Miami ranked on Sierra magazine's greenest schools list

Sierra magazine’s fourth annual list of America’s greenest colleges places Miami University 127th of 162 colleges and universities, with an overall score of 50.2. The list is based on the “Coolest Schools” survey, an 11-page survey sent to 900 institutions across the U.S.

The survey “reminds us of what we’ve accomplished and how much is yet to be done,” said David Prytherch, sustainability coordinator at Miami and associate professor of geography. Rankings were based on the 162 respondents to the survey.

Sierra’s measurement of a school’s commitment to sustainability this year gives more weight to each school’s energy supply — a key reason for Miami’s drop from 87th place last year. Miami ranked lowest in the energy supply category, like other Midwestern schools dependent on coal. Other categories carried the same weight as previous years, including the categories of efficiency, food, academics, purchasing, transportation, waste management, administration, financial investments and a catchall section, “other initiatives.”

Miami’s highest-ranking categories, both with a score of seven, were academics and other initiatives. “Our competitors are helping set the bar higher and higher,” said Prytherch, “but Miami is more serious than ever about sustainability.”

Ohio public schools that responded to the “Cool School” survey are Ohio University, ranked 132nd with a score of 47.9, and Kent State University, ranked 154th with a score of 40.5. The “Coolest” school was Vermont’s Green Mountain College, with a score of 88.6 out of 100.

Sierra’s “Cool Schools” rankings are in the September/October 2010 issue of the Sierra Club’s magazine and online at coolschools.

For more information about Miami’s efforts in sustainability, go to the Sustainability at Miami website at www.muohio.edu/sustainability.