A female ruby-throated hummingbird visiting the native plant garden on the Saint Peter’s campus. Photo Credit: Katherine S. Wydner, Ph.D., associate professor of biology.
Jersey City, N.J. – November 22, 2019 – Saint Peter’s University today announced that it is one of the most environmentally responsible colleges in the country according to The Princeton Review. The University was included in The Princeton Review Guide to Green Colleges for the sixth year in a row. The Princeton Review chose the 413 schools it profiles in the guide based on a survey the company conducted in 2018–19 of administrators at hundreds of four-year colleges about their institutions’ commitments to the environment and sustainability.
“At Saint Peter’s University, sustainability efforts are embraced by the entire institution from our students and faculty to the administration and staff,” said Eugene J. Cornacchia, Ph.D., president of Saint Peter’s University. “We are honored to be recognized as an environmentally responsible college for the sixth year in a row and I credit the combined efforts of all of the members of our community.”
The Princeton Review’s Editor-in-Chief Rob Franek noted that college applicants and their parents are increasingly concerned about the environment and sustainability issues. Among the 11,900 teens and parents The Princeton Review surveyed earlier this year for its 2019 College Hopes & Worries Survey, 64 percent said that having information about a college’s commitment to the environment would influence their decision to apply to or attend the school.
“We salute—and strongly recommend— Saint Peter’s to the many environmentally-minded students who want to study and live at a green college,” said Franek.
Saint Peter’s was awarded a Green Rating Score of 88/99 by The Princeton Review. The University was cited for the many steps it has taken toward sustainability on campus and beyond such as the installation of solar panels; energy efficient lighting; a co-generation plant with a Green Energy Command Center dedicated to controlling the University’s use of energy and reducing its carbon footprint as well as indoor and outdoor receptacles for recycling. The University’s Mac Mahon Student Center was also constructed to be a LEED Silver-certified building.
Students participate in sustainability-oriented groups such as SAVE: Students Against Violating the Earth and Junk Yard Dogs. They are able to tailor their studies for an environmental focus through academic programs such as the major in environmental science, and the major in biology with a concentration in environmental science. Students also have the opportunity to embrace and study the nature on campus, particularly in the Native Plant Garden, which was established by the biology department in 2018.
The University has been recognized as a Gold Level Smart Workplace by the Hudson County Transportation Management Association and is also the recipient of the Garden State Greenfest Award and the Green Campus Project award from the Independent College Fund of New Jersey for 2018-19.
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Saint Peter’s University, inspired by its Jesuit, Catholic identity, commitment to individual attention and grounding in the liberal arts, educates a diverse community of learners in undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and professional programs to excel intellectually, lead ethically, serve compassionately and promote justice in our ever-changing urban and global environment. To learn more, please visit www.saintpeters.edu.
The Princeton Review annually helps millions of college- and graduate school-bound students achieve their education and career goals through online and in person courses delivered by a network of more than 4,000 teachers and tutors, online resources, and its more than 150 print and digital books published by Penguin Random House. The Princeton Review is headquartered in New York, NY. The company is not affiliated with Princeton University. For more information, visit www.princetonreview.com. Follow the company on Twitter @ThePrincetonRev.
Media Contact
Angeline Boyer
aboyer1@saintpeters.edu
(201) 761-6238