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Northland College recognized as "Green School" by national magazine

August 16, 2010

For the second time this month, Northland College has been recognized by a national publication for excellence in environmentally focused education. Both Sierra magazine and the Princeton Review recently named Northland as one of the top environmental schools in the nation.

“This kind of notice from the greater community is a strong affirmation of what we’re doing here at Northland,” said Michael A. Miller, president of Northland College. “Our students, faculty and staff have put a lot of hard work into making this campus, and the world, a better place to live. It’s nice to be recognized for our efforts, to have someone else look at what we have done—what we continue to do—and recognize that work as important and successful. That makes Northland a great place to live, a great place to work, and a great place to learn.”

On Monday, August 16, Sierra magazine announced its annual top 20 “coolest” schools for their efforts to stop global warming and operate sustainably. Northland College placed 7th on the list. The magazine’s September/October cover story spotlights the schools that are making a true difference for the planet, and marks Sierra’s fourth annual listing of America’s greenest universities and colleges. The complete list is also available online at http://www.sierraclub.org/coolschools.

Institutions ranked by the listing were evaluated based on an extensive survey submitted to Sierra magazine by each college or university. After reviewing the surveys, follow up inquiries were made and eventually each school was scored using a rubric developed with Sierra Club’s Conservation Department.

Among other features and initiatives at the College, Northland was recognized for the McLean Environmental Living and Learning Center, one of the residence halls on campus. The building boasts a wide range of sustainable features including low-flow bathroom fixtures, composting toilets, solar panels and a wind turbine. The ranking also factored in energy supply, efficiency, food, academics, purchasing, transportation, waste management, administration, financial investments, and a catchall section titled "other initiatives."

Northland College also recently earned a perfect score in the 2011 Green Rating Honor Roll and appeared in a listing of the Best Colleges in the Midwest, both published by the Princeton Review.

“With all of the environmental challenges we face, it’s heartening to see the leadership schools like Northland College demonstrate when it comes to protecting the planet,” said Michael Brune, the Sierra Club’s executive director. “This generation of students cares deeply about protecting the environment, stopping global warming, and increasing our prosperity through innovation.”

This year’s top-20 coolest schools are taking dramatic steps to curb climate change. From small, environmentally focused liberal arts colleges to the largest research universities, schools across the country are helping to move the country towards a more sustainable future.

Sierra’s Top 20 coolest schools of 2010 are:

1. Green Mountain College (Poultney, Vermont)

2. Dickinson College (Carlisle, Pennsylvania)

3. Evergreen State College (Olympia, Washington)

4. University of Washington (Seattle, Washington)

5. Stanford University (Palo Alto, California)

6. University of California, Irvine (Irvine, California)

7. Northland College (Ashland, Wisconsin)

8. Harvard University (Cambridge, Massachusetts)

9. College of the Atlantic (Bar Harbor, Maine)

10. Hampshire College (Amherst, Massachusetts)

11. University of California, Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz, California)

11. [TIE] Middlebury College (Middlebury, Vermont)

13. University of Colorado, Boulder (Boulder, Colorado)

14. Warren Wilson College (Asheville, North Carolina)

15. University California, San Diego (San Diego, California)

16. University of California, Davis (Davis, California)

16. [TIE] University of Vermont (Burlington, Vermont)

18. University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

19. New York University (New York, New York)

20. Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, Georgia)

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 winning school’s green efforts and information about the survey methodology, visit Sierra magazine online at: www.sierraclub.org/coolschools.