Environmental Policy Senior Wins Featherstone Award for Innovation, Character and Leadership
Environmental Policy Senior Wins Featherstone Award for Innovation, Character and Leadership
5/6/08
Contact: Eileen Gianiodis
432-1555, ext. 160
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- There’s a lot more to Tremaine Phillips than meets the eye.
At first glance, the Lake Orion, Mich., native is like any other Michigan State University (MSU) senior preparing for graduation. But his experiences as an undergraduate environmental economics and policy major will shape the environment.
In recognition of his accomplishments, Phillips was awarded MSU’s 2008 Richard Lee Featherstone Society Endowed Prize during an awards luncheon April 30. He was also recognized at the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR) graduation ceremony Saturday (May 3).
He was cited for his “open, curious, creative approach to education and ideas.”
Phillips, who minored in graphic information systems, received a certificate and prize to be used for future growth, development, travel, graduate study or meditation, according to the prize guidelines.
“This award is by far the highest achievement of my academic career at State,” Phillips said. “I look forward to carrying out the principles and goals of the Featherstone Society.”
Phillips was recently hired as an energy program associate for the Michigan Environmental Council (MEC) in Lansing. He will work to promote low-carbon and renewable energy policies across the state.
Phillips was nominated by Scott Swinton, professor of agricultural, food and resource economics, with whom he has worked as a research assistant for 18 months. The pair met through the Environmental Stewardship Systems Team.
“Tremaine’s personal warmth, his confidence and his determination to make a difference set him apart as the rare individual who gives the rest of us faith in the future,” Swinton said. “He has a personal passion for the abatement of climate change and a tremendous vision about climate change.”
Phillips studied climate change in Australia during his sophomore year. His report was “The Consequences of Global Warming on Australia’s Nature-based Tourism Industry.”
He spoke to the MSU Board of Trustees about the university’s role in sustainability and its responsibility to lead the way.
Swinton specifically noted Phillips’ role in estimating the costs of switching MSU’s computer printers to two-sided printing capability and use.
“What distinguished Tremaine’s role from early on was his curiosity not only about the nitty-gritty cost measurement issues but also about how MSU functions as a complex organization … in even as mundane [a topic] as decision making about computer printing,” Swinton said in his letter to the nominating committee.
In addition to his work with the Environmental Stewardship Team, Phillips was a leader in ECO, a campus environmental group; in the Michigan Student Sustainability Coalition, a group that pulls together college students across the state; and with MSU’s committee for a sustainable campus.
The Featherstone Society prize is given annually by Douglas Estry, associate provost for undergraduate education. In its 13th year, the Richard Lee Featherstone Society Endowed Prize committee entertained applications from 27 students. Phillips is one of two recipients to receive the honor; Nicholas Micinski, an international relations and political theory major from James Madison College at MSU, is the other. The group recognized seven finalists at its April 30 luncheon.
The award recognizes graduating seniors who demonstrate intellectual curiosity and innovation with exceptional character and outstanding leadership abilities. Students who receive the award also exhibit an enthusiasm for the learning and teaching process and are “unbounded” by traditional disciplinary orientation. The award is named for Richard L. Featherstone, who was a professor of educational administration from 1960 to 1985.
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