The 2011 AASHE Campus Sustainability Awards

The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) give out awards for sustainability education. On October 11th, AASHE revealed the winners of its 2011 Sustainability Awards which honor the leadership of faculty, campuses and students for innovations in green building, sustainability research and leadership.

AASHE is an association of colleges and universities in the US and Canada that are working to create a sustainable future. Its mission is to empower higher education to lead the sustainability transformation. AASHE does this by providing resources, professional development, and a network of support to enable institutions of higher education to model and advance sustainability in everything they do, from governance and operations to education and research.

This year’s awards are sponsored by Trane, a leading global provider of indoor comfort systems and services and a brand of Ingersoll Rand.

Peggy Barlett of Emory Univeristy received the inaugural Faculty Sustainability Leadership award for her efforts to create workshops that have inspired more than 400 faculty nationwide to infuse sustainability into the curriculum. This is the first year that the AASHE awards recognize an individual faculty member.

The University of Texas at Dallas’ LEED Platinum Student Services Building was awarded the new Innovation in Green Building award, presented in partnership with the U.S. Green Building Council’s Center for Green Schools. Completed $1.1 million under budget, the building boasts unique sustainability elements including exterior floating terra-cotta shades that respond to solar exposure for an energy-efficient shading strategy.

“Sustainability in higher education continues to gain momentum and we are proud to recognize both the veteran as well as the new student leaders in these activities,” said Paul Rowland, executive director of AASHE. “Our award winners have demonstrated a commitment to creating a better society for all of us and for future generations. We applaud and celebrate their accomplishments and we thank Trane for their sponsorship of the awards.”

Other 2011 winners include:

• Best Campus Sustainability Case Study: University of Alberta, Deliberation on Campus Sustainability
• Best “Lessons Learned” Case Study Award (this category recognizes a project that didn’t go as planned and that offers important lessons others can learn from): Washington University in St. Louis, Getting to Net Zero: Lessons Learned from a Living Building Challenge
• Student Sustainability Leadership Award: Jonathan Glencross, McGill University
• Student Research on Campus Sustainability Award: Annie Bezbatchenko, New York University, for her dissertation: Where Meaning Lies: Student Attitudes and Behaviors Related to Sustainability in College

The applications and papers received for each of the award categories are available on the AASHE website.