As part of a national effort to support sustainability practices, programs and training at the nation’s public two-year colleges, the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) on Wednesday will present its first-ever Green Genome Award to five community colleges.
The winning colleges are being recognized for their achievements in the five categories. They include:
Through AACC’s Sustainability Education and Economic Development (SEED) Center—which is funded by the Kresge Foundation—the selected colleges will each receive $8,000 plus tools and horticulture equipment from awards sponsor Snap-on. Over the past two years, more than 460 community colleges representing 3 million students have joined AACC’s SEED Center, pledging leadership in sustainability education and training.
Pioneers in the green field
The five selected colleges have not only prepared a skilled clean technology workforce, but they have also become change agents in regional efforts to develop a green and sustainable economy, said Walter Bumphus, AACC president and CEO.
“Through the SEED Center, AACC is providing college senior administrators, faculty and staff an important roadmap to connect and integrate campus sustainability practices, green technical workforce development, education and economic development,” he said.
The colleges will received the award on Oct. 3 at a national community college summit at Gateway Technical College in Racine, Wisc.
A blueprint for other colleges
Accompanying the awards is the release of a report, The Community College Green Genome Framework: Integrating Sustainability and Clean Technology Programs into the Institution’s DNA. It details the Green Genome framework, paths for success and profiles of the winning colleges. The report also includes a self-assessment tool using a series of 47 green institutional competencies to help college quickly gauge how well they meet these initiatives and areas for improvement.