Joanne Perdue appointed Chief Sustainability Officer

The University of Calgary is pleased to announce the appointment of Joanne Perdue as its first Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO). This newly established senior leadership team position affirms the University of Calgary’s commitment to sustainability leadership in all aspects of our organization and to sustainability as an integral value of the Eyes High strategy. Reporting to both the Vice-President (Facilities Management and Development) and the Vice-President (Academic), the University of Calgary is the first Canadian University to establish a CSO position.

In this position, Joanne will lead our university to fulfill our goal to become a North American leader in sustainability in higher education. Joanne, in partnership with the senior leadership team and an academic coordinator for sustainability (to be named), will integrate the values and aims of our Academic Plan and our Institutional Sustainability Plan into teaching, co-curricular student activities, research, service learning, and operations across campus.

Joanne joined the University of Calgary in 2007 as the founding director of the Office of Sustainability. She has been instrumental in integrating sustainability into university policy, planning and reporting frameworks. Under her leadership, the University of Calgary received a Silver rating in 2011 under the Sustainability Tracking Assessment and Rating System, a North American evaluation of sustainability in higher education. Along with her exceptional international reputation in the fields of organizational change for sustainability, and sustainable building and community design, Joanne brings her dedication to collaboration, mentoring and cross-functional team success to this new role.

Joanne graduated in 1986 from the University of Oregon, where she received an American Institute of Architects Award for Scholarly Pursuit in the Field of Architecture. She became a registered architect in 1991, a LEED Accredited Professional in 2003, and has practiced architecture in Massachusetts, British Columbia and Alberta. She has devoted more than 20 years to advancing green buildings and sustainable community design. For the past 10 years, she has specialized in organizational strategy and change management for sustainability.

Welcome to your new role, Joanne!

Dru Marshall
Provost and Vice-President (Academic)

Bob Ellard
Vice-President (Facilities Management and Development)