Green College Spotlight: Arizona State University at Tempe
May 4, 2009
Arizona State University at Tempe is one of the nation’s greenest colleges, gaining a lot of ground since just last year. ASU has been working really hard to green up their campus and get students involved, and all their hard work has paid off – they’re on the ‘Green Honor Roll’ for their B+ grade on the College Sustainability Report Card.
ASU’s President, Dr. Michael Crow, didn’t just sign the Presidents Climate Commitment – he co-founded it. With that kind of initiative in the school’s leader, it’s only natural that ASU has become such a green college rock star. As part of their commitment to climate neutrality, ASU recently completed the ASU Energy Conservation Project, which retrofitted nearly 80 campus buildings to increase efficiency, reducing annual carbon emissions by 70 million pounds. ASU is also installing solar panels on the roofs of Tempe campus buildings, and will soon install even more on the West campus.
All new buildings at ASU must meet LEED silver certification, and the university already has a whopping 11 LEED-certified buildings including four Gold and one Platinum. The university’s green purchasing policy means that only green cleaning products are used and Energy Star and recycled products are preferred. In the dining hall, you’ll find fresh, local food from 35 local growers and producers and from gardens on campus. ASU also has its own eco-conscious restaurant, Engrained, which features local, organic, seasonal and humanely treated ingredients on its menu.
Students, faculty and staff get around on an inter-campus shuttle, or on bicycles – ASU student government sponsors a half-price bike co-op and a bike-share program. ASU’s fleet will soon be run on alternative fuels, including two solar powered carts.
Arizona State University students are as dedicated to the green cause as the university’s leadership. ASU has seven sustainability-related organizations including a vegetarian/vegan group, and students frequently participate in recycling drives, energy efficiency competitions and other eco-friendly initatives.
ASU even teamed up with environmental site Grist.org to provide students, faculty and staff with the latest environmental news, commentary and advice through a biweekly email. The email newsletter includes not just the latest green headlines, but also news relating to ASU’s local area and coverage of issues relating to the university.
Of course, ASU is probably best known for its world-renowned Global School of Sustainability, which offers undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees that prepare students to become the green leaders of the future.
For the latest news on green goings-on at Arizona State University, check out ASU News.
Link [Arizona State University]
Becoming Tomorrow’s Green Leaders: Top Environmental Undergrad Programs
March 5, 2009
Inevitably, somewhere around your junior year in high school, you start facing that all-important question: what do you want to do with your life? After all, your career choice will likely have a big influence on which college or university you choose to attend – and though it may seem like you’ve got ages before you’re going to graduate and finally set out on your own, it’s coming up faster than you think.
If you’re considering pursuing a career related to the environment, you’re in luck, because there are lots of great environmental undergraduate programs to choose from all over North America. Agricultural science, conservation biology, ecological design, environmental engineering, environmental science, environmental law and sustainable development are just a few of the undergrad majors available.
You’re also in good company. The New York Times reported in January that students are flocking to environmental programs in record numbers, inspired both by their own growing desire to protect and preserve the environment as well as the rosy projections about the future availability of green jobs. As these programs become more popular, more and more schools are starting to offer them and take a hard look at how sustainability can be incorporated into the programs that are already in place.
It’s no surprise that the colleges and universities with the best environmental programs are also among North America’s greenest. We’ve featured many of these schools on our weekly Green College Spotlight, honoring all of the steps they’ve taken to infuse sustainability into all aspects of campus operations. Here are some of North America’s top colleges and universities with stellar environmental programs, in no particular order.
Middlebury College, well known for its vibrant and diverse student body, has been named among America’s greenest schools by Forbes, Grist, Alternet and The Daily Green and was one of just 6 colleges to receive a grade of ‘A-‘ on the College Sustainability Report Card in 2008.
Middlebury established its Environmental Studies major in 1965, making it the first of its kind in the nation. The ES program is an interdisciplinary, nondepartmental major. Environmental Studies is one of Middlebury College’s most popular academic programs. Students get to experience hands-on training in top-notch science facilities. The departments are small, so you get plenty of one-on-one time with professors.
Highly selective, this Vermont college is ranked #5 among liberal arts colleges in the nation by US News & World Report.
U.S. News & World Report Stats:
Private
Fall 2007 Acceptance Rate: 20.6%,
2008-2009 Tuition: $49,210
Setting: Rural
Total # of Undergraduates: 2500
Located in the beautiful “Emerald City” of Eugene, The University of Oregon offers an interdisciplinary Environmental Studies program that provides students with opportunities to work alongside world-class scholars and researchers and gain hands-on experience relevant to a number of fields. Undergraduate alumni from this program have gone on to hold positions in environmental planning, environmental education, green investment planning, wildlife biology and many other fields.
The Environmental Studies Program offers a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) or a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Environmental Studies (ENVS) or Environmental Science (ESCI). A minor is offered in Environmental Studies. Some of the courses offered include Avian Conservation, Wetland Ecology and Management, Political Ecology and Environmental Leadership.
U.S. News & World Report Stats:
Public
Fall 2007 Acceptance Rate: 86.9%
Tuition for 2008-2009: $6,291 in-state, $19,428 out-of-state
Setting: Urban
Total # of Undergraduates: 16,674
Maine’s College of the Atlantic has been called the greenest in the world for its strong achievements in sustainability. It’s also one of the most unique: students design their own majors. There’s no defined list of majors or even departments. COA takes a holistic approach to learning, requiring every student to engineer their own education. Environmental and social problems are at the heart of COA curriculum.
The College of the Atlantic simply calls its academic program ‘Human Ecology’ and asks students to learn creativity, critical thinking, community engagement, communication, integrative thinking and interdisciplinarity. Environmental sciences is one of COA’s ‘Resource Areas’, with Field Ecology & Conservation Biology, Ecological Policy and Planning and Marine Studies among its six loosely defined ‘focus areas’.
The college’s location, adjacent to the Gulf of Maine and Acadia National Park, provides a rich setting for field research. Students don’t have to wait years to get out in the field – they often begin fieldwork in their first term.
U.S. News & World Report Stats:
Private
Fall 2007 Acceptance Rate: 77%
2008-2009 Tuition: $31,470
Setting: Rural
Total # of Undergraduates: 341
Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, North Carolina offers an Environmental Studies program that gives students a balance of theory, first-hand knowledge and field experience with six concentrations available: Conservation Biology, Environmental Chemistry, Environmental Education, Sustainable Forestry, Sustainable Agriculture and Environmental Policy. The standard degree in Environmental Studies is Bachelor of Arts, but Bachelor of Science can be earned as an alternative.
Warren Wilson has been named the greenest college in the southeast and has made a number of ‘top 10 greenest colleges’ lists. This college puts an emphasis on learning outside the box, with opportunities to get hands-on experience on its 300-acre working farm and 600-acre forest, which operate as research laboratories for sustainable practices.
Sustainability plays a big role at Warren Wilson. The college has a number of environmental student organizations and initiatives, and is also home to an Environmental Leadership Center, which aims to raise awareness of local, national and global environmental realities and to inspire caring citizens to reflect, to communicate and to act as responsible caretakers of the earth.
U.S. News & World Report Stats:
Private
Fall 2007 Acceptance Rate: 80.6%
2008-2009 Tuition: $22,666
Setting: Rural
Total # of Undergraduates: 873
Northland College of Ashland, Wisconsin offers three environment-related majors: Environmental Sciences, Natural Resources and Nature and Culture. Focus areas include environmental geosciences, biology, ecological restoration and environmental humanities. But even if you don’t choose one of these majors, your course studies at Northland will be heavily influenced by sustainability. For example, you might take an art class that uses entirely environmentally-friendly materials. That’s what Northland is all about: liberal arts with an emphasis on the environment.
Sustainability is woven into the fabric of Northland College. Students can join environmental organizations like Environmental Council, which works to further the college’s environmental dedication, or Green Fire, which focuses on increasing the health of the Chequamegon bioregion. In the lush environment of the Lake Superior watershed, students are inspired to learn more about the environment and how they can help preserve it.
U.S. News & World Report Stats:
Private
Fall 2007 acceptance rate: 71%
2008-2009 Tuition: $23,101.
Setting: Rural
Total # of Undergraduates: 676
The State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry offers students a vast selection of undergraduate majors including aquatic and fisheries science, biotechnology, conservation biology, environmental biology, environmental studies and wildlife science. With so many programs of study available and a focus on the environment, SUNY-ESF draws students to Syracuse, New York from all over the world.
Students at SUNY-ESF get hands-on experience in diverse ecosystems such as the Great Lakes, the Adirondack Mountains, the Finger Lakes and the urban environment of Syracuse. The university features a state-of-the-art green building and laboratory, the Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems, as well as other outstanding research facilities. Students with environmental interests get the opportunity to work with leaders in such fields as ecology, environmental chemistry and natural resource management among many others.
U.S. News & World Report Stats:
Private
Fall 2007 Acceptance Rate: 50.8%
2008-2009 Tuition: $5,136 in-state, $11,396 out-of-state
Setting: Urban
Total # of Undergraduates: 1545
University of Colorado at Boulder
The Bachelor of Arts degree program in Environmental Studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder emphasizes the interconnections of environmental science and decision-making, drawing from curricula in the earth and natural sciences as well as the social sciences. The program’s purpose is to train students in the cause, scale and remediation strategies of the major environmental problems in the U.S. and the world.
Students get to take classes in a wide range of disciplines, allowing for a well-rounded education that stresses the connection between environmental issues and virtually every other aspect of the world. Courses are intensive and thorough, exploring each subject in a depth that helps transform students into the environmental experts of the future.
The internship program at the University of Colorado at Boulder allows students to learn in the field and is sponsored by the Sierra Club, the Center for Resource Conservation and Eco-Cycle, among other companies and organizations. Students also get hands-on experience during field work at the school’s various research facilities, including the Institute for Arctic and Alpine Research and the Mountain Research Station.
U.S. News & World Report Stats:
Public
Fall 2007 Acceptance Rate: 81.5%
2008-2009 Tuition: $7,278 in-state, $24,936 out-of-state
Setting: Urban
Total # of Undergraduates: 26,155
Of course, this is by no means a comprehensive list. North America is brimming with great environmental undergraduate programs and they’re growing every year. When seeking out the college or university that’s best for your needs, there are a lot of considerations to keep in mind including selectivity, cost and location. Start your search at EnviroEducation.com, where you can enter in your state and the subject you desire to study and get a list of matching schools along with links to their respective websites.
Green College Spotlight: University of Michigan
December 29, 2008
The University of Michigan is well known as a research institution, and it’s also gaining a reputation as a leader in sustainability, so it’s no surprise that U-M is home to a wide variety of collaborative projects, research centers, initiatives and individual studies that focus on environmental sustainability.
There is a seemingly endless list of centers, institutes, research programs and initiatives that offer opportunities for innovation, from the renowned Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise to the Ecosystem Management Initiative. It isn’t hard to see just how dedicated U-M really is to solving the many environmental, economic and social challenges that we face while also minimizing our impact on the planet’s natural resources.
U-M is educating the green leaders of the future, offering a wide range of sustainability courses across nearly all disciplines. The schools and colleges at U-M that focus on sustainability challenges include the College of Engineering, the Ford School of Public Policy, the Ross School of Business, the School of Public Health and many more.
Of course, in addition to learning about how they can incorporate sustainability into their chosen careers, students are also incorporating green values into their everyday lives on campus. Students can get involved in environmental organizations that tackle sustainability issues from specialized angles – there are clubs available for fraternity & sorority members, car enthusiasts, politics junkies and sports lovers. Students are also encouraged to be as green as possible through residential contests like the ‘Ecolympics’.
The University of Michigan has implemented a broad range of sustainable initiatives on campus, from serving fresh organic meals in their dining facilities and composting waste to purchasing green products and organizing efforts to donate or recycle students’ unwanted stuff at the end of each term. Campus vehicles run on ethanol, employees have been vanpooling since 1970 and students can get around on free buses, bicycles or through the ‘GreenRide’ carpooling program.
U-M will soon be home to a new Children’s and Women’s Hospital, set to be the largest LEED-certified health care institution in the nation. Its School of Natural Resources and Environment (SNRE) building is certified LEED gold after a five-year renovation that involved teaching and demonstrating sustainable principles and design.
The University of Michigan received a B+ rating on the College Sustainability Report Card for 2009, and with as many efforts as they’re working on right now, they seem to be on the fast track to becoming one of the nation’s greenest institutions within the next couple years.
Link [University of Michigan Sustainability]
Green College Spotlight: Dickinson College
December 22, 2008
Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania is one of the greenest colleges in the nation, having earned an A- on the 2008 College Sustainability Report Card. The private liberal arts college has earned accolades for its commitment to climate neutrality, a smart and effective energy program, excellent waste management practices, dedication to green building and other aspects of its sustainability plan.
The 2,400-student college, headed by President William G. Durden, is working toward becoming a ‘living example’ of sustainability in the community. They’ve identified important sustainability goals on campus through a 23-member Sustainability Task Force and are currently working on ways to reach those goals, which include reducing pollution and energy consumption and preserving natural resources.
Dickinson has pledged to work toward climate neutrality as members of the AASHE Presidents Climate Commitment, agreeing to offset all greenhouse gas emissions. President Durden has also challenged he campus community to reduce water and electricity use by 10% during the 2008-2009 academic year, having hired four ‘Residential Eco-Interns’ who are developing programs to meet the challenge. Students are also encouraged to do good green deeds through a ‘Caught Green-Handed’ program – they’re rewarded with cookies.
Dickinson distributes stainless steel reusable water bottles to all incoming students, full-time employees and resident advisors in the hopes of eliminating the use of disposable plastic bottles on campus. Walking around campus, you’ll see lots of reminders to be green, like the big red “Turn Me Off!” stickers next to light switches in bathrooms, classrooms, common rooms and residence halls.
The organic college farm provides local seasonal produce for the cafeteria, and campus dining services also purchase goods from local farms and producers, including a local dairy farm. Corn-based cups, recycled napkins and biodegradable plates and to-go containers are used, and all food waste is composted.
Half of Dickinson College’s electricity comes from wind energy, and you’ll also see solar panel arrays on Kaufman Hall as well as at the college farm. The farm also has a greenhouse with a solar thermal root-heating system which allows a longer growing season. Of course, those are far from the only green aspects of buildings on campus – the Center for Sustainable Living is LEED gold rated and Dickinson has committed to obtaining at least LEED silver for all new construction projects over $500,000.
Dickinson College also has a Biodiesel Project, turning used vegetable oil into fuel. Started by students, the biodiesel plant provides fuel for the college garbage truck, lawn mowers, farm equipment and other diesel engines and surplus fuel is sometimes used in campus heating appliances.
That’s just the beginning of what Dickinson is doing to go green – check out the rest at the Dickinson Sustainability website.
Link [Dickinson Sustainability]
Green College Spotlight: Binghamton University in Binghamton, NY
September 22, 2008
Binghamton University was recognized by the Princeton Review as one of 11 colleges in America that reached the highest score possible, 99, on their new ‘green rating’ system. It’s a well-deserved honor – Binghamton hasn’t just put sustainability initiatives at the top of their priorities on campus, they’ve also dedicated themselves to researching some of the planet’s most pressing challenges, from green technology to the proper management of precious natural resources.
Binghamton University – officially known as the State University of New York at Binghamton, or SUNY Binghamton – has adopted a wide variety of green programs and projects that encompass all aspects of campus operations, from implementing ‘Operation Green Space’, which transformed over 80,000 acres of paved areas to green space, to its Energy Management System (EMS) which monitors the school’s energy use.
The campus has gotten greener and greener every year, with students and faculty coming together to reduce energy consumption, conserve water, recycle as much as possible, cut down on unnecessary waste and use as much organic and local produce as possible throughout the year. Food waste is composted, a solar hot-water system is being installed and the campus is equipped with low-flow toilets and aerated faucets. Electric motorcars and bikes are seen all over campus, parking meters are solar/battery powered and janitorial staff uses non-toxic cleaners.
Students have also participated in energy conservation contests, including one between residential halls in which the winning community, Dickinson, offered one-hour ‘blackouts’ and encouraged students to unplug electronic devices not in use. Other efforts include a student bus system, Move Out Week in which food and clothing are donated to charity, Zero Waste Earth Day, America Recycles Day and regular recycle ‘Blitz’ days. This year’s energy savings was estimated at about 650,00 pounds of carbon.
Several of SUNY Binghamton’s buildings also received LEED certification including Mountainview’s Cascade and Windham Halls. Green features in and around the buildings include water-efficient landscaping, use of local and regional materials, use of low-emitting materials, storm water management and indoor pollution controls.
Binghamton also offers more than 40 environment and sustainability courses each year, many of which are taught at the university’s 12,500-square-foot greenhouse. The E.W. Heier Teaching & Research Greenhouses functions as a living laboratory for the University’s plant and ecology related courses. It holds over 6,000 exotic plants, representing over 1,200 distinct species. Other ‘green’ research conducted at Binghamton University include sensor systems related to environmental technologies, the natural features and human effects on watersheds and alternative energy technology.
One of the things we might see coming out of Binghamton sometime soon is the world’s first affordable fuel cell car. Right now, professor of chemistry Chuan-Jian Zhong is the lead researcher in a project that aims to lower the cost of manufacturing fuel cells, something that could be a huge breakthrough in the green auto industry. We’re sure lots of fresh green ideas are going to be coming out of this school, and the world will be better off for it.
Link [Binghamton University]
More Info for College Students: Princeton Review Adding Sustainability Ratings to their College Rankings
May 5, 2008
The jury’s still out on whether college ratings provided by outlets like Newsweek and the U.S. News and World Report are actually helpful to students and their families. There have been a lot of questions about some of the statistics used to rank schools, and some colleges have been known to intentionally skew data to rank higher.
One way that these college rankings can be helpful to college students, however, is getting a feel for a school’s eco-friendliness via The Princeton Review’s new sustainability ratings. Beginning this year, you’ll be able to see a school’s ‘green rating’ in The Princeton Review’s annual college rankings.
From the Maneater:
The Princeton Review spokeswoman Harriet Brand said the “green rating” measures how well schools are using their environmental practices to deliver a better campus experience and to prepare students to succeed in their future careers.
The rating criteria includes how environmentally responsible a school’s policies are, whether students have a quality of life on campus that is both healthy and sustainable and how well a school is preparing its students for employment and for citizenship in a world defined by environmental challenges.
The data for the rating is based entirely on the 2007-2008 academic year.
Adding a rating like this to widely read rankings from the Princeton Review, which many prospective students and parents take very seriously, could be a great thing for the future of green practices in colleges. It could introduce a little competition into the sustainability practices at the schools highlighted in the issue. Students win, the environment wins – sounds good to us.
Link [The Maneater]
Photo credit: Flickr user katmere
College Students: Pick Schools According to their Eco-Friendly Practices
April 30, 2008
College students, you’ve now got a great new tool at your disposal: a website that can help you choose a sustainable school. You may be wondering what exactly makes a school ‘sustainable’, and why you’d be interested in that information. The Daily Green has it:
Colleges can be as large as small cities, and therefore use a tremendous amount of resources, plus they have strong potential to mold the minds of the next generation of leaders.
In 2007 Grist released an editorial ranking of top green colleges, and this year the Kentucky-based Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education launched a pilot program to rate 90 U.S. and Canadian colleges on environmental impact.
It’s called Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS), and is designed to be a voluntary, self-reporting framework for gauging progress toward sustainability. It is associated with the group’s Chill Out Competition to reduce global warming contributions, and the comment period ends May 30.
Until that ranking becomes available, prospies may want to check out this informative post on the blog of major student loan lender NextStudent. It’s a summary of 12 of the greenest colleges in America, including many that have been honored in the past by other groups
Among the top sustainable colleges are College of the Altantic, Middlebury College, Evergreen State College, Oberlin College, Harvard University and Warren Wilson College. Highlights of their eco-friendly practices include solar panels, energy efficiency programs, waste reduction, composting and organic farming. If you’re interested in a ‘green collar’ career or just want to be part of an institution that promotes earth friendly initiatives, this info could be really helpful.
Link [Daily Green] + [NextStudent]
Photo credit: Warren Wilson College
