Muleskinner

Issue date: 2/14/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Nick Lower: Muleskinner [Click to enlarge]

As "green living" grows in popularity, UCM President Aaron Podolefsky is taking initiative. Podolefsky has signed an initiative to reduce the amount of waste created in the building of the new Student Recreation and Wellness Center.

Podolefsky signed the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment, which put UCM alongside other universities looking to become more environmentally friendly.

The Board of Governors recently authorized negotiations for the building of the recreation center with Gould Evans for architectural and engineering services and J. E. Dunn Construction for a construction management contract. These contracts will add momentum to the building of the recreation center.

Richard Morrell, vice president of Student Affairs, said the new center would be built in accordance with the United States Green Building Council's (USGBC) Certified LEED Guidelines.

"LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design," Morell said. "This group has established standards for building public buildings. There are three levels. The minimum level to be LEED certified is silver, and that is what we're going for."

Podolefsky said having an eco-friendly building involves contructing in different ways, such as buying products locally to reduce energy costs, and using resources more wisely.

"[With LEED] you don't have to use electric lights all year because light comes in naturally," Podolefsky said. "There are a lot of things like that in the design of a building that makes it much more efficient then just building a box."

According to research by the USBGC, United States buildings alone use 65 percent of the electric consumption, 36 percent of the energy use, give off 30 percent of greenhouse emissions, account for 30 percent of waste output and 12 percent of portable water consumption.

Following LEED standards, construction of the new recreation center will conserve natural resources and reduce waste while helping keep operating costs down.

"The interesting thing about these buildings is that while it costs you more to build, it will cost you less to run," Podolefsky said.

The Student Recreation and Wellness Center will be the first new building or renovation of the millennium on the UCM campus.

Betty Roberts, vice president for administration and finance, said the "green" aspect of the new building is extremely important.

Podolefsky said he agreed that the facilities will be a boost for the students.

"We are very excited to go forward, and we will move it along as tenaciously as possible," Podolefsky said. "It's good for the environment and the world. It's your future."

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