Colorado College Announces New Environmental Studies Building

Colorado College has announced plans to construct a new environmental studies building on its Colorado Springs campus, responding to steadily growing student enrollment in environmental science and sustainability-focused academic programs over the past several years.

College officials say the environmental studies program has outgrown its current facilities, with enrollment nearly doubling over the past decade as student interest in environmental and sustainability careers has grown. "This is one of our fastest-growing programs, and the building hasn't kept pace with that growth," said college facilities director Owen Bramwell.

Designing a Building Around Sustainability Principles

True to the program's academic focus, the new building is being designed with significant sustainability features, including solar power generation, water reclamation systems, and sustainably sourced building materials. College officials say the building itself is intended to function as a teaching tool, with sustainability features designed to be visible and explainable to students studying the underlying environmental science and engineering principles involved.

The building will include expanded laboratory space for environmental science research, along with classroom space designed to accommodate the program's increasingly popular interdisciplinary courses that combine environmental science with economics, policy, and other academic disciplines increasingly relevant to environmental careers.

Funding Through Alumni and Grant Support

The project is being funded through a combination of college capital funds, alumni donations, and environmental research grants, with several alumni who built careers in environmental fields providing significant lead gifts for the project. College officials say alumni giving to the project reflects strong loyalty to a program many credit with shaping their subsequent career paths.

Construction is expected to take approximately two years, with college officials saying the timeline allows for careful integration of the building's sustainability features rather than rushing construction to meet a shorter timeline that might compromise the project's environmental design goals.