s goals is to establish faculty and staff positions designed to cement environmental justice within the university.
• Duke accountability – We would like this committee to eventually be considered the go to for sustainability and justice based decision making at Duke. This space is designed to act as a body that checks the university around DEI and environmental justice in its operations, programming, and academic offerings.
• Inter-institutional/community accountability – This body, through the creation of a Duke/Durham subcommittee is also a resource for the Durham community and other institutions or organizations to connect with Duke around EJ or institutional accountability.