From Patel College to Campus Leadership: William McMahon's Role as UNF’s Sustainability Pioneer
William McMahon, a proud USF alumnus, graduated in August 2024 with a master's in sustainability from the Patel College of Sustainability (PCGS). After a thorough job search, he applied for a position at the University of North Florida (UNF) and was appointed Assistant Director of Campus Sustainability.
We spoke with McMahon about his achievement, his journey to this role, and the impact of Patel College on his success. In an interview, we were able to capture his thoughts on his new position and how PCGS has excelled in his career.
PCGS Staff: How did you find out about this position?
William McMahon: "Throughout my studies at the Patel College of Global Sustainability (PCGS), I was working full-time for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP). When I graduated with my Global Sustainability degree in August 2024, I decided to see what sustainability jobs were available where I lived in Northeast Florida out of sheer curiosity. A recent job posting online showed an Assistant Director of Campus Sustainability position at the University of North Florida (UNF). I was very satisfied with my work at the FDEP, but I decided to apply to this position because it seemed so well-tailored to my educational background and work history. I was also curious to see how my application would be received as a recent graduate. I received a response not too long after applying, with an invitation to an interview for the position.
After that interview, I was invited back for another, and then another. After each round of interviews, I found myself increasingly enjoying getting to know the staff I would be working with while gaining a better understanding of the types of responsibilities I would be assigned to if selected. The UNF campus was beautiful, and as the interview process progressed, I began to really picture myself at home in this position. To my delight, after three interviews, I was offered the position of Assistant Director. I started on November 25, 2024."
PCGS Staff: What does the position entail? How are you hoping to advance sustainability at UNF while having this job?
William McMahon: "The position is brand new. The University of North Florida has never had a position dedicated to sustainability in its 52-year history. This is a unique position to be in as I was told when hired that I would have a great deal of flexibility to develop the position behind the theme of sustainability as I saw appropriate. With that said, my first few months in this position have dealt with learning about UNF's history of sustainability, understanding what is currently being worked on, and identifying opportunities to introduce sustainability into operations going forward.
In the next few months, I will be assuming the responsibility of chairing the UNF Sustainability Committee. The Committee, comprised of leaders representing various disciplines across campus, advises UNF's leadership on issues pertaining to environmental responsibility and sustainability while developing sustainable practices and programs on campus. From a day-to-day perspective, no two days are alike. One day I could be working with our Maintenance and Energy Management team to help install LED lighting, while the next I could be working with the UNF Wetlands Club to collect student feedback and develop sustainable programs on campus.
I'm hoping to advance sustainability at UNF by revisiting the commitments we made in our 2013 Climate Action Plan and using it as a foundation to develop a practical roadmap for achieving future sustainable development and resilience goals. I will work to ensure that the sustainable actions we take moving forward will complement UNF's mission statement and vision while also serving to achieve UNF's priority of becoming a Top 100 Public University."
PCGS Staff: What are you hoping to learn from this position?
William McMahon: "A university campus is similar to a small city, with sectors in business, dining, government, and others all working in unison to promote student success. One of the most impressive aspects of this position to me came when - after meeting with so many individuals at UNF - I discovered that almost everyone is practicing sustainability in some fashion or another. The sustainability field, by its nature, is highly interdisciplinary, resembling in many ways the diversity of a university campus itself.
In that same vein, I sometimes feel I am a master of none as I am not well-versed in the more technical details of how an HVAC chiller operates or the considerations procurement services contemplate when entering a contract with a waste collector. The beauty in this is that there is an immense opportunity for me to learn about so many different sectors, services, and systems and how each operates. Through this learning process, I can connect newly acquired knowledge about these systems with sustainable solutions I learned about at PCGS to achieve more sustainable outcomes for the University."
PCGS Staff: How has PCGS helped you in obtaining this position?
William McMahon: "PCGS has prepared me very well for this position. My first semester at Patel I took Systems Thinking with Dr. Kebreab Ghebremichael. The purpose of that class is to develop critical system thinking skills to solve sustainability challenges. That course is very applicable to me now because it introduced me to life-cycle assessments and cost-benefit analysis, the latter of which I have already used in my role since starting.
The electricity, water, and natural gas the University receives are all filtered through a system, and I am better able to understand how these systems operate and complement one another because of this course. In my last semester, I took the Principles of Six Sigma course taught by Dr. Subrata Bandy. Six Sigma is a methodology that provides a viable framework for businesses and organizations to systematically solve complex problems and incorporate continuous improvement. Dr. Bandy's course taught me useful tools to tackle sustainability issues, including proper use of control charts and histograms, which can be used to track water consumption, for example. My Climate Mitigation and Adaptation concentration director was T.H. Culhane, who taught me important nuances that exist between food, energy, and water. Exploring those connections at Rosebud Continuum allowed me to better understand UNF's own Ogier Gardens and how our organic garden promotes sustainability across campus.
The instruction I received at PCGS from my professors, coupled with the hands-on activities and events that Patel provides, has allowed me to develop the tools necessary to be successful as UNF's first Assistant Director of Campus Sustainability."
McMahon stands out as a remarkable success story from our college, and we extend our
best wishes for his success in this new position. We are confident that our students
and alumni possess the potential to reach all their professional goals.