OCC’s commitment to sustainability has earned the College nationwide recognition and inclusion on several 2016 “best of” lists including:
- The 2016 Princeton Review’s Guide to 361 Green Colleges.
- Sierra Club’s 2016 Cool School Rankings.
- 2016 Sustainable Campus Index which is compiled by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.
“It’s a tremendous honor to be recognized nationally for our commitment to sustainability. OCC has made excellent progress toward our goals related to integrating sustainability throughout campus operations and providing sustainability-focused learning opportunities for students. We’re proud to be making a difference in the lives of students both today and for generations to come,” said Sean Vormwald, LEED AP BD+C, OCC’s Director of Sustainability and Environmental Health and Safety.
In this decade alone OCC’s major sustainability-related accomplishments include earning LEED Gold status for both the SRC Arena and the Academic II building, the opening of the Furnace Brook Retreat Center which is a classroom for smart technology, the rebuilding and reconfiguration of the West Quad to capture storm water runoff and the recent improvements to Mawhinney Hall which are also aimed at keeping runoff out of Furnace Brook and reusing storm water.