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²Ê°ÔÍõÁùФ Featured in The Princeton Review Guide to Green Colleges: 2022 Edition

The University is among 420 institutions chosen based on its commitment to the environment and sustainability

University News | October 26, 2021

Virginia Wesleyan is one of the nation's most environmentally responsible colleges, according to The Princeton Review. The education services company features ²Ê°ÔÍõÁùФ in its most recent edition of .

The Princeton Review chose the 420 schools in the guide based on its survey of administrators at 835 colleges in 2020-21 about their institutions’ commitments to the environment and sustainability. The company's editors analyzed more than 25 survey data points to select the schools.

"We strongly recommend ²Ê°ÔÍõÁùФ to students who care about the environment and want to study and live at a green college," said Rob Franek, The Princeton Review's Editor-in-Chief. “²Ê°ÔÍõÁùФ offers excellent academics and demonstrates a commitment to sustainability that is exemplary on many counts.”   

Franek noted that The Princeton Review has seen an increasing level of interest among students in attending colleges with green practices, programs, and offerings. Seventy-eight percent of the more than 11,000 college applicants that participated in The Princeton Review's 2021 said that having information about a college's commitment to the environment would affect their decision to apply to or attend a school. This was a 12 percent increase over the 66 percent indicated on the company’s 2020 survey. 

Guide to Green Colleges profiles include "Green Facts" sections detailing matters such as the availability of transportation alternatives on campus and the percentage of the college food budget spent on local/organic food. Profiles also provide information about the schools' enrollment requirements, cost, financial aid, and student body demographics.

The ²Ê°ÔÍõÁùФ community is dedicated to a greener campus and a greener world. In addition to its consistent selection for the Green Colleges guide, ²Ê°ÔÍõÁùФ has been recognized locally, regionally and nationally for its sustainability practices:

• Opened the LEED Gold certified  in fall 2017, offering unprecedented opportunities for students through its indoor and outdoor classroom spaces and teaching and research laboratories, and fostering collaboration with like-minded organizations such as the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Brock Environmental Center.
• Also in 2017, launched the , a highly-selective program aiming to educate impactful global citizens through an environmental focus, an international study-away experience, and leadership training and development.
• Honored by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation in 2018 with its top "" award, which recognizes the Greer Environmental Sciences Center and the University’s vision and dedication to educating the next generation of Bay leaders.
• Recently advanced to the top tier Model Level status in the Elizabeth River Project’s River Star Business program.
• Installed a SmartFlower solar system on campus, which generates 40 percent more energy than a traditional fixed solar panel.
• In summer 2018 and 2019, hosted the Environmental Explorers camp in partnership with the YMCA of South Hampton Roads’ Camp Red Feather and the Virginia Wesleyan Environmental Institute: Summer Scholars Program for ninth-grade girls interested in in E-STEM fields.
• Received a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency for “,” a 2018-2019 project studying the use of phycoremediation to remove water pollutants from stormwater ponds and treatment wetlands.
• A member of a select group of 440 institutions nationwide in the , comprised of colleges and universities taking action on climate and preparing students through research and education to solve the challenges of the 21st century.
• In 2020, ²Ê°ÔÍõÁùФ President Scott D. Miller completed a two-year term as Chair of  and he currently sits on the board of the prominent national environmental advocacy organization . He has also declared October 5 as  at ²Ê°ÔÍõÁùФ.
• A participant in the  partnership, a coalition dedicated to helping recover the Bay’s oyster populations, and a member of Virginia’s No Child Left Inside Coalition, a collaborative effort between organizations to promote outdoor learning.
• Selected by the  program to receive funding for two solar-powered umbrellas and two human-powered desk bicycles that function on campus as sustainable cell-phone charging stations for students.
• One of 58 select colleges and universities nationwide, along with 102 other endowed institutions, that are members of the , the leading network for endowment fiduciaries investing for a thriving, sustainable economy.
• Developed the Environmental Guiding Principles of ²Ê°ÔÍõÁùФ as an affirmation of commitment to ethical conduct and social responsibility through environmental stewardship, and as a way to ensure ²Ê°ÔÍõÁùФ's environmental prioritization under all leadership (current and future).
• ²Ê°ÔÍõÁùФ’s endowment grew to $123 million in the 2021-22 academic year, including an $80.2 million endowment for the environmentally focused Batten Honors College. The BHC funds are invested in an environmentally friendly way, including the adoption of long-term investment strategies that create an equitable, low-carbon, and regenerative economy.

²Ê°ÔÍõÁùФ is also included in the 2022 edition of The Princeton Review’s Best 387 Colleges and featured in the Southeastern category of 2022 Best Colleges: Region by Region.