Wheaton College Science Center Earns LEED Gold
Wheaton College’s (IL) Science Center has received LEED Gold certification. The new 134,000-square-foot facility was built on a previously developed site using recycled steel, brick and acoustical tile, as well as regionally produced materials. Builders used low-emitting adhesives, sealants and paints. Additionally, 70 percent of the building’s electricity comes from a provider of renewable energy and landscaping plants are native to the region.
Alfred State College Students Build Green Home on Campus
Students at Alfred State College (NY) are receiving hands-on learning about green construction and technology by helping to build a green home on its Applied Technology campus. Utilizing the skills they have developed in architecture, building trades and electrical construction courses, the students are using an integrated approach to energy efficiency in the design of the buildings, the building envelope and the mechanical space conditioning systems.
Appalachian State U Installs Green Roof
Appalachian State University has installed a Living Roofs, Inc. vegetative green roof atop a campus hall in an effort to reduce energy costs. A joint effort between the university's Physical Plant department and Pepco Energy Services, the roof will cool and insulate the building, managing heat caused by concrete exposed to the sun, and provide a way to disperse stormwater more sustainably.
Appalachian State U Students Take Service-Learning Trips
Appalachian State University (NC) students recently conducted community service projects as part of the university's Alternative Fall Break trips program. Fall trips included a visit to a wildlife refuge on the South Carolina coast, where students helped clean and maintain sensitive ecosystems; working alongside park rangers to maintain the Appalachian Trail; and helping local community agencies through environmental cleanup. Students help offset the carbon emissions of their trips by calculating how much carbon was used to travel and do every-day activities, and planning a sustainable community service project to achieve carbon-neutrality.
Boston Architectural College Debuts Sustainable Design Master's
Boston Architectural College has announced the creation of an online Master of Design Studies in sustainable design. Debuting August 2011, the coursework includes both online study and week-long learning intensives at the college's Newbury Street campus. The curriculum will feature more than 30 graduate courses including green building design, green policy and advocacy, sustainable community planning and sustainable construction.
California State U Fresno to Build Bike Barn
After 17 bikes were reported stolen during August and September, California State University, Fresno has announced plans to construct a bike barn to provide a safe place for students to park. The bike barn will be a designated area to park a large number of bicycles in a secure location. The project will be paid for by the Alternative Transportation Fund, which is funded through campus parking violations.
Campuses Making Energy Reduction Strides Through Green IT Plans
As campuses struggle with the immensity of the carbon neutrality challenge, information technology is often the leader in small sustainability initiatives that reduce energy and galvanize the campus for larger work ahead, reports Campus Technology. The news outlet profiles Alfred University (NY), where the IT department has been instrumental in automating processes to make the campus as paperless as possible; and Scottsdale Community College (AZ), which has switched to lower-wattage computers, converted CRT monitors to LCD models and implemented programs to shut off computers in student labs that haven't been used in the last 30 minutes.
Clemson U Gifted $2 Mil for Sustainable Development Endowed Chair
Clemson University's (SC) Center of Economic Excellence in Sustainable Development has received a $2 million gift to endow a chair in the sustainable development field. Gifted by former Bechtel Corp. senior executive and 1969 Clemson mechanical engineering graduate Tom Hash, the position will help develop new sustainable technologies and encourage smart growth. Focusing on areas where the natural and built environments meet, research will aim to produce tools and products to better monitor, manage and protect the environment while allowing for continued economic growth and development.
Cornell U Receives $80 Mil from Alum for Sustainability Center
Cornell University (NY) has announced an $80 million gift from 1960 graduate David R. Atkinson to create a permanent campus research center that will be a focal point for sustainability-related activity on campus, including education, operations, outreach and research. The gift builds on the success of the Cornell Center for a Sustainable Future, established in 2007, which is now renamed the David R. Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future. Its current research projects include index-based insurance products for poor herders and farmers and for pre-financing of emergency response by humanitarian organizations; technology for bio-based energy and feedstock production; and exploring the impacts of climate change, biodiversity loss, invasive species and pollution from the perspectives of population genetics, modeling, biogeochemistry, economics, environmental sociology and microbiology.
Delta College President Recognized for Climate Leadership
Delta College (MI) President Jean Goodnow has received the first annual Climate Leadership Award for Outstanding Individual Climate Leadership from Second Nature. Honorees were recognized at the organization's fourth annual American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment Summit in October. Goodnow has integrated sustainability into the college's educational, administrative and operational activities including Green Fridays, a four-day work week established as a successful measure of campus carbon reduction. The college is also launching an Introduction to Sustainability course to serve as the foundation for its upcoming Sustainability Certificate program.
Elon U Introduces Environmental Studies Program
Elon University’s (NC) Department of Environmental Studies has created a B.S. in environmental and ecological science, and a minor in environmental and sustainability studies. The department hopes to better serve students interested in careers in environmental science, wildlife biology, conservation biology, ecosystem management and restoration. The major has less core course and more elective choices. The minor will educate students about the principles of sustainability.
Florida Ag and Mechanical U Students Study Biodiesel Production
Florida Agriculture and Mechanical University has received a $50,000 grant from Ford Motor Company to allow students to grow and harvest oil seed crops for the production of biofuel. Students will have an opportunity to learn all of the components that go into making biodiesel fuel.
Illinois Central College Constructs Green Roof
Illinois Central College has begun constructing a green roof atop its fitness center as part of an $18 million expansion of the Cougar-Plex. Low-growing plants will be installed to help provide insulation. The college expects the new roof to help reduce energy costs and extend the life of the existing roof material.
Loyola U Offers Sweatshop Free Apparel
Loyola University (MD) has partnered with Alta Gracia Apparel to offer sweatshop free apparel in the college bookstore. The clothing manufacturing company implements responsible labor practices and pays its workers, who are free to unionize, a living wage. Alta Gracia's wages were standardized by the Workers Right Consortium, a labor rights watchdog organization that includes the involvement of more than 180 collegiate apparel factories. The university's Center for Community Service and Justice has been involved with several initiatives on campus to support unionized factories and tries to spark interest in the fair trade initiative among students, groups and offices on campus.
Lubbock Christian U Building to Seek LEED Gold
Lubbock Christian University (TX) has unveiled its newest green building, designed to receive LEED Gold certification. Ground source heat pumps will heat and cool the Cardwell Welcome Center, which also features light-colored parking pavement to reflect the sun’s heat rather than absorb it, and shade trees around its perimeter that are irrigated by captured rainwater from its roof. Nearly 85 percent of the construction waste was recycled.
Maryland Institutions Propose Energy Performance Contract
Bowie State University, Towson University and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County have proposed an Energy Performance Contract to the University System of Maryland Board of Regents. The contract would allow the institutions to reduce energy consumption, save operating budget funds and replace aging mechanical systems. The board has approved energy contracts for multiple buildings at the University of Maryland, College Park; the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science; and the University of Baltimore.
Middlesex County College Residence Hall Seeks LEED Silver
Middlesex County College (NJ) has nearly completed the construction of a 36,000-square-foot building designed to meet LEED Silver certification. Sustainable features include waterless urinals, recycled construction materials and a white roof to reflect heat. Additionally, the grounds include catchments for rainwater to be used for irrigation.
Northeastern U Receives $8 Mil for Renewable Energy Research
Northeastern University's (MA) Center for Renewable Energy Technology has received six federal grants totaling more than $8 million to conduct research that will focus mainly on increasing the availability and affordability of electric cars in the marketplace. Among the grants is a four-year, $6.38 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop a cost-effective and energy-efficient non-platinum based fuel cell catalyst for electric vehicles. The new technology would replace internal combustion gas engines with fuel cells.
Oberlin College Receives $1.1 Mil Grant for Energy Assessments
Oberlin College (OH) will administer a $1.1 million federal award secured by Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur that will be used to conduct a comprehensive, district-wide assessment of energy infrastructure and alternative energy transmission. Under the guidance of the National Energy Technology Laboratory, the college will study solar energy feasibility and sustainable energy opportunities for the city of Oberlin as well as potential options for converting the college's current central heating plan to biomass or another alternative energy source.
Ohio Wesleyan U Debuts Green Aquatic Center
Ohio Wesleyan University has debuted its $10 million Meek Aquatics and Recreation Center, designed to meet LEED certification. The center was funded with alumni contributions and grants, including $1.1 million in federal funds to support the geothermal energy system to heat and cool the building.
Rend Lake College Develops Biofuel Education Program
Rend Lake College (IL) has received a $60,835 federal grant to support a three-part biofuels education program, which will include training on farm-based biodiesel production. The first component of the program will include the development of a hybrid course with online lectures and lab sessions with lab-scale production of biodiesel, ethanol and methane. A community education course designed for local community members who want to learn more about small-scale biofuel production and use will be part of the second component. The third portion of the program involves an internship program for the college’s students. Interns will produce small batches of biodiesel, ethanol and methane using feedstock sourced from the campus farm.
St. Mary’s College of Maryland Builds Rain Garden
St. Mary’s College of Maryland has constructed a rain garden to capture stormwater runoff and filter out sediments and nutrients that would otherwise end up in the waterways. The low-maintenance garden features native species and requires seasonal deadheading and weeding. The project will be part of an environmental science course for elementary school kids.
SUNY College of Enviro Science and Forestry Hosts Denim Drive
Students at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry hosted a denim drive throughout the month of October as part of Cotton Incorporated’s campaign, “Cotton From Blue to Green.” The campaign converts donated jeans into sustainable natural-fiber housing insulation to be used by Habitat for Humanity. It takes 500 pieces of denim to insulate a house. The student group Green Campus Initiative led the effort to bring the campaign to the university and oversaw the collection events and donation bin maintenance on campus.
Sustainable Endowments Inst. Releases Green College Report Card
The Sustainable Endowments Institute has released its fifth annual College Sustainability Report Card, evaluating sustainability in campus operations and endowment practices for colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada. This year's report represents institutions in 50 states and eight Canadian provinces, assessing the schools in nine categories ranging from climate change to green building to investment practices. Ninety-five percent of institutions included in the report have sustainability committees, compared to 40 percent in 2006. Other large increases since 2006 include trayless dining practices (75 percent from 0 percent in 2006) and the implementation of a campus farm or garden (70 percent from 9 percent in 2006).
Syracuse U Interior Design Class to Create Green Office
Six teams of Syracuse University (NY) interior design students are working to transform a basement into a green office for the university’s Sustainability Division. The third-year design students will infuse functionality and style to create a nontraditional office using sustainable materials and featuring green amenities. The office, known as the Sustainable Studio, will allow the division’s staff to build a presence within the College of Visual and Performing Arts while they implement the university’s climate action plan.
U Albany to Research How to Reduce Traffic Light Idling Time
An associate professor at the University at Albany School of Business (NY) has been awarded a $378,375 grant from the James S. McDonnell Foundation to study how traffic lights may be more efficiently organized for drivers to save time and gas. The goal of the research is to improve traffic light synchronization through a self-organizing system, avoiding the idling time for drivers that hit six red lights in a row, for example, and helping to reduce carbon emissions.
U Arizona Creates Campus Sustainability Units
The University of Arizona has created the President’s Advisory Council on Environmental Sustainability, the Office of Sustainability and the student-led Green Fund Committee. The campus sustainability trio will ensure the coordinated participation of students, faculty, staff and administrators in maintaining the university’s commitment to sustainability. The units will also ensure that the Board of Regents’ approved tuition resources are dedicated to campus design, student engagement, operations, research and outreach.
U Arizona Expands Bike Program
The University of Arizona has extended the free trial period for its bicycle valet program and expanded its bike share fleet. The valet will be free to students and faculty until Jan. 30, 2011, to allow more people to test the system. Due to the success of the bike sharing program, the university will add 15 additional bikes to its existing fleet of 10.
U Calgary Prohibits Idling
The University of Calgary (AB) has announced a new policy that prohibits vehicles on campus to be left idling unattended for more than three minutes when the temperature is warmer than 14 degrees Fahrenheit. Violators will be subject to fines that will be reinvested in sustainable transportation initiatives including the construction of secure bike parking facilities. Students, staff, faculty and visitors make more than 40,000 vehicle trips to and from campus, according to the university. The school hopes that the new policy will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions on campus and improve regional air quality.
U Guelph Begins Organic Power Plant
Production is expected to begin in February on an organic power plant at the University of Guelph's (ON) Ridgetown campus. The university received a $2.6 million grant through the Federal Development Agency for Southern Ontario to assist in the construction of an anaerobic digester that will turn manure and other waste into electricity. The plant will also feature a dry-feeder system, pasteurization unit and biogas engine. Biogas will be produced from several organic waste streams including dairy manure, swine manure, beef manure, corn silage and other off-farm waste that would otherwise go to a landfill.
U Mass Amherst Launches Online Sustainability Studies Program
The University Without Walls adult degree completion program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has launched an online sustainability studies undergraduate degree program. Courses include green building, renewable energy, sustainable food and farming, sustainable entrepreneurship and permaculture design.
Unity College Students Help Design Passive House Residence Hall
Unity College (ME) students and faculty recently gathered to provide design ideas and concerns for the college's upcoming project to build a residence hall to the Passive House standard. The Passive House standard in the U.S. is an extension of the PassivHaus Institute of Germany, utilizing insulation and tight air sealing to minimize heat loss. The college received a $389,000 grant from the Kendeda Fund to construct the cottage-style residence hall, which will use sunlight to generate energy with little or no active mechanical systems. The sunlight will be converted to usable heat. Students, who will also be involved in the construction and monitoring of the facility, participated in discussions about the potential size of the building, the orientation and interior set-up, and how the building will relate to the whole of the college.
U North Texas Life Sciences Complex Seeks LEED Gold
The University of North Texas’ new Life Sciences Complex will seek LEED Gold certification. The 87,000-square-foot building includes four climate-controlled rooftop research greenhouses designed for plant science research. The complex also features water-efficient landscaping and the inclusion of an underground stormwater retention cistern for landscape irrigation. Additional sustainable features include passive solar design and cost-effective lighting and vent hoods that operate on occupancy sensors.
U Oklahoma Geography Dept to Offer Enviro Sustainability Degrees
The department of geography at the University of Oklahoma has announced that it will offer B.A. and B.S. degrees in environmental sustainability. Involving instructors from 14 departments across the university, the curriculum will explore how human societies can meet the needs of the present without compromising future generations. Coursework will examine short- and long-term needs related to jobs and economic growth, societal well-being and environmental health. Beginning spring 2011, students will have the option to specialize in sustainability science and natural resources; sustainability planning and management; and sustainability, culture and society.
U Pennsylvania Expands Recycling Program
The University of Pennsylvania has expanded its recycling program. The university will recycle all plastic containers and plastic types numbered one through seven. Blue Mountain Recycling has installed new equipment on campus capable of sorting and recycling beyond number one and two plastics. The university hopes that the expanded plastic recycling will boost its goal for a 40 percent campus recycling rate by 2014.
Westminster College Science Center Earns LEED Platinum
Westminster College (UT) has earned LEED Platinum certification for its new science center. Environmentally friendly features of the four-story, 60,000-square-foot Meldrum Science Center include daylight sensors that control the use of artificial lighting, locally sourced and reclaimed building materials and ventilation and filtration systems. Eighty-five percent of the construction waste was recycled.
Alfred U Residence Hall Receives LEED Gold
Alfred University’s (NY) new 48-bed residence hall has been awarded LEED Gold certification. Sixty-five percent of the wood used during the construction of Ann's House was from forests certified for using sustainable forestry practices and 30 percent of the materials were from local or regional suppliers. Other sustainable features include 15 kilowatts of solar panels on the roof, high-efficiency boilers, individual-room thermostat controls and a passive solar design.
Brown U Students Work Toward Campus, Community Carbon Reductions
Students involved in the Community Carbon Use Reduction at Brown Initiative at Brown University (RI) are working to reduce carbon emissions on campus and in the community. Projects include pumping under-inflated tires at a local gas station to improve fuel efficiency, installing programmable thermostats in local homes and various community weatherization projects. Funded mainly through the initiative’s original $300,000 grant, the initiative also provides loans of about $3,000 for professional contractors to do larger or more serious projects.
Cooper Union Academic Building Awarded LEED Platinum
The newest academic building at Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (NY) has been awarded LEED Platinum certification. The $150 million, 175,000-square-foot building features a green roof, radiant heating and cooling ceiling panels, and an atrium to improve air flow and provide increased interior day lighting. Also incorporated into the design is an operable building skin made of perforated stainless steel panels offset from a glass and aluminum window wall to reduce the impact of heat radiation during the summer and insulate interior spaces during the winter.
Cuyamaca College Receives $400K Grant for Green Job Training
Cuyamaca College (CA) has received a $400,000 grant to offer free courses to unemployed and underemployed people who are looking for careers in landscaping and water conservation. The courses lead to certificates and prepare students to pursue credentials for jobs in landscape irrigation and water use efficiency. The program grew out of a grant from the San Diego Workforce Partnership, a job development initiative.
Drexel U Commits to Wind Energy
Drexel University (PA) has partnered with Community Energy, Inc. to purchase Renewable Energy Certificates equal to 100 percent of its energy use. The purchase will ensure that electricity consumed will be matched annually with wind energy entering the electricity grid. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's greenhouse gas equivalencies calculator, the environmental benefit from this purchase is equal to offsetting approximately 60,518 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year, the annual impact of which is equivalent to the carbon sequestered by 12,904 acres of trees or removing 11,571 passenger vehicles from the road.
Eastern Illinois U Constructs Renewable Energy Center
Eastern Illinois University has announced the construction of its Renewable Energy Center. The $80 million center will burn 27,000 tons of wood chips a year to heat the campus, replacing an older heating plant that burns coal. The university will consider adding grasses or corn stalks to the fuel mix after a year of operation.
Eastern Mennonite Installs Solar Photovoltaic Array
Eastern Mennonite University (VA) has partnered with Secure Futures, LLC to install a solar photovoltaic array on the library roof. The system will have the capacity to generate 104.3 kilowatts of electricity with enough power to supply the total average annual electricity cost for nine homes. The university has entered into a 20-year power purchase agreement to buy the solar-generated electricity at a “grid-parity” price equivalent to the rate the university pays for power from its current provider.
Enviro Defense Fund Promotes Diversity in Enviro Leadership
The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) has announced an expansion of its efforts to develop campus sustainability projects and promote greater diversity in environmental leadership within minority-serving institutions. EDF has been working with minority-serving colleges in North Carolina since 2009 with programs that focus on energy efficiency, curriculum development and student engagement including Climate Corps and Alpha Goes Green. EDF will expand its partnerships with minority-serving institutions to those in Texas and New York in 2011, with plans for further expansion to other states in 2012.
Frostburg State U Offers Minor in Sustainability Studies
Frostburg State University (MD) has debuted a new minor in sustainability studies. The interdisciplinary minor is designed to encourage students to explore environmental, economic and social equity issues relating to sustainability in modern societies. The curriculum will focus on real-world answers and solutions with an emphasis on interaction among individuals, government agencies and businesses that are impacted by or depend on sustainability trends.
Humboldt State U Awarded $15K to Further Hydrogen Energy Ed
Humboldt State University's (CA) Schatz Energy Research Center has been awarded an additional $15,000 from the U.S. Department of Energy for its Hydrogen Energy in Engineering Education program. The center received $395,000 to develop the program, which, in partnership with the University of California, Berkeley, provides hands-on hydrogen energy education to engineering students in the California State University and University of California systems. The initial funding paid for the development of curricula and equipment including bench-top electrolyzer/fuel cell experiment kits. The extra $15,000 will go toward the development of 30 more experiment kits.
Loyola U Chicago Sells Biodiesel Fuel, Funds Biofuel Outreach
The Loyola University Chicago Center for Urban Environmental Research and Policy’s Biodiesel Program has been licensed by Illinois state and federal authorities to produce and sell its biodiesel fuel. The program has received the approval of the U.S Environmental Protection Agency, Internal Revenue Service, Illinois Department of Revenue and the National Biodiesel Board. The university’s first customer is The Free Enterprise System, Inc., a company that runs the university’s shuttle service between campuses. The company will eliminate the use of nearly 3,000 gallons of diesel fuel every year. The university will also sell the lab’s BioSoap, made from the byproduct of the biodiesel fuel production, at its campus stores and select retailers across Chicago. Editor's Note: Zach Waickman, lab manager for the biodiesel program, tells AASHE that the money from the sales is used for the continued operation of the lab and for a high school outreach project that implements biodiesel and sustainability education into the existing curricula. The university offers the labs, lab tours, guest speaking, classroom help and loan equipment free of charge from its biodiesel sales.
Maharishi U Mgmt Installs Renewable Energy in Alaskan Village
Current and former students at Maharishi University of Management (IA) recently installed sustainable energy technology in a remote Alaskan village as part of a project to help indigenous Alaskans deal with rising energy costs. The group installed solar energy panels, solar hot water, a wind turbine, monitoring equipment and energy-efficient fixtures on two demonstration buildings: a home and a school. The success of this initial demonstration project, funded by a combination of sponsorships, tribal organizations and nonprofits including the Southeast Alaska Conservation Consortium in Angoon, may lead to a multi-phase conversion from fossil fuel dependency to a renewable energy infrastructure in rural southeast Alaska. Village and regional tribal authorities, with Maharishi University as a partner, are now applying for several million dollars in funding to implement the next phase.
Ramapo College Announces Sustainability Studies Graduate Program
Ramapo College of New Jersey has announced a new Master of Arts in Sustainability Studies degree. Students will learn how to apply sustainability in a variety of institutional, organizational, cultural, commercial, professional and geographical contexts. The interdisciplinary, two-year program is based exclusively on evening classes and prospective students include those from fields of social science, business, science, engineering and liberal and fine arts.
Saint Joseph's U Receives $1 Mil for Alternate Fuel, Green Roofs
Saint Joseph's University (PA) has been awarded $1 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to study switchgrass as a potential biofuel crop and to conduct a comparison of green roof systems. The multi-year switchgrass study will look at the effects of changes in precipitation, temperature, nitrogen disposition and elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide on the potential yield of switchgrass varieties. The university will also install a system to permit a direct, side-by-side comparison of a variety of commercial green roof systems. Educational events including public tours of the green roof facility will be held throughout the research process.
