Dickinson is One “Cool” (and Green) School According to Sierra Magazine

August 20, 2009

Sierra magazine, the official publication of the Sierra Club, has recognized Dickinson as one of America’s greenest colleges by designating it a “Cool“ School in its Comprehensive Guide to the Most Eco-Enlightened U.S. Colleges: Live (Green) and Learn.”

Dickinson is one of only five colleges–Harvard University, the University of New Hampshire, the University of Washington and Middlebury College are the others—to achieve the top grades by The Princeton Review’s Green Honor Roll, the Sustainable Endowments Institutes’ Green Report Card and, most recently, Sierra magazine’s “Cool Schools” list.

Sierra magazine recognizes that the next generation of students cares deeply about the environment and is looking for a college with green credentials.Dickinson’s comprehensive approach to sustainability and the environment placed it among other “Cool” national colleges and universities that not only teach about a better world but also do something about it including the University of Colorado at Boulder, Middlebury College, University of Vermont, Oberlin College, University of New Hampshire, Yale University, Bates College, Willamette University and Harvard University.

Colleges were assessed in eight categories: academics, administration, efficiency, energy, food, purchasing, transportation and waste management. Dickinson excelled in areas such as campus farm-grown, locally-grown, organic, vegetarian and vegan food offerings; endowment transparency and environmentally responsible investments; LEED-certified buildings; energy and water-saving efficiencies; recycling, composting and waste reduction; a defined pathway to climate neutrality; and an area of great emphasis at Dickinson—academics.

Not only does Dickinson offer a Bachelors of Science in environmental science and a Bachelors of Art in environmental studies, many of its other majors and interdisciplinary programs offer opportunities for in-depth study of the environment, sustainability and humans' relationships with the environment including anthropology, biology, chemistry, economics, international business and management, international studies, physics, policy studies and religion.

Dickinson utilizes campus and community resources as 'living laboratories' for sustainability learning and collaborative student-faculty research, including its Alliance for Aquatic Resource Monitoring (ALLARM), the College Farm, the Reineman Wildlife Sanctuary, Dickinson’s Biodiesel Shop and various campus projects such as design and installation of new solar facilities and ‘green’ renovations of campus buildings. In 2008, Dickinson College received a $1.4 million grant from the Andrew Mellon Foundation to support its environmental and sustainability curriculum. The grant helped establish The Center for Environmental and Sustainability Education to ensure study of the environment and sustainability is integrated across the college curriculum and to link campus learning with co-curricular programs, greening of campus operations and both global and local civic engagement.

According to Carl Pope, executive director for the Sierra Club, colleges that take the initiative in being environmentally responsible are poised to attract the best students. Stephanie Balmer, Dickinson’s vice president for enrollment and communications and dean of admissions, says her discussions with prospective and current students confirm Pope’s assertion. “Students with a passion for the environment and sustainability don’t want words—they want action, an opportunity Dickinson is able to provide. Whether it is a dinner-discussion with faculty, field and research trips locally and across the globe, or student-initiated sustainability actions that have been implemented at the college and in the community—our students are leaders. They assist in everything from making decisions about the local food they eat in the dining hall to the boardroom where they can serve on the Socially Responsible Investments Committee. These students are able to turn their energy into results."

Sierra magazine has 1.2 million readers and is a publication of the Sierra Club, the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots environmental group. For full descriptions of each school’s green efforts, visit the magazine online.

For information on Dickinson’s environmental and sustainability initiatives www.dickinson.edu/departments/cese/.