Environmental and Sustainability Committee Meeting Minutes

Meeting Details:

Fiscal Year: FY2026
Date:
Time: 10:00 am
Location: Microsoft Teams
Guest Speaker: Margretta de Vries
Minutes Recorded By: Shayla Murphy
Minutes Approved On:

Attendance—

Attending Members

  • Brian Alfers (Chair)
  • Joe Fearn
  • Emily Vietti
  • Vince Munoz
  • Camille Debreczeny
  • Esperanca Monteiro
  • Sophie Terian
  • Kazi Fattah
  • Cameron Lauer

 

Other Attendees

  • Margretta de Vries
  • Shayla Murphy

Approval of Previous Minutes —

Vince motions to approve. Emily seconds. Minutes approved.

Guest Speaker Presentation —

Guest Speaker: Margretta de Vries

Margretta de Vries is Manager of Transportation Services.

Margretta has been with KU for 28 years and oversees the operations side of Transportation Services.  

Close to 14,000 students live near campus. One reason students choose KU is because they don’t need a car. Many students use the bus system. 

When the bus system went fare free, had 100% increase in riders. A Bike Share program is desired but it’s difficult to pay for and maintain.    

 

New Business —

There was a student fee hearing: it was voted to defund the recycling program from student fees. It was voted that students should not be solely responsible for paying for recycling that is used across the university.    

It has been previously noted that education around recycling and contamination is needed. There is also not a sustainability policy for the university. 

It may be helpful to bring together campus partners. Brian reached out to New Student Orientation. 

The committee is working on charges via a shared document and can visit further at the next meeting. 

Meeting adjourned. 

Environmental and Sustainability - Feb 11, 2026