From a Solar-Powered Stage, Colorado State President Penley will present ‘CSU’s Next Five Years’ during the Annual Fall Address

Note to Editors: Media parking will be provided on Isotope Drive off the Oval before 11:30 a.m. The Oval will be closed to traffic after 11:30 a.m.

From a solar-powered stage, Colorado State University President Larry Edward Penley will give his annual Fall Address that will focus on the university vision for the next five years. The address will begin at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 11, in the main campus Oval. An all-university picnic follows Penley’s address.

The Colorado State Marching Band will start the event at 11:15 a.m. Hannah Hahn, a senior music education major, will sing the National Anthem.

Penley’s address, focusing on the five-year vision of the university, will begin at 11:30 a.m. in front of the Administration Building on the south end of the Oval. Penley also will highlight the university’s record research expenditures and fundraising and this year’s announcement of the new School of Global Environmental Sustainability.

On the northwest side of the Oval, 20 displays from the university’s colleges and student organizations will provide interactive displays to provide the campus community with information about innovative university programs.

The complimentary picnic is open to the campus community. Entertainment will be provided by a cappella group Resonant RAMblings and acoustic band The Rock.

Again this year, the picnic will generate almost no non-recyclable waste. 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 in compost bins, and are priced better than paper counterparts. Disposable, compostable and biodegradable plates made from 100 percent bagasse sugarcane fiber also will 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 normal burning of sugarcane pulp. The composting utensils will biodegrade within 30 days in a commercial composting system.

For more information about the event, call (970) 491-4601.

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