The university is becoming "greener" than ever.
Thanks to devoted students, faculty and staff, the university was named one of the top 10 greenest colleges in America in an article in The Daily Green, an online publication for environmental issues and global warming news.
Scott McNall, executive director of the Institute for Sustainable Development, is delighted that the efforts of students, faculty and staff are attracting national attention, he said.
"We are now systematically comparing ourselves to all other top green campuses in the U.S. to determine whether or not we have gaps to fill," he said. "Once we identify them, we will begin to work specifically on areas of improvement that we identified."
The article was written after doing as much research possible on the most sustainable and green campuses across the nation without actually visiting the schools, said Brian Howard, who wrote the article. Howard used information on the schools' Web sites and contacted people at the colleges who were involved with the green movement. Also ranked in the top 10 were Harvard and Duke universities.
"It's an admittedly subjective list, but we tried to present it as such," Howard said.
This isn't the first recognition Chico State has received for its work in sustainability. The university has received a variety of awards, including the Chill Out: Campus Solutions to Global Warming contest, which was won this year.
The Institute for Sustainable Development submitted a statement about the university's programs and achievements, said Jennifer Rotnem, director of environmental programs. Campuses across the nation were ranked by the National Wildlife Federation, which ultimately chose Chico State as the winner, Rotnem said.
"We should be proud of this award and see it as a sign that Chico State is moving in the right direction toward becoming more sustainable," Rotnem said. "When compared to other universities across the country, we are making bold steps in the direction of sustainability."
Chico State's sustainability program integrates learning with action, she said. The university is working to integrate sustainability into education and the curriculum while also adopting and encouraging green action: building green, civic engagement, environmentally responsible land management, utilizing alternative energy and recycling to name a few, she said.
In addition to being recognized as a green school, Chico State is the only school with a stand-alone sustainability conference that draws more than 1,000 registrants, McNall said.
According to the university Web site, the sustainability conference "This Way to Sustainability" is the nation's largest of its kind.
"We focus on all dimensions of sustainability; the link between the environment, society and the economy," McNall said.
While Chico State is moving toward a more sustainable future, McNall thinks the campus needs to integrate sustainability across the entire curriculum and provide a program or degree that allows students to focus on the study of the interrelationship of the economy, society and the environment, he said. While these honors aren't the first the university has received, and they probably won't be the last, getting national recognition benefits everyone.
"It adds value to your degree," McNall said. "It improves the status of the school and it helps you to develop skills that will be valued beyond the campus."
Kelsey Siebert can be reached at ksiebert@theorion.com
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