The University has been recognized as one of the nations “greenest” institutions by a college preparatory magazine.
The Princeton Review gave the University, along with 10 other public and private colleges, its highest Green Rating possible.
The Review cited more than 200 sustainability-related courses offered by the University, in addition to programs launched by the School of Law and the Lundquist College of Business as reasons why the University has been and continues to be a leader in sustainability.
The Review also mentioned the ASUO, which contributes ten percent of its annual budget to sustainability-related programs and multiple conferences that the University hosts on the issue.
“The University of Oregon has long promoted sustainability, and our faculty is engaged in cutting-edge research to find solutions to environmental dilemmas,” University President Dave Frohnmayer said in a prepared statement.
The University will host the first Campus Sustainability Conference this fall, said University Sustainability Director Steve Mital, who organized the conference at the request of Vice President of Finance and Administration Frances Dyke.
Mital led a planning committee that decided to organize the conference into two day-long sessions. The first day is for faculty, staff and administrators; the second day will be devoted to students, Mital said.
Mital said that the annual conference will rotate between universities in Oregon, but he plans to hold a separate sustainability conference for students on campus every fall.
He will begin his first year as the full-time director of sustainability in the fall. The position of sustainability director was created four years ago at a quarter-time capacity, then increased to three-quarter time last year. Mital has held the position all four years.
The College of Business was also highlighted in the Review article for creating the Sustainable Supply Chain Management Center, which recently changed its name to the Center for Sustainable Business Practices “in response to the evolving sphere of business interests and influences with a stake in sustainability,” according to its website.
Mital added that the business school also contributed to sustainability on campus by constructing the Lillis Business Complex to meet the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Silver Standard.
The Lillis Complex was recognized as the most environmentally friendly college business complex in the nation after it was completed in 2003, according to the College of Business.
According to the Review, the ASUO is helping the environment on campus by spending ten percent of its annual budget on sustainability-related programs and projects.
“Incredible, isn’t it?” Mital said. Of the funds spent on sustainability, most go toward purchasing student passes to Lane Transit District and funding the Campus Recycling program.
The ASUO spends more than $2 million on sustainability-related programs, a large portion of which goes to LTD, said ASUO Accountant Lynn Giordano.
“This helps (students) move around the city without their individual cars,” Giordano said.
In addition to this and Campus Recycling, which is funded jointly by the ASUO and Facilities Services, ASUO provides funding for student programs such as Sustainable Advantage and Land Air Water at the Law School, the Center for the Advancement of Sustainable Living, the Coalition Against Environmental Racism, and the Environmental Policy Makers and Planners, Giordano said.
The University is the only Oregon college to be receive the highest Green Rating by The Princeton Review. Other schools on the list include the University of Washington, Harvard College, and Yale University.
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