Turning Green Into Gold

Admissions House following renovation

Kappa Sigma Fraternity Scholarship recipient Joojo Ocran '17 shakes hands with David Haag '73, one of the Kappa Sigma alumni supporting the scholarship. Photo by Carl Socolow '77.

Waidner Admissions House earns LEED Gold certification

The Waidner Admissions House recently became the latest campus structure to be awarded the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold rating from the United States Green Building Council.

"Receiving LEED Gold for the admissions building is an important milestone for the college—it's our fourth LEED Gold building," says Ken Shultes, associate vice president for campus operations. "It adds an administrative building to our arsenal of sustainable renovation and new construction projects." That arsenal includes Althouse, James and Stuart halls in the Rector Science Complex and the Treehouse (Center for Sustainable Living), all certified LEED Gold since 2010.

Built in 1908 and renovated in 2011, the Waidner Admissions House often serves as the first stop for many prospective students and their families. The renovated structure provides visitors with a "striking indication of the college's prominence in sustainability right at their first stop on campus," says Shultes.

The criterion "optimizing energy performance" garnered the most points toward the certification, but many factors played a role in securing Gold certification:

  •     water-efficient landscaping
  •     green power
  •     using low-emitting materials
  •     reusing the existing building as part of the project
  •     storm-water management
  •     green cleaning
  •     using low-mercury light bulbs

With facilities-enhancement projects under way across campus, such as the Durden Athletic Training Center and the Kline Center expansion, the college will continue to seek LEED certification. “We wanted the admissions building to be a model for the rest of the campus in many ways," says Shultes, "and obtaining LEED Gold is certainly one of them.”

Published June 2, 2013