WCU is included in the 2019 edition of the education services company’s “Guide to Green Colleges,” which profiles 413 higher education institutions that were found to have strong commitments to green practices and programs during the company’s survey of nearly 700 schools. Criteria for making the guide included the schools’ academic offerings and initiatives, campus policies and practices, and green career preparation for students. In a company survey conducted this year, 64 percent of the 11,900 teens and parents polled said having information about a college’s commitment to the environment would affect their decision to apply to, or attend, a school.

WCU’s inclusion on the “green colleges” list comes as the campus community is holding a series of programs and events in conjunction with the university learning theme for academic year 2019-20 — “Sustainability and Environment.” The campus theme committee is accepting requests for support for spring semester programs and events through Jan. 30 at go.wcu.edu/campustheme.

Lauren Bishop, WCU’s chief sustainability officer in the Office of Sustainability and Energy Management, credited the campus energy manager David King with completing much of the work that resulted in WCU’s inclusion in the list. 

This year, WCU is expected to surpass $1 million in total avoided costs due to investments in metering and energy saving projects since 2013, King said. A state law allows the university to reinvest documented energy savings into future energy-related projects. The most recent project, at the Health and Human Sciences Building, takes the classroom schedule and pushes it down to the building automation system that controls heating and cooling, which can account for up to half of a building’s energy use. By not heating and cooling unoccupied spaces, energy use in the building has been reduced 25 percent — $50,000 per year — compared to its first year of operation in 2012. 

Bishop also cited the work of the Sustainable Energy Initiative, a student committee “that continues to show strong leadership on campus,” and the efforts of Dana Brown, WCU’s new recycling coordinator, who is “making major process improvements to help meet our recycling goals.”

For more information about WCU’s sustainability efforts, contact Bishop at 828.227.3562 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..