Green Mountain College Sixth in Nation in Sierra's "Coolest Schools" Rankings

POULTNEY, Vt., Aug. 15, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Sierra magazine has placed Green Mountain College among the top schools in the country for environmental programming and operations. GMC is ranked sixth in the nation in the magazine's seventh annual "Coolest Schools" list, which recognizes colleges and universities that are creating tangible change in all categories of greenness – from what's served in dining halls to what's taught in lecture halls to what's powering the dorms. GMC was the only Vermont institution to make the top 10 list.

"To be among the top ten schools in the country for the third time in four years running shows our continuing commitment to be more sustainable in our programs and operations,"
said Paul Fonteyn, President of Green Mountain College.

Green Mountain College received several other accolades for its leadership role in sustainability in 2013. In January, the College's Sustainable MBA program was recognized among U.S. News & World Report's 2013 Best Online Graduate Business Programs. (GMC's program was the only MBA program ranked that focuses on sustainable business). In May, the College's board of trustees approved divestment from 200 publicly traded companies which hold most of the world's known coal, oil and gas reserves. The decision aligns the College with its strategic plan "Sustainability2020," which commits GMC to a path to authentic sustainability by the end of the decade. Earlier this month, GMC received a perfect "99" green rating in the 2014 edition of The Princeton Review's The Best 378 Colleges guide. 
It was the second year in a row that GMC has made the Princeton Review's Green Honor Roll.

"For the past seven years, Sierra magazine has ranked colleges and universities on their commitment to fighting climate disruption and making sure the future their students will inhabit has safe water, clean air and beautiful landscapes," said Bob Sipchen, Sierra magazine's editor-in-chief.  "By showing such strong leadership on so many fronts -- from energy use and transportation to the courses they offer -- the best of these schools are pointing the way for other institutions."

Sierra's complete 2013 rankings, with comprehensive descriptions of each school's environmental efforts, are available here. To learn more about what Green Mountain College is doing to make its campus more sustainable, visit here.

SOURCE Green Mountain College