The Evergreen State College named one of America’s Top 20 “Coolest” Schools by Sierra Magazine

by Evergreen Communications Office
August 20, 2009

The Evergreen State College praised for green efforts by national magazine, ranks sixth on list

Sierra magazine has named the nation’s top 20 “coolest” schools for their efforts to stop global warming and operate sustainably. From Harvard’s 17 LEED-certified buildings to Penn’s biodiesel recyclers, the magazine’s September/October cover story spotlights the schools that are making a true impact for the planet, and marks Sierra’s third annual listing of America’s greenest universities and colleges. The complete list is available online at http://www.sierraclub.org/coolschools

The Evergreen State College placed sixth on the list. Initiatives at the college include a pervasive focus on working toward sustainability and justice by integrating these topics into the graduate and undergraduate curriculum and student academic experiences, leadership in environmental design and organic agriculture, and sound conservation policies, including protection and preservation of natural spaces on campus.

“We're thrilled to see The Evergreen State College making a real commitment to greening its campus,” said Carl Pope, the Sierra Club’s executive director. “The next generation of students cares deeply about stopping global warming, and schools like Evergreen that take the initiative to become environmentally responsible are doing the right thing for the planet and are better poised to attract the best students.”

The announcement comes just weeks after the Princeton Review noted Evergreen as one of its 15 ‘Green Honor Roll’ colleges for receiving a score of 99, the highest possible green rating score possible. More on this: http://www.evergreen.edu/news/archive/2009/07/princeton

This year’s top-20 coolest schools are taking dramatic steps to curb climate change. Whether it’s UCLA, with 38,476 students, The Evergreen State College with its 4,696 students, or the College of the Atlantic with 321 students, Sierra’s list shows that schools of all sizes are taking action.

Sierra’s Top 20 coolest schools of 2009 are:

  1. University of Colorado at Boulder (Boulder, Colorado)
  2. University of Washington at Seattle (Seattle, Washington)
  3. Middlebury College (Middlebury, Vermont)
  4. University of Vermont (Burlington, Vermont)
  5. College of the Atlantic (Bal Harbor, Maine)
  6. The Evergreen State College (Olympia, Washington)
  7. University of California at Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz, California)
  8. University of California at Berkeley (Berkeley, California)
  9. University of California at Los Angeles (Los Angeles, California)
  10. Oberlin College (Oberlin, Ohio)
  11. Harvard University (Cambridge, Massachusetts)
  12. University of New Hampshire (Durham, New Hampshire)
  13. Arizona State University at Tempe (Tempe, Arizona)
  14. Yale University (New Haven, Connecticut)
  15. University of Florida at Gainesville (Gainesville, Florida)
  16. Bates College (Lewiston, Maine)
  17. Willamette University (Salem, Oregon)
  18. Warren Wilson College (Asheville, North Carolina)
  19. Dickinson College (Carlisle, Pennsylvania)
  20. New York University (New York, New York)

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, visit Sierra magazine online at: http://www.sierraclub.org/coolschools