Kevin Flanders Western Michigan International Trucks (WMIT); Nick Hofstra – Roadranger; Tom Swartzloff –

WMIT; Denise Michalik - WMIT; David Olmstead- Roadranger.

Grand Valley State University is the only Michigan school cited in a new guide of “cutting-edge green” colleges and uni- versities, recognizing the university’s commitment to sustainability, a commit- ment that considers environmental, eco- nomic and social responsibility.

Grand Valley was included in the Kaplan College Guide 2009, which this year focuses for the first time on environ- mentally responsible schools and green careers. The guide, produced by Kaplan Publishing, features 25 green private and public colleges from across the nation. The section provides students with a look inside the classroom, around campus, and at student life, while shining a spotlight on what's good for the globe at each college.

Wendy Wenner, dean of Grand Valley’s College of Interdisciplinary Studies, said the university’s inclusion in the guide is a recognition of an institution- wide sustainability initiative.

“This is recognition of Grand Valley's commitment to applied sustainability. Our interdisciplinary approach encompasses faculty, staff, students, and the communi- ty and is part of a comprehensive strate- gy,” Wenner said. “Our commitment to economic, social and environmental sus-

tainability empowers our students to posi- tively affect the global community now and in the future.”

Grand Valley’s projects and programs that support the sustainability initiative include building nine buildings to the U.S. Green

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards and establishing a thriving partnership with the Rapid transit system. In the classroom, Grand Valley has established an environmental studies minor and a sustainability emphasis with- in the Liberal Studies major. Grand Valley has signed the AASHE Presidents Climate Agreement and the Talloires Declaration and participates in the AASHE STAR Campus Sustainability Rating Pilot Project.

Norman Christopher, the Director of Sustainability at Grand Valley, informed me that LEED certified buildings going up around campus range from dormitories to office buildings.

“We have a LEED gold and a LEED silver. The LEED gold certified one is the Michigan Alternative renewable energy center in Muskegon. The silver is the building in Allendale in which I reside. Our new Kennedy Engineering center is the third one, and that opened up about a year ago. Now we’ve gone from our fourth project to our ninth project all at once

(LEED certified buildings). Which is a huge undertaking, which means we just opened up our honors building today, which is our first LEED residence for stu- dents. Now we don’t just use them for teaching, we use them for residence halls as well. We had just a tremendous growth of these LEED buildings,” said Christopher.

LEED standards come in four levels ranging from LEED certified, to LEED sil- ver, to LEED gold, to LEED platinum. Christopher reported that building LEED certified buildings such as the ones Grand Valley has built is a good idea because sta- tistics show that they pay for themselves in “very short order,” especially because of the efficient way in which they use energy and water. Two examples of how the green dormitory operates compared to a normal dormitory is that the green building does not have things like switches, they have all the capacity for sensors. Also, the cir- culation system is more in depth because it can regulate the amount of CO2 and bal- ance it out. Rather than simply circulate “the air.”

To develop the guide, Kaplan editors gleaned insights on green schools and professions from a wide array of con- stituents, including admissions directors, parents, students, and professionals.

Kaplan reviewed a range of criteria to for- mulate its list of 25 green schools. Specific areas examined include: environmentally responsible campus projects; initiatives and courses offered; organizations and student groups on campus; and achieve- ments noted in the Sustainable Endowments

College Sustainability Report Card 2008. The list highlights schools whose efforts reflect a commitment to long-term sustainability and to encouraging students to make bet- ter choices.

This is only the latest recognition Grand Valley has received for its sustain- ability efforts. The university was the recipient of the U.S. Green Building Council’s 2008 Recognition Award and the Sustainable Endowments Institute’s 2008 National Sustainability Innovator Award. Grand Valley’s Mark A. Murray Living Center was given an Energy Star designa- tion from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the first university stu- dent housing unit in Michigan to receive such a designation.

“LEED standards are now, even for the city of Grand Rapids, are a way of life,” said Christopher.