Another objective is to increase the number of buildings on MSI campuses that receive Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification.
By virtue of their small endowments, minority-serving colleges are hard-pressed to develop environmentally sustainable practices, speakers at the teleconference noted. Small colleges also may lack in-house expertise, and one goal of the new initiative is to build interest among faculty members and, ultimately, students, in green building practices.
MSIs "work within strained budgets even in the best of economic times, and, in tough economic times, it is difficult for MSIs to make the necessary investments," Lomax said. "We believe that this initiative will help them find the way toward affordable sustainability."
Despite these obstacles, some MSIs are going green. Spelman College recently opened a new residence hall that received a LEED Silver rating, a marker of environmentally friendly construction. According to Arthur E. Frazier III, Spelman's director of facilities management, the building uses 31 percent less water and 19 percent less energy than other residence halls.
Green construction generally costs up to 2.5 percent more than typical construction projects, even though it may yield longer-term benefits. For HBCUs, one option may be to renovate or retrofit historic structures to incorporate new energy-efficient practices, UNCF said.
Including the mini-grants, workshops, and seminars, 400 MSIs should gain new information and assistance through the program, initiative leaders noted. Information about the 2010 workshops will be posted soon through MSI organizations and their web sites, they added.
