The Princeton Review has recognized Clark University as one of the most environmentally responsible colleges in the United States and Canada, including Clark in the just-released, second annual edition of the “The Princeton Review’s Guide to 311 Green Colleges: 2011 Edition.”
Clark University joins the ranks of outstanding universities and colleges nationwide that are leading the “green” movement through their own special programs and initiatives.
“Clark’s dedication to sustainability is exhibited every day through our campus community’s commitment to research, teaching and learning about environmental issues,” says Campus Sustainability Coordinator Jenny Isler. “Clark students are developing the intellectual, social and practical skills required to address complex and rapidly changing global environmental challenges. Our campus and its programs are a living laboratory for sustainability issues and solutions as we work to integrate sustainability into the culture of Clark and become a place of consequence into the future.”
Clark’s Climate Action Plan details strategies for the University to reduce its carbon footprint while strengthening many of its existing sustainability practices, and much more. Visit Sustainable Clark online.
Created by The Princeton Review in partnership with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), “The Princeton Review’s Guide to 311 Green Colleges” is the only free, comprehensive guidebook profiling institutions of higher education that demonstrate a notable commitment to sustainability in their academic offerings, campus infrastructure, activities and career preparation. The Princeton Review chose the schools for this guide based on a survey of administrators at hundreds of colleges that the company polled in 2010 about their school’s sustainability initiatives.
Read about previous Clark recognition by Princeton Review: Princeton Review: Clark among Best Colleges in the U.S., Northeast
Released on April 20, just two days before the April 22 celebration of the 41st Anniversary of Earth Day, the guide has profiles of the colleges that provide application information plus facts, stats, and write-ups reporting on the schools’ environmentally related policies, practices and academic offerings.
The free guide can be downloaded at www.princetonreview.com/green guide.aspx and www.centerforgreenschools.org/greenguide
The Princeton Review first created this resource for college-bound students in 2010 with the U.S. Green Building Council, which is best known for developing the LEED standard for green building certification. This past fall, USGBC launched its Center for Green Schools to increase its efforts to drive change in how campuses and schools are designed, constructed and operated so that all educational facilities can enhance student learning experiences.
“College-bound students are increasingly interested in sustainability issues,” said Robert Franek, Senior VP, Publishing, The Princeton Review. “Among 8,200 college applicants who participated in our spring 2011 ‘College Hopes & Worries Survey,’ nearly 7 out of 10 (69 percent) said having information about a school’s commitment to the environment would influence their decision to apply to or attend the school,” he added. “Together with the USGBC, we are pleased to make this free resource available to all students seeking to attend colleges that practice, teach and support environmentally-responsible choices. We highly recommend the colleges in this book.”
“A green campus can transform the college experience for students through enhanced sustainability education and by creating healthy living and learning environments all while saving energy, water and money as part of an institution’s bottom line,” said Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO and Founding Chair, USGBC. “We launched the Center for Green Schools at USGBC with a vision of green schools for all within this generation. Partnering with The Princeton Review to provide this invaluable resource to college-bound students was a no-brainer for helping to create transformational change on these campuses.”
The Princeton Review chose the 311 schools based on a survey it conducted in 2010 of hundreds of colleges across the U.S. and in Canada to tally its annual “Green Rating” scores (scaled from 60 to 99) of colleges for its school profiles in its college guidebooks and website. The survey asks administrators more than 50 questions about their institution’s sustainability-related policies, practices and programs. The Company tallied Green Ratings for 703 institutions in summer 2010. The 311 schools in this guide received scores of 80or above in that assessment. (Note: The Princeton Review does not rank the schools in this guide hierarchically (1 to 311) according to their Green Rating scores, nor does it include those scores in this book’s school profiles.) Information about The Princeton Review’s Green Rating methodology and its “Green Honor Roll” list saluting schools that received Green Ratings of 99 is at http://www.princetonreview.com/green.aspx
Since its founding in 1887, Clark University in Worcester, Mass., has a history of challenging convention. As an innovative liberal arts college and research university, Clark’s world-class faculty lead a community of creative thinkers and passionate doers and offer a range of expertise, particularly in the areas of psychology, geography, urban education, Holocaust and genocide studies, environmental studies, and international development and social change. Clark’s students, faculty and alumni embody the Clark motto: Challenge convention. Change our world.