UT Knoxville took top honors in the state and the Southeastern Conference in this year’s 2010 College Sustainability Report Card. The report, published annually by the Sustainable Endowments Institute, gave UT Knoxville a B grade, placing the campus higher than any other Tennessee college or university and tied with two other universities for the top
When he started college as a math major, Gordie Bennett never thought that he would end up an environmental advocate who spends his days with a nine foot tall light switch affectionately named “Switchie.” But for Bennett, the sustainability manager for UT Knoxville, it’s just another day at the office.
UT is more than halfway to the “Switch Your Thinking” campaign goal of reducing energy use on campus by 10 percent this fiscal year. To help the campus reach this milestone, Make Orange Green and the Committee on the Campus Environment have created an energy conservation program for faculty and staff called “Friends of Switchie.”