Northland Receives Campus Sustainability Leadership Award

November 3, 2008

The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) has named Northland College as one of the winners of its annual Campus Sustainability Leadership Award. The awards recognize institutions that have demonstrated an outstanding overall commitment to sustainability in their governance and administration, curriculum and research, operations, campus culture, and community outreach. Other winners of the award include Tulane University in Louisiana, Ithaca College in New York and College of Menominee Nation in Wisconsin.

“In the summer of 2007, I committed our college to the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment at the leadership level because of the incredible level of commitment to sustainability across this campus,” said Karen I. Halbersleben, president of Northland College. “Now, through this award from AASHE, we have confirmation of that leadership especially on the part of our students who are so committed to making sustainability a reality at Northland.”

The winners of the award are highlighted in the October issue of Sustainability: the Journal of Record. In addition, the applications received through the awards program are posted on the AASHE website. Submissions for the Campus Sustainability Leadership Award are available at www.aashe.org/resources/profiles/profiles.php. 

"We had the most applications ever this year, so winning one of these awards is a significant accomplishment," said Judy Walton, the Acting Executive Director of AASHE. The award winners were selected by a pool of campus sustainability experts assembled by AASHE.

The awards will be formally presented at the upcoming AASHE 2008 conference, Working Together for Sustainability—On Campus and Beyond, Nov. 9-11 in Raleigh, NC. With over 1,700 registrants, the conference will be the largest gathering focused on campus sustainability to date in North America.

AASHE, the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, is an association of colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada working to create a sustainable future. It was founded in 2006 with a mission to promote sustainability in all sectors of higher education - from governance and operations to curriculum and outreach—through education, communication, research and professional development.