In a message to the Williams community, Eiko Maruko Siniawer ’97, provost and Class of 1955 Memorial Professor of History, shares the ways that Williams is addressing key environmental challenges and inspiring greater environmental consciousness. Here are just a few highlights of the many kinds of environmental work pursued over the past year:
- Several campus buildings have received green certification in the past year: Saint Anthony Hall at the Center for Development Economics (LEED Gold), Fellows Hall at the Center for Development Economics (Zero Energy Certification), and Wachenheim Science Center (LEED Platinum, exceeding the anticipated LEED Gold certification) and which also won two prestigious International Interior Design Association awards, including the Humanity of Design Award for the most sustainable, equitable, inclusive and humane project, across 118 competitive entries.
- Phase 1 of Williams’ Energy and Carbon Master Plan (ECMP) is underway and will commit about $100 million toward transitioning the college’s heating and cooling systems to greener sources of energy.
- Almost 30 students in the Class of 2025 have declared a major in Environmental Studies, a historic high.
- Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies Brittany Meché published an article in Environment and Society titled, “Black as Drought: Arid Landscapes and Ecologies of Encounter across the African Diaspora.”
Published September 26, 2023