Willamette Recognized as First in Nation for Sustainability Activities

A report card from the National Wildlife Federation recognized Willamette University for engaging in the most sustainability activities of all the 1,068 schools that participated in the federation’s recent nationwide survey.

The NWF’s report, “Campus Environment 2008: A National Report Card on Sustainability in Higher Education,” is based on results from the nation’s largest survey to gauge sustainability at colleges and universities. More than 240 individual schools are recognized and named in the report for having exemplary levels of sustainability activities, as determined by survey responses, and the school engaged in the greatest number of such activities is Willamette.

According to the NWF, “Willamette is committed to energy efficiency and conservation, greener transportation, environmentally friendly landscaping practices, as well as to orienting personnel and faculty to the sustainability goals of the campus.”

Campuses were ranked according to their response to 18 items regarding the institution’s commitment to sustainability. Willamette claimed 11 of the items, more than any other participating school.

“I am perhaps proudest that Willamette’s sustainability achievements were largely student-initiated,” Willamette President M. Lee Pelton said. “These are students whose passion, leadership and creativity transformed our campus culture. They inspire and motivate others on this campus and beyond.”

David Orr, author of Earth in Mind, Ecological Literacy, The Last Refuge, and Design on the Edge, called the NWF report card “the Gold Standard for charting the sustainability movement in higher education.”

The NWF created the report card in partnership with Princeton Survey Research Associates International. The survey was conducted between January and May 2008.

For more about the report card, visit http://www.nwf.org/campusecology/campusreportcard.cfm/campusreportcard.cfm or http://www.nwf.org/campusEcology/pdfs/FactSheet_FINAL.pdf.

To learn more about Willamette's sustainability initiatives, visit http://www.willamette.edu/about/sustainability/ or http://www.willamette.edu/centers/csc/.

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Willamette Graduate Competes in Beijing

Willamette graduate Nick Symmonds competed in the semifinals of the 800-meter run at the Olympic Games in Beijing, China, this morning (Pacific Time). If you are interested in learning the results now, a press release about the semifinals is at http://www.willamette.edu/events/symmonds/.

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Symmonds Wins Heat, Advances to Semifinals

BEIJING, China — Nick Symmonds ’06 started his Olympic competition successfully Wednesday, winning his preliminary heat in the 800-meter run and becoming the only U.S. runner to advance to the semifinals.

Symmonds achieved a time of 1:46.01, three one-hundredths of a second ahead of Alfred Kirwa Yego from Kenya. Symmonds and Yego both earned automatic berths in the semifinals, to be held Thursday.

The field of 64 runners was reduced to 24 for the three semifinal heats, which start at 4:50 a.m. PT Thursday. The 800-meter final is set for Saturday at 4:30 a.m. PT.

It is not certain whether the preliminary heats or the semifinals will be shown on television. The final is scheduled to be included in NBC’s primetime coverage Saturday night.

Symmonds was one of three Americans, all with Oregon ties, who competed in the preliminary heats. Andrew Wheating placed fourth in his heat with a time of 1:47.05. Christian Smith took fourth in his heat in 1:48.20. They did not advance.

For photos of Symmonds’ preliminary race, visit http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=J0&Dato=20080820&Kategori=OLYMPICS&Lopenr=820002&Ref=PH.

For more about Symmonds, who won seven NCAA Division III championships and majored in biochemistry at Willamette, visit http://www.willamette.edu/events/symmonds/.

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