Pace University Becomes A Certified ‘Bee Campus USA’

Designation Raises Awareness on the Important Role Pollinators Play in Food Supply

PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y., August 13, 2020 – Pace University’s Pleasantville campus has become certified as an affiliate of the Bee Campus USA program. The program is an initiative of the Xerces Society of Invertebrate Conservation based in Portland, Oregon, which raises awareness of the role pollinators play in our communities and encourages participants to enhance their habitats and educate students, staff, and faculty. More than 150 food crops in the United States depend on pollinators, including blueberries, apples, squash, strawberries and almonds.

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“Becoming a Bee Campus is important to Pace as it shows our commitment to creating a sustainable campus that will function both as healthy ecosystem for native plants and animals and as a living laboratory for students,” said Dyson College of Arts and Sciences Associate Professor Michael J. Rubbo, PhD. “We plan on creating pollinator gardens where pollinators (bees, butterflies, beetles) can find sources of food and where students can study pollinators and develop solutions for their conservation.”

Ryan McEnany, Pace University’s Director of Energy and Resiliency said: “The Bee Campus USA designation is significant because it brings attention to the fact that pollinator populations have been in decline. This extends further than the colony collapse disorder in honeybee populations and is also affecting local bees, butterflies and other organisms that help create fruits, flowers and other plant life. On a global level, 33 percent of the food we eat is made possible by insect pollinators, and 90 percent of wild plants and flowers need pollinators for survival.”

In the upcoming year, Pace will be working with students to create educational signage about pollinators and plans to have a number of pollinator-focused events. Pace joins over 90 Bee Campuses around the country.

The designation also comes at a time when a group of Pace University communication studies students are filming a documentary called Bee Aware, which focuses on the importance of bees and the role they play around the globe. Originally, the class was set to film in Paris, France, but after the pandemic hit – and all foreign travel halted – the students dispatched across the Northeast (New York, Connecticut, New Jersey and Pennsylvania) to interview local farmers and beekeepers. The students are working on the documentary through the summer and expect it will be completed in the fall.

About Pace University

Pace University has a proud history of preparing its diverse student body for a lifetime of professional success as a result of its unique program that combines rigorous academics and real-world experiences. Pace is ranked the #1 private, four-year college in the nation for upward economic mobility by Harvard University’s Opportunity Insights, evidence of the transformative education the University provides. From its beginnings as an accounting school in 1906, Pace has grown to three campuses, enrolling 13,000 students in bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs in more than 150 majors and programs, across a range of disciplines: arts, sciences, business, health care, technology, law, education, and more. The university also has one of the most competitive performing arts programs in the country. Pace University has a signature, newly renovated campus in New York City, located in the heart of vibrant Lower Manhattan, next to Wall Street and City Hall, and two campuses in Westchester County, New York: a 200-acre picturesque Pleasantville Campus and a Law School in White Plains. Follow us on Twitter or on the Pace News website.

About Dyson College

Pace University’s liberal arts college, Dyson College offers more than 50 programs, spanning the arts and humanities, natural sciences, social sciences, and pre-professional programs (including pre-medicine, pre-veterinary, and pre-law), as well as many courses that fulfill core curriculum requirements. The College offers access to numerous opportunities for internships, cooperative education and other hands-on learning experiences that complement in-class learning in preparing graduates for career and graduate/professional education choices. Visit the Dyson website.

About Bee City USA

Bee City USA® urges municipalities, individuals, organizations, corporations, and communities to promote and establish pollinator–friendly landscapes that are free of pesticides. Since its inception in Asheville, North Carolina in 2012, five more cities and been certified and about fifty more are in the process of preparing applications. For more information about the application process for becoming a Bee City USA community, visit the Bee City USA website.