Despite LEED-certified buildings, hybrid buses and $170 million in endowments, Ball State University did not make the list of schools on the Sustainable Endowment Institute's Environmental Report Card.
Mark Orlowski, executive director for the institute, said the organization annually assesses universities throughout the nation and grades their progress in the sustainability field.
"We see the report as a tool for schools to learn from each other," he said. "They can look at what's possible and what's already happening."
The research team assessed the 200 public and private universities with the largest endowments, ranging from $230 million to $35 billion, according to the report.
Ball State, which has about $170 million in endowments, did not make the cutoff, Orlowski said.
Media Relations Manager Layne Cameron said the endowments were mainly donations from alumni and other private contributors. They are treated as an investment in the university's future, and exclude student fees or building revenue, he said.
Ball State works hard toward sustainability and being a green campus, Cameron said.
University officials are currently working on getting new campus buildings LEED certified, such as the David Letterman Communication and Media Building and Park Hall, he said.
President Jo Ann Gora was one of the first university presidents to join the Presidents Climate Commitment to be carbon neutral, aiming to reduce and eliminate greenhouse gases, Cameron said.
Senator Richard Lugar gave The Ball State University Council on the Environment the Energy Patriot Award in August, Cameron said.
He said the council was the longest standing green committee at any Indiana university.
Ball State was also Indiana's first university to use hybrid-electric buses on campus, he said.
Kiwi Magazine placed Ball State in the top 50 greenest universities in the United States in their November issue, Cameron said.
"We're just flying under the radar," he said. "We're doing well and we have been recognized, but not everyone has heard about us."
Orlowski said he was aware, however, of the progress Ball State had made in the field, he said.
Orlowski described Ball State's sustainability efforts as "impressive," and said he thought it had a good chance of being included in next year's report.
"We realize that schools with smaller endowments are doing a great job," he said, "and we want to expand the report next year to try to include some of them."
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