For the third year straight, the University of Mary Washington has been ranked among the nation’s top “green colleges.” The ranking appears in the 2017 edition of The Princeton Review’s Guide to 375 Green Colleges.
The Princeton Review profiles colleges with the most exceptional commitments to sustainability based on their academic offerings and career preparation for students, campus policies, initiatives and activities. The “green” colleges were selected from more than 2,000 schools, based on a 2017 survey of college administrators that asked about sustainability-related policies, practices and programs.
“We strongly recommend the University of Mary Washington and other schools in this guide to environmentally minded students who seek to study and live at green colleges,” said Robert Franek, the Princeton Review’s senior vice president and publisher.
Among UMW’s initiatives, Professor of Biology Alan Griffith and his students are mapping and measuring “heritage” trees on the Fredericksburg campus, including the famous centuries-old Brompton Oak. Their research has yielded information about which species of new or replacement trees should be planted on campus and may eventually be used to estimate how much rainwater UMW’s trees absorb and how much carbon they remove from the atmosphere.
In addition, the University has revised its investment policy to limit discretionary fossil fuel investments to below 4 percent. Also, all new construction and major renovations meet or exceed LEED silver standards, and 18 percent of UMW’s food budget is spent on local and organic food. The University also competes annually in the international RecycleMania competition, teamed up with the City of Fredericksburg to educate the community about cigarette butt litter and works with the non-profit group Tree Fredericksburg to help replant trees in the city.
This past spring, UMW was recognized by the Arbor Day Foundation as a 2017 Tree Campus USA for its commitment to effective urban forest management.
To see the full list of institutions included in the guide, visit https://www.princetonreview.com/college-rankings/green-guide.