Honoring Environmental Efforts

This spring, Baylor was recognized by Keep Texas Beautiful (KTB), RecycleMania, the U.S. Green Building Council, and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for continuing "green" efforts.
Sherri Street, executive director of Keep Waco Beautiful, nominated Baylor, which won the KTB first-place award for college programs, because the university met its aim of 200,000 recycled bottles at athletic events -- a goal accomplished during the football season alone. Street noted Baylor's participation in Keep McLennan County Beautiful's Tire Recycle Day, gardening at local historic homes for Historic Waco Foundation, Recyclemania, the "Last Out, Lights Out" initiative and special cleanups of Waco's water sources. 
"This is a huge honor and a great thing for Baylor," said Smith Getterman, BA '04, MA '07, sustainability coordinator for Baylor. "It is more evidence that our commitment to being good stewards of God's Earth is making a difference in the world. It also shows the rest of the state, and the world, that Baylor is on the vanguard of making positive contributions to our natural environment and surrounding communities." 
Baylor also received awards in the RecycleMania 2010 competition, featuring more than 600 colleges and universities. Baylor finished second in the Big 12 division for the per capita classic competition, second in the Big 12 waste minimization competition, and third place in the Big 12 grand champion division. 
In March, the Jay and Jenny Allison Indoor Football Practice Facility became the nation's first true football field house to be awarded a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver Rating by the U.S. Green Building Council in its New Construction rating system. 
"The Allison Practice Facility is Baylor's second New Construction LEED-certified building, bringing our building count to three LEED-certified facilities within the last year," said Dr. Reagan M. Ramsower, BBA '74, MS '76, vice president for finance and administration at Baylor. "Baylor remains committed to sustainable construction and being a leader in achieving LEED certification on future construction projects." 
In May, Baylor University, the City of Waco and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers of Waco were honored at TCEQ's 18th annual Texas Environmental Excellence Awards in the education category for their partnership, the Lake Waco Wetlands, which provides on-site research support for wetland and other environmental studies. The Wetlands Research and Education Center offers aquatic resources for Baylor research as well as hands-on learning and educational opportunities for visitors and non-university students. It also is the site for Baylor's Center for Reservoir and Aquatic System Research (CRASR).