UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Peter Buck, affiliate faculty and associate director of Climate and Sustainability Education at Penn State Sustainability, is the 2024 recipient of the Barash Award for Human Service.
Created in 1975 by the family of the late Sy Barash, the award honors a full-time member of the faculty or staff or student body on the University Park campus who, apart from their regular duties, has contributed the most to human causes, public service activities and organizations, or the welfare of fellow humans.
Nominators said Buck has advocated for community climate action both as a public leader researcher and instructor at Penn State. In his role as Ferguson Township supervisor, Buck helped the township commit to carbon neutrality by 2050 and developed a solar-powered LEED Gold certified facility. He also spurred the Centre Region’s climate action and adaptation plan and has drafted zoning for grid-scale solar development.
In his role as board member of the State College Area School District, Buck chairs the region’s solar power purchase agreement working group comprised of 12 local governments.
“Buck’s commitment to proactively addressing the global climate crisis at a grassroots level is nothing short of inspirational,” a nominator said. “His profound insights into the intricacies of local governance, combined with visionary zeal, have rendered unparalleled contributions to our community.”
Buck used his knowledge of grassroots community organizing to amplify his impact by taking over the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s Local Community Action Program. Through these efforts, he and colleague Brandi Robinson, associate teaching professor of the John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering, are working with students to create climate action plans for communities across the state. Nominators said this effort benefits both students and communities that lack the resources to create responses to climate change.
One nominator said Buck’s efforts represent Penn State’s land grant mission of providing benefit to communities within the commonwealth.
“Being a land-grant institution, where the mission is providing resources to the local communities, the Local Climate Action Program at Penn State goes above and beyond fulfilling that mission,” a nominator said. “Without this program and the amazing team at the Sustainability Institute, Scranton would have certainly struggled to develop a sustainability program on our own, and tens of thousands of Scrantonians might have continued to suffer from the negative effects of climate change as a result. As Pennsylvanian communities grapple with heat, drought, floods and more, building community resilience is critical. Buck is helping pilot how to do this at scale while ensuring our students are ready for careers in this important space.”