Western students might remember getting report cards to show their progress in grade school. Now, Western gets one too, to show its sustainability progress.

Officials released Western’s second sustainability report Thursday, and it catalogs campus efforts to make Western more sustainable, said Sustainability Coordinator Christian Ryan-Downing, who prepared the report.

“It lets everybody know what’s going on,” she said. “It’s hard to keep up with everything, and this brings it all together in one place.”

A contract approved by the Board of Regents will make energy-efficient buildings a campus-wide affair.

A new Energy Savings Performance Contract extends improvements that started in 2001 to more campus buildings.

The board approved an ESPC on Oct. 30, said Bryan Russell, director of Planning, Design and Construction.

Assistant Recycling Coordinator Chris Radus tosses aluminum cans into his work truck during Western’s Homecoming. Thousands of items were collected during the day. He’s responsible for picking up and relocating all recycling and compost produced on Western’s campus. “Out of sight, out of mind,” Radus said. “Often, people care about recycling but don’t know the work that’s put into it.” KATIE SIMPSON/HERALD

Western officials have plans for 83 facilities-related projects in the next six years, but it could be two years before officials can move forward on any of them.
On Oct. 30, the Board of Regents approved a six-year capital plan that lists plans for construction, renovation and other projects through 2016.
But last week, President Gary Ransdell [...]

The gap between campus and downtown will get smaller as both Western and Bowling Green complete building projects planned on the downtown side of the Hill.

A new building for the Gordon Ford College of Business, non-traditional student housing, a parking garage with stores around it and a five-story hotel are all planned for “block 12,” which is the area enclosed by and surrounding Kentucky and Center Streets and 13th Avenue.

The future business college was the first project planned in this area, said Bryan Russell, director of Planning, Design and Construction.

Western added the final pieces to its collection of Colonial Courts properties Friday.

The Board of Regents approved the purchase of three apartment buildings in Colonial Courts, which has served as a student community.

Western has been buying properties located on Normal Drive across from Southwest Hall for two years.

The buildings will become part of a village for visiting scholars and international students, which university officials hope will be completed by Spring 2011, Provost Barbara Burch said.

This week is the last chance students in dorms have to unplug their energy-sucking electronics and plug into energy conservation that could win them a prize as part of Reduce Your Use.

Reduce Your Use is a competition between dorms to see which one can reduce energy consumption the most.

The competition started Oct. 5 and will last through Oct. 30, said David Baskett, coordinator of facilities for Housing and Residence Life. Baskett is in charge of Reduce Your Use this year.

From left, Lexington sophomore Hayley Travis picks garbage out of a garbage bag while Recycling Coordinator Cristin Lanham unrolls another trash bag during a garbology lab in the Introduction to Archaeology class. The class took place outside Downing University Center on Wednesday. Class members gathered early in the morning to sort through dumpsters and separate trash from recyclable materials. BEN SEVERANCE/HERALD

Bicycles on campus might start getting locked up by people other than bike owners.

Parking and Transportation Services put a bicycle parking policy in place on Oct. 14 that requires all bikes to be parked at designated bike racks.

Any bikes parked at other places, such as trees, light poles, railings or benches, will be immobilized or impounded, according to an e-mail sent to students from Parking and Transportation on Oct. 14.

Tim Hack of Leitchfield, Ky., performs hydrostatic tests on the new boiler at the Central Heating Plant on campus on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009. Hack is a new employee of Schardein Mechanical (thus not affiliated with Western). The new boiler won’t be up and running until all the regulatory paperwork has cleared. JESSICA EBELHAR/HERALD