Missouri S&T’s Solar Village.

Missouri University of Science and Technology has been awarded the Midwest Affiliate of College and University Residence Halls (MACURH) Commitment to Sustainability Award.

The award was presented to members of Missouri S&T’s MACURH chapter during the annual MACURH regional conference, held Oct. 31-Nov.2 at the University of Kansas. It recognizes a school for its commitment to sustainability awareness through student-directed, year-long campuswide sustainability activities.

Keiler Swartz, a senior in history and education from Ballwin, Missouri, submitted Missouri S&T’s bid for the award.

“I am proud of S&T for making the commitment to sustainability,” he says. “I put a lot of hard work into writing the bid, but none of it would be possible without the work done by countless individuals who work every day to make S&T a more sustainable campus.”

Missouri S&T’s bid for the award highlighted sustainability programs on campus. EcoMiners, the Solar House Design Team and the Solar Car Design Team, all Missouri S&T student organizations, were cited as student-led sustainability activities. The geothermal energy project, the eBus electric shuttle bus and the Solar Village were highlighted as campuswide sustainability activities. The Sustainable Campus Advisory Council, the Office of Sustainable Energy and Environmental Engagement, Missouri S&T’s strategic plan and the campus sustainability policy were noted as programs geared toward sustainability.

Established in 1961, MACURH is part of the National Association of College and University Residence Halls Incorportated (NACURH). MACURH is comprised of 30 member schools in Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and the Canadian provinces Manitoba and Nunavut.