April 20, 2011
The Catholic University of America is one of the most environmentally responsible colleges in the United States and Canada, according to The Princeton Review. The education services company selected CUA for inclusion in the just-released second annual edition of its free downloadable book “The Princeton Review’s Guide to 311 Green Colleges: 2011 Edition."
Created by The Princeton Review in partnership with the U.S. Green Building Council, the guide 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.
Released on April 20, just two days prior to the April 22 celebration of the 41st anniversary of Earth Day, the guide has profiles of the colleges that provide application information plus statistics, and write-ups reporting on the schools' environmentally related policies, practices, and academic offerings.
The Princeton Review first created this one-of-a-kind 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.
On Friday, April 15, University President John Garvey recognized six CUA students for their innovative solar-powered picnic table that was recently installed on the patio outside the Edward J. Pryzbyla University Center.
The table - equipped with outlets capable of charging laptops, cell phones, e-books, and other electronic devices - was the winning design in a contest sponsored by the University. Students on the design team received scholarships provided by Washington Gas Energy Services, Inc.
That same day, President Garvey announced the expansion of the University's solar photovoltaic (solar PV) system, which originally became operational in December 2009. The expansion will add 440 solar panels to the more than 1,000 panels already installed on four campus buildings. The expanded system will be one of the largest in the District of Columbia, and will now total 414 kilowatts and generate more than 500,000 kilowatt hours of power each year.
In 2002, CUA was the first university in the Washington area to purchase a portion of its electricity from regional wind power projects. In 2008, the University received an Award of Excellence from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for its recycling efforts. In January 2009, CUA opened the first new LEED-compliant student residence hall in Washington, D.C. Opus Hall has since been LEED certified.