Smith College to Install Photovoltaic System
Set to begin construction this semester, the new solar array will be comprised of 1,500 panels and is projected to produce about 550,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity. This project is in collaboration with a third party to help make it financially sustainable.
St. Mary's College of Maryland Institutes Gender-Neutral Housing
Inaugurated this fall, students of the college are given the freedom to choose their roommates independent of gender, sex, sexual identity or sexual orientation. "Open housing" was employed to respond to the needs of students who do not identify with traditional gender norms, and to provide options for all students who feel that they would have a more positive shared-living experience with a roommate of the opposite sex or gender.
Tufts U Creates 'Sustainability House'
Students helped implement what is now the Sustainability House, an on-campus housing initiative where students who have a common interest in sustainability can live in community together. Students in the community are required to work on research related to sustainability or work with groups that seek to create change on campus.
U Georgia Building Awarded LEED Gold
The university's historic College of Environment and Design Jackson Street building features photovoltaic panels, efficient heating and cooling, rainwater collection and grey-water system, a green cleaning program, recycling collection and public transportation.
Western U Health Sciences Signs Solar Contract
A 20-year power purchase agreement was signed with Washington Gas Energy Systems for a 772-kilowatt rooftop photovoltaic system projected to supply 1,110 megawatts of electricity per year. Completion of construction is set for October 2013.
College of the Canyons Holds Inaugural Sustainability Event
(U.S.): Dedicated to promoting sustainability awareness and practices within the student body and community, the event, in concert with the Santa Clarita Environmental Consortium, will focus on environmental issues and is open to the public.
Emory U Building Achieves LEED Gold
(U.S.): The university's 10th LEED-certified building, the residence hall features energy efficiency, transportation options, use of low volatile organic compounds in paints, furnishings and carpeting, and a gray water reclamation system.
Emory U Partners for Textile Recycling
(U.S.): Reducing its waste load and carbon footprint, the university's new partnership with re:loom allows old uniforms to be remade into new products. In summer 2013, the university donated over 100 pounds of custodial uniforms and 300 pounds of athletic uniforms to the service.
Erie CC Opens Green Building Training Center
(U.S.): The recently opened Green Building Technology Center will house training in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and workforce development in emerging green building technology. With funding assistance the building was constructed with renewable energy and energy efficiency techniques and equipment.
Falmouth U, U Exeter Cornwall Launches Green Living Project
(U.K.): Student members of the Falmouth and Exeter Students’ Union are launching two projects aimed at promoting more sustainable behaviors within the student and staff populations. The projects aim to significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions and reduce resources being sent to landfills.
Farmingdale State College Cuts Ribbon on Solar Carport
(U.S.): The new carport/charging station, the first of its kind within SUNY, accommodates 20 electric vehicles and is powered by 390 solar panels. Students, faculty and staff can pay a $10 refundable deposit to use the charging station for one year.
Georgetown U, Energy Dept Collaborate on Energy Efficiency
(U.S.): The two organizations recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate on the Georgetown University Energy Prize, a competition to encourage innovative, replicable and scalable approaches to reduce energy consumption in communities. The winner will receive $5 million in funding for the multi-year proposal.
HKUST Receives Grant
(Hong Kong): The Ford Motor Company recently announced the university is the recipient of HKD500,000 for the Ford-HKUST Conservation and Environmental Research Grants which support postgraduate environmental and conservation science, and conservation engineering advancements. A maximum of 20 project will be supported during the 2013-14 academic year.
Indiana State U Builds Greenhouses
(U.S.): Drawing on its agricultural history, the university’s greenhouse project includes seven passive solar greenhouses which will aid in student and community learning. Made possible by a $100,000 grant from the Lilly Endowment, food grown in the structures will be sold at the farmers’ market and donated to local food banks and charities. Other schools involved include Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Ivy Tech Community College and Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College.
Kansas State U Students Revive African-American Newspaper
(U.S.): Originally a paper by the Black Student Union in the 1970s, Uhuru, meaning "freedom" in Swahili, now has a new generation of interested students that have renewed it as a section of the student newspaper under the name Uhuru Kauli, Kauli meaning "opinion" or "speech.' This section will work with underrepresented student groups and multicultural organizations.
Loyola U Chicago Expands Biodiesel Teaching Lab
(U.S.): After recently winning the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's People, Prosperity & the Planet award competition for a proposal that included a living machine to clean biodiesel's "wash water", the university expanded its processing lab to include larger tanks with site glasses and color-coded piping.
McGill U Earns Fair Trade Designation
(Canada): In an attempt to eradicate poverty through systemic change and investments in people, students led the movement to certify that all coffee sold in university-owned stores is Fair Trade. Fair Trade certified tea and chocolate are also available.
National U Singapore, U Melbourne Win Design Competition
(Australia): Open to architecture students from higher education around the world, the Tropical Architecture Design Competition focuses on tropical green architecture and sustainable building design solutions. A collaboration between the two universities, this year’s winning entry was inspired by natural mushrooms and relies heavily on fresh air, daylight and rainwater for energy, and local construction materials such as ramp earth and rice straw walls.
Portland State U Awards $25K to Cleantech Competition Winners
(U.S.): Sharing the award money to further their business plan, two teams were recently announced as final winners in the competition, which drives development an innovative product that conserves resources. One team engineered naturally derived solar materials while the second team focused on sustainable fisheries.
Princeton U Seeks to Diversify Students, Faculty, Administration
(U.S.): After a recent 19-member group found that the university’s graduate program population, faculty and top administration lacks diversity, the president and board of trustees recently signed recommendations from the diversity group including interdepartmental autonomy for creating diversity in their ranks, additional resources and accountability through monitoring.
St. Olaf College Students Open Thrift Shop
(U.S.): Attempting to connect the dots between what students purchase and what they discard, the newly opened thrift shop collects unwanted items from the end-of-year on-campus move out. Proceeds from the store support environmental projects on campus and local organizations.
SUNY Oswego New Laboratory Complements Environment
(U.S.): The university’s new Rice Creek Field Station is set among 400 acres and contains an herb garden, nature trails, and ponds and streams used for ecological research and public engagement. The building uses solar power, rain gardens and landscape swales, and energy-efficient heating, cooling and lighting.
U Cambridge Adopts Gender-Sensitive Attire Code
(U.K.): Due to attention from the student union’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Other campaign, the new graduation attire code allows women to wear suits and men to wear skirts.
U Illinois Chicago Students Teach Diversity with Gardens
(U.S.): Birthed from two different student cultural groups' desire to promote the importance of environmental and cultural diversity, the new Heritage Garden provides an experiential learning space where students, in collaboration with campus and community members, can engage in hands-on horticultural activities while expanding their knowledge of culturally diversity and environmentally friendly traditions and values.
U Iowa Arena Designated LEED Gold
(U.S.): The university's Carver-Hawkeye Arena addition and renovation project, in which 90 percent of the original structure was used, includes water-efficient landscaping without an irrigation system, energy efficiency and energy from biomass, and 20 percent regionally-procured and recycled materials.
U Richmond Initiates Dorm Eco-Rep Program
(U.S.): The university's Office of Sustainability has initiated this new program in an effort to increase awareness for on-campus sustainability programs including Eco-Olympics, Campus Conservation Nationals and Recyclemania.
U South Pacific Announces New Green Campus
(Solomon Islands): The new Solomon Island campus will be self-sufficient with regards to water and renewable energy, and will reflect the culture and local traditions of the island people.
U Utah Partners for Free Transit on Game Days
(U.S.): In an effort to reduce the demand for parking during events, the Utah Transit Authority will allow game attendees to use their university athletic event ticket as fare beginning this season.
Villanova U Introduces LEED Bldgs, Water Bottle Stations + More
(U.S.): Newly implemented and/or completed this summer, the university has two new LEED Silver-certified residence halls, six new hydration stations around campus, and an ionized water cleaning system throughout the campus for floors, windows and disinfectants. The certified buildings include improvements to the lighting and heating, cooling and air conditioning equipment, low-flow bathroom fixtures, low volatile organic compounds paint and access to daylighting.
Virginia Tech Wins Tree Farm Design Competition
(U.S.): A faculty and student team were recently awarded first place in the Casey Trees Master Plan Design Competition, a juried program to help Casey Trees fulfill its mission of protecting the tree canopy of Washington, D.C. Runners up were Clemson University, University of Maryland at College Park and a joint submission from Syracuse University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Visvesvaraya Technological U to Open Renewable Energy Park
(India): Under its Center for Nanotechnology and in partnership with the Solar Agriculture Institute of India, the university has proposed a new renewable energy park on 10 acres to supply 100 percent of the school’s power and contribute to neighboring villages electricity.
Western Kentucky U Glasgow Receives $5K Grant
(U.S.): The recently appointed funding from Farm Credit Mid-America will support agriculture and sustainability through expansion of the university's student-led Greentopper Program, an outreach program focusing on the environment, community and economy.
Boston U Building Achieves LEED Gold
The university’s new Center for Student Services offers a biking system and bike sharing program, vegetative roof, stormwater management, drought-tolerant landscaping, low-flow plumbing fixtures, daylighting, occupancy sensors, and green certified restaurants using 28 percent of the budget on food sourced within 250 miles.
Bowling Green State U Begins Green Office Program
The new points-based Green Office Certification program advises departments and offices around energy efficiency, waste and transportation. Managed by the Office of Campus Sustainability, the program’s website offers resources and suggestions on how to become office certified.
