Towana Moore

How do you change a light bulb? According to JMU's associate vice president for business services, Towana Moore, you buy a curly one. Towana, along with her friend ISAT professor Maria Papadakis, is helping transform the JMU campus to one where sustainability and environmental responsibility are considered in every decision. As a team, Maria and Towana chaired JMU President Linwood Roses' Commission on Environmental Stewardship, the results of which thrust the university into a strong and proactive stance on environmental sensibility. From her business perspective, Towana pushes environmentally savvy solutions to procedures that involve buildings, facilities and grounds. She's making sure new buildings are LEED certified and that campus landscaping conserves water. She knows it saves money. She also knows "it's the right thing to do." Towana provides significant support to efforts everywhere on campus, saving dollars -- and the environment. One of the most successful collaborations is a partnership between facilities management and the JMU Alternative Fuel Program where students and professors are working on environmentally responsible vehicles and fuels - all supported by Towana's division. It's changing the campus and the environment as definitively as changing from a standard bulb to compact fluorescent "curly" light bulb.

"From a business point of view we were interested in it because we were looking at ways to save money. From a personal standpoint I think I was interested in it just because it's the right thing to do."