Colorado State University has the best interdisciplinary sustainability curriculum among all institutions listed in the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s Sustainable Campus Index Rankings.
CSU also ranked No. 4 overall among doctoral institutions with 88.13 points, making nine times in a row that CSU has been in the index’s top 4.
CSU has been No. 1 top four times in an increasingly fierce field. Université de Sherbrooke in Quebec, Canada, was first with 92.73 points, Arizona State University was second with 91.10 points, and the University of California-Irvine was third with 88.59 points.
“This year was the toughest competition we have ever faced, and it’s great that so many institutions are coming on so strong with sustainability initiatives,” said Tonie Miyamoto, CSU’s executive director of division communications and sustainability in the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs. “The need has never been greater.”
“Every one of CSU’s colleges is invested in sustainability and is committed to an interdisciplinary curriculum.”
– CSU President Amy Parsons
CSU ranks in the top 8 in distinct categories. Besides being tied for No. 1 in curriculum, Colorado’s land-grant university was: tied for No. 3 in research; No. 3 in campus engagement; No. 5 in investment & finance; No. 5 in purchasing; No. 7 in public engagement; and tied for No. 8 in water research.
“It is gratifying to see our faculty, researchers, staff and students recognized as world leaders in creating a more sustainable environment and society,” said CSU President Amy Parsons, who helped advance CSU’s first Climate Action Plan and charged the group now known as the President’s Sustainability Commission.
“Every one of CSU’s colleges is invested in sustainability and is committed to an interdisciplinary curriculum,” Parsons said. “Our students are not only learning from world-class experts, but their focus on sustainability is driving the curriculum forward.”
CSU has earned a platinum rating four times in AASHE’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System, or STARS, and was the first institution to earn that distinction in 2015. Nearly 600 institutions have completed a STARS report.
CSU Sustainable Campus Facts and Figures
- All eight CSU colleges offer at least one minor and/or major related to sustainability and CSU offers several interdisciplinary sustainability minors and graduate certificates open to all students.
- Students in Growing Food Security raise thousands of pounds of fresh produce at CSU’s Agricultural Research, Development and Education Center farm for the food pantry on campus.
- Eco Leaders engage thousands of students living on campus on topics ranging from sustainable transportation to composting to clothing swaps.
- The Salazar Center connects academic research and community engagement to further conservation and sustainability efforts in the U.S. and around the world.
- 800+ – All academic departments at CSU offer at least one course that includes sustainability, totaling more than 800 undergraduate and graduate courses.
- 464 – Number of CSU faculty, staff and students who conduct sustainability research
- 92% – Percentage of all academic departments engaged in at least one sustainability research project
- 28.32% – Percentage of CSU’s endowment now invested in positive sustainability investments, including Colorado-specific impact funds, sustainable agriculture and food production, wind farms, climate tracking technology, alternative renewable energy sources, clean water solutions, family-owned businesses in emerging markets and businesses owned or led by traditionally underrepresented individuals.
