Allegheny College Ranked Among Top 50 Green Colleges

Allegheny College has been named among the Top 50 Green Colleges in the nation by The Princeton Review.

The educational services company known for its test prep and tutoring services, books, and college rankings features Allegheny in the 2016 edition of its free downloadable book, “The Princeton Review’s Guide to 361 Green Colleges.” The guide includes profiles about each school’s admission requirements, cost and financial aid, and student body, as well as “Green Facts” and the Top 50 list. Allegheny ranks No. 32.

The Princeton Review chose the schools for this seventh annual edition of its “green guide” based on data from the company’s 2015-16 survey of hundreds of four-year colleges concerning the schools’ commitments to the environment and sustainability.

The Top 50 rankings are based in part of student survey responses to questions of how sustainability issues influenced their education and life on campus; administration and student support for environmental awareness and conservation efforts; and the visibility and impact of student environmental groups.

“We are proud of our commitment to integrating environmental sustainability into everything we do here, from institutional operations to the overall campus culture, and honored that The Princeton Review has recognized that commitment in each of the seven editions of the ‘green guide,'” said Kelly Boulton, the college’s sustainability coordinator.

The Princeton Review recognized Allegheny’s long-standing leadership in campus sustainability: “As a charter signatory of ACUPCC [the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment] with a climate neutrality goal of 2020 and a participant in the White House’s Better Buildings Challenge to increase building efficiencies by at least 20 percent across campus, Allegheny College is determined not just to participate in the green movement, but to lead.”

The guide also notes that “Allegheny also wants to ensure that its students’ dedication to the environment and sustainability issues doesn’t end after graduation; each year the college invites recruiters from green companies and organizations and alums working in sustainability to hold informational presentations for recruiting purposes.”

The free 160-page guide can be downloaded at www.princetonreview.com/green-guide.

The honor follows similar recognitions earlier this year. The Sierra Club, the nation’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, ranked Allegheny No. 50 on its annual list of top colleges and universities in the nation for green initiatives, institutions that the Sierra Club calls “America’s coolest schools. Allegheny is also is ranked among the nation’s top five “Best Colleges Advocating Environmental Science” by EnvironmentalScience.org, a website dedicated to environmental science education and careers.