About the Office of Sustainability (OoS)
The Office of Sustainability (OoS) was created July 1, 2010 in the Facilities and Services (FS) department.
Management Bio
The Manager of Environmental Policy and Sustainability at NMSU, joni newcomer [sic], currently manages the Office of Sustainability. Dr. newcomer received her first degree in Interior Architecture from Arizona State University. She began her career in Arizona doing space planning for government offices as well as planning and design for higher education and medical facilities. 
In 2003 she received her degree as a Naturopathic Doctor. She moved to Las Cruces in 1994 and in 2005 became a Design Project Manager in Facilities and Services (FS).
She became an active volunteer of the US Green Building Council (USGBC) Chihuahuan Desert Chapter when it began in 2007, chairing the Education Committee, the Advocacy Committee, and working on the original Regionalization plan, as well as being a representative for the West Regional Council. In 2008 and 2009, she went to Washington, DC as an advocate for green building design and met with Senators and Representatives from New Mexico.
She also volunteered at NMSU on the Sustainability and Climate Change Task Force as the Outreach Committee chair. Her passion for the environment, driven by a life-long interest in the outdoors, then translated into her current position as Manager, Environmental Policy and Sustainability.
Responsibilities
The role of the Office of Sustainability is to:
- develop policies and guidelines for protecting natural resources, reduce the University’s ecological footprint, and ensure accountability for green building and low-impact development in NMSU’s ongoing capital improvement program
- coordinate environmental sustainability initiatives on issues ranging from climate change to recycling and water conservation
- work with faculty, staff, and students to enhance NMSU’s environmental literacy and awareness through academic programs and educational outreach activities
- identify and steward sustainability initiatives that maximize the environmental and financial performance of the university
- infuse sustainability principles into new construction, renovations, standards, plans, and studies
- integrate sustainability into energy management, operations, maintenance, grounds-keeping, solid waste removal, and cleaning practices
- develop and maintain tools, metrics, and indicators for assessing progress toward sustainability goals
- coordinate, support, and lead utility conservation and recycling initiatives
- assist administrators with the development of policies related to sustainability
- serve as an advisor to the Assistant Vice President of Facilities and Services, the University Architect, and the Campus Planning Committee on issues of sustainability
- integrate sustainability into curricula and building operations and support student environmental projects and initiatives
- support and work with sustainability issues that use the campus as a laboratory for learning about sustainability
- advise, meet with, and be a resource for individual students and student groups engaging in sustainability issues and projects