Sonoma State University's leadership in the nationwide movement to make college campuses sustainable and energy efficient became apparent this week as it earned top honors at the fifth annual statewide University of California/California State University/California Community Colleges sustainability conference at UC Santa Barbara.
The work by the Capital, Planning Design and Construction Department along with campus engineer Keith Marchando earned SSU more awards than any other single campus from California's higher education systems.
SSU won the top award for Best Lighting Design for its campus-wide lighting master plan, Best HVAC Design for the Salazar Hall and Darwin Hall retrofit projects, and Best Overall Sustainable Design for the newly-constructed Student Recreation Center.
Marchando's work also earned an Honorable Mention for Best Monitoring-Based Commissioning for the Jean and Charles Schulz Information Center, home of the University Library.
With a theme of "Turning the Tide: Implementing Sustainable Strategies," the conference provided a forum to explore sustainable practices on college and university campuses and workshops for nearly 600 representatives from more than 300 public and private colleges and universities, state and federal agencies, and companies.
Participants reviewed best practices and new technologies in all aspects of "greening" campus life, and explored how to meet the challenges of responsible growth with stewardship.
Successes of staff, faculty, students and others from institutions and agencies throughout the state were explored and participants discussed how to influence policy and build collaborations and partnerships.
Sessions at the conference addressed "green" building, energy, waste management, sustainable transportation, institutionalizing sustainability, water, food systems, and procurement.
