by Shane Henson — October 5, 2012—As part of an expanding national effort to support sustainability practices, programs, and training at the nation’s more than 1,100 community colleges, five exemplary community colleges were presented the first-ever Green Genome Awards at a national community college summit hosted in early October by Gateway Technical College in Racine, Wisconsin.
The awards are part of a larger Green Genome initiative created by the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) and its Sustainability Education and Economic Development (SEED) Center. In the past two years, more than 460 community colleges representing more than three million students have joined AACC’s SEED Center, pledging leadership in sustainability education and training and reaping the benefits, says AACC.
Winning colleges received $8,000 plus a set of state-of-the-art tools and horticulture equipment from awards sponsor Snap-on.
The winning colleges recognized for their achievements within the four categories are:
- Butte College, California (Governance)
- Central Carolina Community College, North Carolina (Program Design & Delivery)
- Delta College, Michigan (Community Engagement)
- Hillsborough Community College, Florida (Overall)
- West Virginia University at Parkersburg (Strategic Partnerships)
Facilities managers and university officials working toward making their campuses more sustainable can learn about key steps to take and best practices through a report released in conjunction with the awards, titled The Community College Green Genome Framework: Integrating Sustainability and Clean Technology Workforce Development Into an Institution’s DNA. The free report also offers profiles of the winning colleges.
