Sterling is the only college or university in Vermont to earn recognition.
Vermont Business Magazine Sterling College has been recognized among more than 550 colleges and universities as a top performer in the 2021 Sustainable Campus Index, achieving the top spot for sustainable food and dining, tying for second for sustainability curriculum, and ranking fourth overall among baccalaureate institutions. Sterling is the only higher education institution in Vermont to rank in the top 10.
A publication from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), the Sustainable Campus Index recognizes top-performing sustainable colleges and universities overall and in 17 impact areas, as measured by the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS). Sterling has achieved and maintained a STARS Gold Rating since 2015.
“As a college whose mission is to advance ecological thinking and action, Sterling is committed to leading through practice,” said Interim President Dr. Lori-Collins Hall. “This recognition is a reflection of the dedication and hard work that our entire community puts toward sustainability every day. We will celebrate this achievement and continue to use education as a force to address critical ecological problems caused by unlimited growth and consumption that is destroying the planet as we have known it.”
Sterling achieved its top performer status by earning a high score overall, along with a 99.4% score in the Food & Dining and 100% in the Curriculum subcategories.
The 2021 Sustainable Campus Index also highlighted Sterling’s EcoGather education platform as an innovative and high-impact program. According to the report, EcoGather was selected for recognition based on “the level of innovation and overall impact in advancing sustainability, potential for replicability, and the added impacts this would present.”
Sterling’s EcoGather platform is a collaborative learning network dedicated to the vitality of ecosystems, communities, and economies that prepares learners at all stages of life to undertake or deepen active changemaking and caretaking work. “EcoGather is currently working with five partners across the world to support agro-ecological transition and equitable, resilient food systems,” according to Nicole Civita, Vice President for Strategic Initiatives at Sterling, “as well as offering online coursework to the public which is designed to build communities for learning and transformation as we address the climate crisis.”
“Congratulations to Sterling for their incredible sustainability accomplishments,” said AASHE’s Executive Director Meghan Fay Zahniser. “Upon reading the innovative and high-impact initiatives within this report, I’m encouraged that the global sustainability transformation that we desperately need is, in fact, happening.”
Sterling College’s STARS report is publicly available on the STARS website:
https://reports.aashe.org/institutions/sterling-college-vt/report/2021-03-05/
ABOUT STERLING COLLEGE:
Founded in 1958 in Craftsbury Common, Vermont, Sterling College advances ecological thinking and action through affordable experiential learning, preparing knowledgeable, skilled, and responsible leaders to face the ecological crises caused by unlimited growth and consumption that threatens the future of the planet. Sterling College is home to the School of the New American Farmstead, the Wendell Berry Farming Program, and EcoGather; is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education; and is one of only nine colleges and universities recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as a “Work College.” Sterling acknowledges that the land on which it gathers is the traditional and unceded territory of the Abenaki people on its Vermont campus, and the Shawnee, Osage, and the Eastern band of the Cherokee on its Kentucky campus. For more information, visit: www.sterlingcollege.edu
About STARS
The Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) is a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance. STARS was developed by AASHE with broad participation from the higher education community. The credits included in STARS span the breadth of higher education sustainability and are organized into four categories: Academics, Engagement, Operations, and Planning & Administration. All reports are publicly accessible on the STARS website. For more information, visit stars.aashe.org.
About AASHE
AASHE empowers higher education administrators, faculty, staff and students to be effective change agents and drivers of sustainability innovation. AASHE enables members to translate information into action by offering essential resources and professional development to a diverse, engaged community of sustainability leaders. We work with and for higher education to ensure that our world's future leaders are motivated and equipped to solve sustainability challenges. For more information, visit www.aashe.org. Follow AASHE on Facebook and Twitter.
Source: CRAFTSBURY COMMON, VT (November 10, 2021) – Sterling College