Awards and National Recognition

"Sustainability isn't just a bandwagon we're hopping onto. It's woven into the very fabric of our identity, and history, as an institution."
President Purce, 2007

2007 Governor's Award for Pollution Prevention and Sustainable Practices
Evergreen “provides exceptional environmental study programs and emphasizes sustainability in building and operations.” Evergreen is “among 11 companies and agencies Washington is recognizing this year for their success in moving the state toward a more sustainable future.”

2007 AASHE Sustainability Leadership Award, Honorable Mention
One of six colleges or universities recognized nationally. Evergreen was noted for mitigating 100 percent of its electricity consumption through purchase of renewable energy credits, and for the fact that 40 percent of its food budget is locally grown and/or organic products.

2007 Thurston County Chamber “Green Business” award
National Survey of Student Engagement: Evergreen is one of the most academically challenging colleges in the nation and has a high level of student/faculty engagement.

Colleges that Change Lives
Evergreen has been recognized as one of 40 “Colleges That Change Lives” in the nation (one of only three in the West and one of only two public institutions listed)

Colleges of Distinction
Evergreen is noted as one of about 250 Colleges of Distinction

US News and World Report, America’s Best Colleges 2008.
Top Master’s Institutions in the West, featured on three of their “Programs to Look for” lists: First-Year Experiences, Learning Communities, and Undergraduate Research/Creative Project.

Grist Magazine
National environmental news site Grist named Evergreen to its list of 15 Green Colleges and Universities in August. The digital news site, with more than 750,000 daily readers, cited the work of the Organic Farm and its partnership with campus food service, as well as composting and other environmentally friendly practices. Grist also lauded Evergreen¹s student-approved fee increase to purchase 100 percent green power.

2008 Princeton Review
One of the Nation’s Best 366 Colleges, Best in the West, and Best Value Colleges.

Student Success in College (a 2005 book by Jillian Kinzie)
"It started out as an alternative kind of institution — and it has really taken on that challenge and continued to define what is the best information about how to teach, how students learn and how to implement that. Evergreen manages to get students focused, enthusiastic and completely immersed in their educations by the way they coordinate their programs."

2007 National Survey of Student Engagement
Students at The Evergreen State College are more likely than those at comparable schools to say they get plenty of chances to work with peers and professors, according to the eighth annual National Survey of Student Engagement, which was released this week. The survey at 610 public and private schools nationwide, sponsored by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, measures five benchmarks of student interaction — level of academic challenge, active and collaborative learning, interaction with faculty, chances for internships or travel, and a supportive campus environment. Randomly selected freshmen and seniors are asked a series of questions meant to measure various benchmarks, survey administrators said. In each, Evergreen got a higher score than other schools its size, according to the survey results. According to results shared by the college, as compared with other students in the survey, Evergreen students said:

• They more frequently asked questions and contributed to discussions in class and gave class presentations.
• They more often worked with other students on projects during class and outside of class.
• They were more likely to discuss ideas from reading and classes with others outside of class.
• They more often discussed ideas from class with faculty members outside of class.
• They more frequently received prompt feedback about their work than students at other institutions.

2005 Outstanding Bicycle and Pedestrian Award from the Washington State Department of Transportation.  The parkway modernization project successfully reduced lanes of travel in front of our campus while creating new and improved bike and walking paths with no negative impacts.

Governor Gregoire Honors Evergreen¹s Sustainability Efforts
Evergreen received the 2007 Governor¹s Award for Pollution Prevention and Sustainable Practices in a ceremony at the state capitol on Oct. 9. The college is among 11 companies and agencies Washington is recognizing this year for their success in moving the state toward a more sustainable future.

According to the Washington State Department of Ecology, the three state award winners (Evergreen, the Chambers Creek Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant and Yelm Earth, Worm & Castings Farm) reduced or even eliminated their use of toxic materials, applied key principles of sustainability, and conserved resources that otherwise would have been consumed. They demonstrated excellence and leadership through their commitment to environmental quality and their willingness to share their knowledge of pollution prevention and sustainable practices.

"These winners represent the best of the best at protecting the environment while running profitable businesses,² said Jay Manning, Department of Ecology director. ³I never fail to be impressed by the creativity and vision displayed by these award winners. They show that in Washington you can protect the environment and succeed commercially at the same time."

An external panel of judges selected the winners from finalists reviewed by Ecology staff. The judges are past winners, pollution-prevention experts, and representatives from business, labor and environmental groups, and academia.