UW-Eau Claire on green colleges list again

The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire has been named to The Princeton Review Guide to Green Colleges for the fifth consecutive year for its programs, policies and practices related to sustainability and the environment.

The 2025 edition released Oct. 15 includes UW-Eau Claire among 512 universities and colleges in the U.S. and 14 other countries that The Princeton Review considers environmentally responsible. The Princeton Review chose the schools based on a survey of administrators and students attending the colleges about their “green” campus experiences.

UW-Eau Claire has been on the green college list a total of 11 times, showing the university has been incorporating sustainability into its campus operations and academics for years, says Lily Strehlow, sustainability coordinator.

“UWEC has made more progress towards eliminating our carbon footprint in buildings than any other Universities of Wisconsin campus,” Strehlow says.

The Sonnentag, the $122 million university-operated recreational facility that opened this summer, is a net energy-neutral building that received gold-level certification in the globally recognized Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design green building rating system for its sustainability features. The facility is the largest LEED V4 gold-certified recreational center in the nation operated by a public university, according to the U.S. Green Building Council.

UW-Eau Claire has an extensive array of coursework focused on sustainability that spans disciplines from geography and public health to American Indian studies and environmental geology, Strehlow says. The university also received a grant from Second Nature for a new course cross listed between the College of Business and the College of Arts and Sciences. New sustainability internships in the Administrative Office of Sustainability provide additional opportunities for students who want to work in sustainability, Strehlow says.