RENSSELAER — St. Joseph's College, set to soon temporarily close, could become the home for a sustainability institute.
St. Joe's administrators are in talks with Allan Baer, president of Vermont-based SolarQuest, a low-profit limited liability company, to potentially make the college the base of his Renewable Nations Institute.
The institute would bring in 1,000 students from 81 low- and middle-income countries who would learn about global sustainable development goals outlined by the United Nations, Baer said. Its mission would focus on the UN's "Sustainability for All" initiative, he said, which aims to ensure universal access to affordable, sustainable and modern energy by 2030.
"I have a vast global market that’s in need of training and St. Joseph’s College has capacity in terms of available space for teaching and a need for revenue from new sources (and) a need to continue supporting some of their traditional programs by diversifying their revenue stream, so there's a lot to talk about," Baer said.
No plans have been finalized yet, according to Baer and St. Joe's officials, but they're discussing what a partnership between the two entities would entail. Baer would not buy the institution and it would continue to be "Saint Joseph's College," he said.
On Feb. 3, the college's board of trustees announced the institution would suspend operations at the end of this semester due to dire financial challenges. A week later, Baer contacted the college about the potential for a partnership with the Renewable Nations Institute, St. Joe's President Robert Pastoor confirmed in an email interview.
The institute's stance on sustainability directly applies to Pope Francis' call to address climate change in his 2015 encyclical, "On Care of our Common Home," he said.