Northland College only Midwestern College named to Green Honor Roll

August 3, 2010

ASHLAND, Wis. - Northland College, Ashland, WI, has received the highest score possible in a new survey of environmentally friendly colleges. The Princeton Review gathered information from 703 colleges and universities and assigned scores on a scale from 60 - 99. Eighteen colleges, including Northland, received perfect scores and were named to the 2011 Green Rating Honor Roll.

"This is remarkable recognition for a lot of hard work by faculty, students, and staff," said Northland College President Michael A. Miller. "We adopted an environmental mission in 1971 because we could see a growing need for a school that could successfully integrate the liberal arts with an environmental emphasis. Recognition by an outside group is gratifying, and we are honored to find ourselves on this list with some very well-known, larger institutions."

The criteria used by the Princeton Review includes the percentage of food expenditures that goes toward local, organic or otherwise environmentally preferable food, whether new buildings are required to be LEED certified for environmental friendliness, and whether the school employs a full-time sustainability officer.

"The Princeton Review underscores the tremendous growth in demand for green education, green lifestyles, and green business practices,' said Miller. "What we are hearing from students is that they are interested in our environmental mission even when their majors are not typically associated with green careers. Students interested in majors such as business and education also want to understand the interactions between humanity and the world in which we live. Employers are looking to our students to bring these perspectives to their organizations and to lead them into more sustainable futures."

The 18 colleges named to the 2011 Green Honor Roll are: (in alphabetical order)
Arizona State University (Tempe),
College of the Atlantic (Bar Harbor, ME),
The Evergreen State College (Olympia, WA),
Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta),
Harvard College (Cambridge, MA),
Northeastern University (Boston, MA),
Northland College (Ashland, WI),
State University of New York - Binghamton University,
Unity College (Unity, ME),
University of California - Berkeley, University of California - Santa Barbara, University of California - Santa Cruz, University of Georgia (Athens),
University of Maine (Orono),
University of Maryland - College Park, Warren Wilson College (Asheville, NC),
West Virginia University (Morgantown),
Yale University (New Haven, CT).

According to another Princeton Review survey, Northland College is also one of the best colleges in the Midwest. It is one of 152 recommended by The Princeton Review in its "Best in the Midwest" section of its website feature, "2011 Best Colleges: Region by Region. More information about these surveys can be found at www.princetonreview.com.

Northland College and its Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute are located in Ashland, Wis., near the shores of Lake Superior. Northland's distinctive environmental liberal arts program, passionate faculty, and beautiful natural location create a community of engaged learners who develop the skills and experience to prepare for advanced studies and meaningful lives. Founded in 1892, Northland enrolls 600 students from across the nation and across the world. For more information about Northland College and its Institute, visit www.northland.edu.