UW-Eau Claire named to prestigious group of Carnegie Elective Classification for Sustainability

“It is a tremendous honor for UW-Eau Claire to be one of the first universities in the country to be recognized by Carnegie for our holistic approach to sustainability,” UW-Eau Claire Chancellor Edwin Martini says. “This recognition speaks volumes about the thoughtful, meaningful foundation for sustainability that has been built at UW-Eau Claire. The collaboration between our students, faculty, staff and the community is what made this possible.”

UW-Eau Claire participated in a yearlong pilot program in 2025 to test and help shape the classification’s framework and application process that has since launched nationwide. The recognition will be retained for six years, until 2033.

“It’s extraordinarily gratifying. This is something that so many people have been working on for so many years on this campus,” says Dr. James Boulter, professor and chair of the public health and environmental studies department.

“I really hope that every single person here on campus sees themselves reflected in this award and knows that it’s because of them and the work that they chose to do,” says Lily Strehlow, sustainability coordinator.

The 14 pilot institutions receiving the classification are:

• UW-Eau Claire
• Bennett College (North Carolina)
• Carleton College (Minnesota)
• Clarkson University (New York)
• George Mason University (Virginia)
• Mt. San Antonio College (California)
• Pima Community College (Arizona)
• Tohono O’odham Community College (Arizona)
• Universidad del Sagrado Corazón (Puerto Rico)
• University of Arizona
• University of California, Merced
• University of Idaho
• University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• University of Nevada, Las Vegas

“The first group of inaugural institutions help bring this new classification to life,” says Timothy F.C. Knowles, president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. “We’re proud to recognize their leadership and the many ways they are advancing sustainability across their campuses and communities.”

The group will be part of the inaugural cohort of classified institutions, which will be announced in June 2027 and include institutions participating in the first full classification cycle.

A proven, grassroots approach to sustainability

Having already begun the application for the Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement, which it received this past January, UW-Eau Claire was well positioned to join the cohort pilot. Years of sharing successes and failures from its grassroots sustainability practices at conferences, webinars and within the Chippewa Valley also contributed to the selection.

“Carnegie recognized that we could bring something to the table that was unique,” says Strehlow, who championed sustainability on campus as a student, and for the last four years, as sustainability coordinator. “The passion and the expertise and the vision for sustainability has always come from students, faculty and staff from the ground up.”

Sustainability is addressed across a vast diversity of courses on campus, and the Administrative Office of Sustainability works alongside the Student Office of Sustainability to implement initiatives such as residence hall composting, plastic film collection and other waste diversion efforts. The facilities team has become invested in decarbonizing its buildings through technologies like ground source heat pumps, which The Sonnentag — opened in 2024 to serve UW-Eau Claire athletics teams, students and the broader community — utilizes for fossil-fuel-free heating and cooling.

Landscape architect Daria Hutchinson and the campus grounds crew ensure UW-Eau Claire protects water and the environment through native plantings while maintaining its reputation as Wisconsin’s most beautiful campus. The university is recognized as an affiliate of both Tree Campus Higher Education and Bee Campus USA, holds a silver rating from the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System and has been ranked a Top Green College by The Princeton Review.

The Davies Student Center was designed with sustainability in mind, and through renewable energy credits purchased by SOS, has seen its electricity produce a net zero carbon footprint since its opening in 2012. The Sonnentag was the largest public university-operated Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design V4 gold-certified recreational center in the nation when it opened.

Strehlow says 90% of departments on campus have faculty members conducting a form of sustainability research, with recent examples including sampling rural wells for PFAS and nitrate pollution or helping alleviate food insecurity in the Eau Claire area. UW-Eau Claire will host the 19th Annual Universities of Wisconsin Sustainability Meeting in October.

“There’s really no place like UW-Eau Claire,” she says.

Each of the 14 pilot institutions were carefully selected to create a diversity of ideas and contexts. That included a tour of universities in Puerto Rico and the opportunity to evaluate the other pilot schools’ classification applications.

Of the 14 classified, three schools are community colleges and nine serve minority students. Six schools have the highest research designation, R1. UW-Eau Claire represents four-year comprehensive campuses and Midwest campuses.

“We got to demonstrate what we do that’s exciting and beneficial for sustainability, but we also got to learn from all the other campuses in their radically different contexts and situations,” Boulter says.

Students play a key role

Students at UW-Eau Claire and UW-Eau Claire – Barron County are engaged in sustainability because they feel their input is valued.

“We always have ideas that the staff listens to and incorporates, so it’s very inspiring to see a change that somebody proposed actually come to fruition,” says Iryna Levada, senate director for UW-Eau Claire’s Student Office of Sustainability. “As students, we will always continue coming up with ideas and innovating.”

The SOS meets on Tuesdays during the fall and spring semesters to discuss how to utilize roughly $100,000 in student segregated fees. The money is used to foster sustainability on campus through innovation, education and foundational improvements.

“My Tuesday meetings are the highlights of my week, seeing everyone come together and be nerdy about whatever we’re working on or sustainability in general,” says Lauren Jordahl, student director for SOS. “I see very motivated students who are always looking for more progress.”

The co-directors hope the classification honor will attract more students to enroll at UW-Eau Claire and become involved in SOS projects while also pushing the entire campus to continue to prioritize sustainability.

“It’s something we should be proud of now and also continue to keep up,” Jordahl says. “It’s something the chancellor and administration will have to be mindful of as they’re making decisions. Is this reflecting the students and what they’ve accomplished?”