CULTURE – Green Minds
Portland State University
Portland
It’s only fitting that the flagship university of one of the greenest cities in America also has a reputation as one of the country’s greenest schools, especially considering that its motto is “Let knowledge serve the city.” The image is something that Portland State University (PSU) has worked hard to establish: Sixty-three percent of students and staff bike, walk, or take public transportation to campus; five campus buildings already meet LEED Silver standards, and two more are being renovated to do so; an ecoroof atop one of the school’s buildings was the first large-scale ecoroof in Portland; and the school has pledged to use 100 percent renewable energy by 2010. Such efforts have not gone unnoticed. This fall the Miller Foundation, which supports Oregon arts and education, gave the school what was, by all accounts, the largest donation to a university for sustainability research and education—$25 million. “It was heartening to be given this kind of a seal of approval,” says PSU president Wim Wiewel. “This money will allow us to hire some additional faculty, to support more graduate and undergraduate students, and to attract the best students in the sustainability field.” It also will give the school the chance to carry out some pet projects, like a green building laboratory where faculty and students can test the latest in green building materials, technologies, and processes. Says Wiewel, “We want to help people in the Portland region lead more sustainable lives.” Now that’s knowledge serving the city.
University of Washington
Seattle
Its official school colors may be purple and gold, but on the inside, this 26,622-student university
is green to the core. The Seattle campus is one of only 15 in the country to earn an A- (the highest mark given) from the Sustainable Endowments Institute, thanks in large part to the administration’s commitment to sustainability: Nearly 100 percent of the school’s electricity is purchased from renewable sources; 26 percent of the dining-services budget goes to local and organic food; and all new buildings will be constructed to meet LEED Silver standards. So why the minus? Because when it comes to the environment, there’s always room for improvement.
Western Washington University
Belllingham, Washington
Home to one of America’s oldest environmental schools, Huxley College, Western Washington has been churning out generations of eco-conscious graduates since 1971. But apparently the entire student body here cares about its impact on the earth: Just last year, students voted to impose a quarterly fee on themselves to pay for year-round bus passes for everyone. The bus will just have to do until the school is able to supply students with a carpool fleet of Viking 45s—hybrid cars being designed by the university’s Vehicle Research Institute. They can cover 100 miles on a single gallon of gas.
Published: December 2008
