Dickinson College Named Second Greenest, Coolest School In U.S, 6 Others In PA Named

Sierra Magazine this week named Dickinson College in Carlisle one of America’s greenest colleges, placing it second among the 20 “coolest schools” in the country.
            Other Pennsylvania schools included on the top 100 schools list were: University of Pennsylvania (18), Villanova University (53), Carnegie Mellon (64), Drexel University (81) and Allegheny College (91).
            These institutions of higher education are all supremely dedicated to the environment and sustainability. Dickinson moved from number 19 on the magazine’s 2009 list of the 20 greenest and coolest schools to the number two spot for 2010.
            This year the magazine placed a stronger emphasis on energy. The college’s student-run biodiesel shop, 100 percent wind-energy offsets and shiny new student-funded solar panels are just a few examples of the innovation and conservation efforts that helped propel Dickinson to a leadership position.
            The majority of environmental efforts at Dickinson are student-led—from the sustainable lifestyle of the Treehouse residents, to the student farmers, to student interns in sustainability, recycling, water quality monitoring and serving on Dickinson’s Socially Responsible Investment Committee—the list goes on and on. Students also learn how to make a difference inside the classroom. 
            The Center for Sustainability Education helps make sustainability a defining characteristic of a Dickinson education. Dickinson offers students more than 200 classes with sustainability content on renewable energy, environmental justice, environmental science, climate change and more. 
            CSE infuses sustainability into all facets of college life by linking classroom learning with co-curricular programs, the greening of campus operations and civic engagement. In addition, Dickinson’s environmental studies department is one of the best established in the country.
            In addition to Dickinson,  other nine schools rounded out the “top of the class” including Green Mountain College, Evergreen State, University of Washington, Stanford University, University of California, Irvine, Northland College, Harvard University, College of the Atlantic and Hampshire College.
            Dickinson's sustainability achievements have been recognized by other organizations in addition to Sierra Magazine. Last year Dickinson received the highest overall grade on the Sustainable Endowments Institute's Green Report Card and was listed on The Princeton Review’s Green Honor Roll. 
            Dickinson is one of only five colleges in the country to receive top marks from all three groups. The other four institutions are Harvard University, the University of New Hampshire, the University of Washington and Middlebury College.
            The other categories Sierra Magazine considered when assessing a school’s commitment to sustainability include, efficiency, food, academics, purchasing, transportation, waste management, administration, financial investments and other initiatives.
            The complete "cool school" list is available online.
            For more information, visit Dickenson's CSE and Environmental Sustainability webpages. Dickinson’s environmental and sustainability efforts both in and out of the classroom.


8/23/2010

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