Visit Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill., and you’ll see much more than students, professors and classrooms. If you're walking up the path from Centennial Hall parking lot, there’s a good chance an electric car will whiz past. Take a glance at nearby Carlsson Hall, and you’d see sustainable renovation in progress. Should college president Steven Bahls drive by on 7th Avenue, you’ll see the hybrid logo on his car if you look closely. Augustana not only works hard to educate its students, but to be green while doing so. Its environmental initiatives are based on three main commitments: to adopt practices and use technologies to reduce its environmental footprint; to consume less on an individual level; and to provide an educational program that includes an appreciation of environmental sustainability issues. These commitments are visible all over campus. Take the college’s GEM electric cars, for example. The small, two-seater utility vehicles used by the maintenance department help Augustana reduce greenhouse gases and avoid high gas prices. The college uses hybrids, too. “For vehicle purchases, whenever possible, we buy hybrid cars,” says Kirby Winn, director of public relations. “The president’s car is a hybrid, and so are our security vehicles.” Some of the college’s environmental initiatives aren’t as visible as the electric cars, but they nevertheless are important. This includes installation of energy efficient lighting indoors and outdoors on every house on campus. These smaller actions, says Winn, “work together to make a difference, like reducing light and heat or turning off the lights. These programs take on fundamental things, and you need programs that work (in this way).” The college also plans to hire an environmental practices coordinator to help expand and implement the college’s green initiatives. There are several reasons why Augustana has adopted environmentally friendly practices, says Dr. Kevin Geedey, a member of the biology department and chair of the Environmental Task Force. Foremost, however, “we’re here to educate students. The environment is always changing, and we take the claim that we prepare students to be leaders of their communities. It’s not something to just talk about. They have to live it,” he says. Winn agrees. “We know the ultimate goal of education is to not only educate the student, but the community they lead. We teach the students by example.” One example will be seen in current and future renovation or construction projects. “There won’t be any building without input from sustainability committees,” says Bahls. Each new construction project will follow national Leadership in Energy Environmental Design (LEED) standards. In addition, each renovation project will use low-VOC paint, carpet and wall coverings, which release little or no toxic gas. The renovation of Carlsson Hall is the first example of this approach in action. “This building will be the most environmentally sensitive building on campus, especially because we’re using it as is, and we didn’t tear it down and send the pieces to a landfill,” says Bahls. The college also plans to expand its current environmental studies curriculum into an environmental studies major. “This is a subject that is permanent,” says Geedey. “Environmental issues will always be on the radar screen.” General education classes also are being developed on topics like population growth, global warming, energy resources and other environmental issues. The college’s food service also has jumped on the green bandwagon. For years it has used recycled paper for napkins and take-out boxes in cafeterias and has pushed the use of re-usable plastic cups over paper cups in the dining rooms. At press time, Garry Griffith, director of dining services, had plans to make the department '80 percent green' by this month. To do so, he had planned a refillable cup program to reduce the use of paper cups even further. The department also has begun working with farms to add locally grown foods to college menus. Students also are empowered to take on their own green initiatives. The environmentally-friendly student group Augustana Global Affect sponsors campus and community clean-ups, helps conduct research into energy efficient and environmentally responsible architecture and promotes recycling and general environmental awareness. Bahls says these and other efforts underway on campus are “only the beginning” of the college’s commitment to its environmental stewardship. That commitment, says Winn, is based on morality. “The number one thing to me is it’s the right thing to do,” he says. “It’s not because it’s a hot topic – it’s the right thing to do.” For more information on Augustana College, visit www.augustana.edu.
