Despite budget constraints and a backlog of maintenance projects, HBCUs strive to implement green principles on their campuses.
Contending with reduced state support during a time of signifi- cant enrollment growth, Bowie State University in Maryland has again seen its deferred maintenance budget take a considerable hit — which includes money for many energy-efficiency projects.
“Our goal was $2.2 million,” says Bowie State President Mickey Burnim of a University System of Maryland Board of Regents policy directing all state schools to allocate 2 percent of their operating budgets to deferred maintenance projects. The school budgeted only $750,000 for the fiscal year 2010.
The drop in deferred-maintenance money has forced Bowie to prioritize its maintenance needs, putting off, in the process, some long-awaited campus renovation, building and energy-efficiency projects altogether for the foreseeable future.
But the school’s budget challenges have not reduced its commitment to energy effi- ciency. Bowie State has conducted a yearly Carbon Footprint Inventory to measure the amount of carbon emissions produced throughout the campus. It also signed the Presidential Climate Agreement mandating that all future campus construction be built to at least the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED silver standard.
“We are looking at new ideas all the time to make our campus greener,” Burnim says, “and that includes such things as installing more energy-efficient lighting in our buildings. Top priorities for us today would be anything having to do with life, health or safety issues, which also means keeping our air conditioning system functioning and doing things like installing lights on a dark parking lot that students are afraid to use at night.”
Addressing ongoing and costly deferredmaintenance needs is a challenge for any two- or four-year school. During an economically challenging time, many HBCUs have put energy efficiency and other green projects on the back burner. However, some are finding deferred maintenance doesn’t have to be a barrier to becoming green.
Investing in a Better Tomorrow
