Stands to Become One of the First Colleges in the Nation to Earn Gold Certification from Green Building Council
Claremont, Calif. (September 12, 2005) — Pitzer College, a member of The Claremont Colleges, officially begins construction of model student residence halls on its campus with a public ground breaking ceremony on Sunday, Sept. 18, 2005. Tom Hayden, former California state senator and acclaimed social activist, will speak at the event. The new residence halls are socially and environmentally responsible and are being built to the strict standards of the U.S. Green Building Council. Pitzer College stands positioned to become one of the first colleges in the nation to replace all of its residence halls with LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) gold-certified residence halls.
Pitzer students, faculty, alumni and staff, true to the College’s community style governance, actively participated in the planning of this project and believe green building principles mirror the College’s goals and values of global sustainability. The Residential Life and Learning Committee worked diligently during the past year to develop the plans for the building and landscape program. The U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED criteria guide the overall project design. Initially, the project’s goal was to achieve a Silver LEED Certification. However, due to the strong efforts on the part of the project team, support of the entire college community, and the leadership of President Laura Skandera Trombley, it appears that a Gold LEED rating is within reach and Pitzer College is “Going for Gold.”
Opportunities for formal and informal learning include new art studios and an expanded writing center complemented by a rich environment of study rooms, a music practice room, a computer lab, wireless Internet access, learning communities with faculty in residence, dorm amenities to encourage indoor-outdoor interactions, LEED certified buildings that teach about how to live sustainably, and outdoor gardens that serve as a living laboratory for learning.
“The new residence halls represent the best thinking of the entire Pitzer communityits students, faculty, alumni and staffabout how to create a vibrant living and learning experience on the campus that represents our ongoing efforts in embracing ecological sustainability,” Laura Skandera Trombley said. The three-phase project encompasses seven residence halls with 758 beds in three distinct neighborhoods surrounding the Gloria and Peter Gold Center.
