As director of the Center for Energy Research, Education, and Service (CERES) for 23 years, Robert Koester has provided visionary leadership both in the center and across the campus. In the process, he has led Ball State to a nationally and internationally acclaimed reputation as a leader in the movement toward campus sustainability.

Koester has many administrative service accomplishments, but a few examples must suffice. One is the CERES Research Fellows program. Each year he provides funding for three or more faculty members to engage in energy and sustainability-related research. This initiative has resulted in a wide range of externally funded projects, including the Shelby County/Shelbyville GIS System Implementation, a mapping of the statewide Biomass Production Potential and the recently created Center for Nanoscience Research.

A second example is the award-winning Clustered Minors in Environmentally Sustainable Practices program at Ball State. This program comprises five interdepartmental minors that complement an array of departmental majors. The program has been highlighted in 10 presentations at conferences and in at least five published papers or book chapters.

Another success story is the series of Greening of the Campus conferences, hosted by Ball State every two years since 1996. The idea for the conference grew out of recommendations made by the Provost's Green Committee in 1991, which Koester cochaired. Each conference has attracted some 250 people, representing nations in Europe and Asia, more than 100 universities and numerous private and public entities.

Koester's steady leadership as chair of the Ball State Council on the Environment continues to mark the university's path toward sustainability. As a systems designer, he thinks at an abstract level and sees interconnections of ideas long before most people; yet, he is able to translate those abstractions into practical results.