Media Advisory: Colorado State President Larry Penley to Deliver Fall Address, Announce Research Numbers

Note to Editors: Media planning to attend the address should RSVP to Jennifer Dimas so that special arrangements for parking can be made. Parking is available for media only on Isotope Drive, but the Oval will close to all traffic at 11:15 a.m.

WHAT/WHERE:

Colorado State University President Larry Edward Penley will give his annual Fall Address at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 6 at the university’s historic Oval. The annual all-university picnic that follows the speech will "go green" thanks to the combined efforts of several campus departments to make it a virtually zero-waste event.

DETAILS:

Penley will announce Colorado State’s record annual research expenditures and highlight some of the university’s major accomplishments for the campus community.

The university community is invited to gather at the Oval at 11:15 a.m. with the Colorado State Marching Band. Penley will begin his comments at 11:30 a.m. from the southwest end of the Oval. Colleges and other campus units and student groups will be represented at the event with a number of displays focusing on some of the university’s environmental initiatives.

The picnic following this year’s speech will be virtually a zero-waste event. Efforts by Housing & Dining Services, Facilities Management, and Waste-Not Recycling are ensuring the sustainability of this year’s picnic. Guests will be dining with lightweight utensils made from potato starch, which are compostable and can withstand temperatures of up to 170 degrees Fahrenheit. The utensils come from a selection of tree-free biodegradable plates made from bagasse, a sugarcane byproduct, which can be disposed of in compost bins and are priced better than their paper counterparts. Disposable, compostable and biodegradable plates made from 100 percent bagasse sugarcane fiber will also be used. Sugarcane products are a renewable resource, and they also can be turned into products normally made from plastic or paper while avoiding the pollution from the normal burning of sugarcane pulp. The composting utensils will biodegrade within 30 days in a commercial composting system.

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