Formal sustainability committee? Check.
Environmentally focused degrees? Check.
LEED-certified buildings? Check.

A host of Earth-friendly initiatives has earned the University of Mary Washington a spot among the nation’s most environmentally responsible schools in the 2022 Guide to Green Colleges, published last week by The Princeton Review.

“UMW offers excellent academics and demonstrates a commitment to sustainability that is exemplary on many counts,” said Princeton Review Editor-in-Chief Rob Franek. “We strongly recommend the University of Mary Washington to students who care about the environment and want to study and live at a green college.”

More and more students are looking for that kind of experience, according to the education services company’s 2021 survey. Of more than 11,000 college applicants questioned, 78 percent – up 12 percent from the previous year – said a school’s gusto for going green would weigh into their college search.

“It isn’t unusual for students who have an interest in that element of their future – and the future of the planet – to choose a school specifically focused on the environment,” said UMW Director of Landscape and Grounds Holly Chichester. “That’s the kind of student we’re trying to attract here at Mary Washington.” Read more.

The University of Mary Washington is a premier, selective public liberal arts and sciences university in Virginia, highly respected for its commitment to academic excellence, strong undergraduate liberal arts and sciences program, and dedication to life-long learning. The university, with a total enrollment of more than 4,000, features colleges of business, education and arts and sciences, and three campuses, including a residential campus in Fredericksburg, Va., a second one in nearby Stafford and a third in Dahlgren, Va., which serves as a center of development of educational and research partnerships between the Navy, higher education institutions and the region’s employers.