Pitzer in the News 2006-2007 Academic Year

The Chronicle of Higher Education
From the issue dated October 20, 2006

The Sustainable University
In Search of the Sustainable Campus
With eyes on the future, universities try to clean up their acts
By Scott Carlson

Strides at Small Schools

In Southern California, Pitzer College should be fertile ground for a sustainability movement, yet it also faces familiar challenges. Founded in the 1960s, Pitzer is the alma mater of the sustainability guru L. Hunter Lovins. “We’re trying to do the right thing, but excruciatingly slowly,” says Paul Faulstich, a professor of environmental studies. “I think every decision at the academy should be made with an eye toward impact. Our economics at Pitzer College don’t allow us to do that.” He says Pitzer could put up some of the greenest buildings on the West Coast or provide organic and locally grown food, if only the college had more money.

Laura Skandera Trombley, Pitzer’s president, says sustainability is integral to the curriculum and history of her college. The convictions of the students at Pitzer, she says, have influenced changes in college operations, both large and small. Students have set up vegetable gardens, composting areas, and a “green bikes” program, which repairs castoff bikes and offers them to students who need to get around the Claremont Colleges, of which Pitzer is a part. Taking a cue from the students, the college is building a new residence hall that will get gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, which has a rating system to evaluate the environmental impact of buildings.

Pitzer’s most striking sustainability effort shows up, oddly, in the lack of green on campus. Here in thirsty Southern California, significant portions of the campus lawn— which required frequent watering—have been removed and replaced with native and desert plants. The effort was started years ago by one of Pitzer’s professors, but Ms. Trombley has supported it. The college hired one of the world’s leading experts in desert plants to tend its prickly arboretum.