CU Boulder, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the American Council on Education have announced the first 14 colleges and universities nationwide to earn the new Carnegie Elective Classification for Sustainability. The institutions participated in a yearlong pilot program that helped test and shape the classification before its broader launch.

CU Boulder serves as the host institution for the classification, which is designed to recognize and celebrate higher education institutions that demonstrate a commitment to sustainability and climate action as integral to their academic missions. 

“The first group of inaugural institutions help bring this new classification to life,” said Timothy F.C. Knowles, president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. “We’re proud to recognize their leadership and the many ways they are advancing sustainability across their campuses and communities.”

Institutions that took part in the 2025 pilot formed a community of practice, providing feedback that helped refine the classification’s application framework, process and review criteria. The pilot represented a range of higher education institutions, from research universities and liberal arts colleges to community colleges and minority-serving institutions.

“We’re grateful to the institutions that participated in the pilot and helped shape this classification,” said Andrew Mayock, vice chancellor for sustainability at CU Boulder. “Their work demonstrates the breadth of sustainability efforts underway across higher education and the value of having a framework that can recognize and elevate that work.”

For the pilot institutions, the process provided an opportunity to assess their sustainability efforts and partner with CU Boulder in shaping a classification designed to work across different types of campuses.

“Completing the application provided a self-study approach and a lot of opportunity to reflect on what we value and what we are accomplishing,” said Susan Powers, director and professor at Clarkson University. “We learned about activities we did not previously appreciate and found the themes, synergies and strengths of these overall efforts across campus.”

Carnegie Foundation Elective Classifications: Classification for Sustainability badge

14 pilot institutions receiving the classification

• Bennett College
• Carleton College
• Clarkson University
• George Mason University
• Mt. San Antonio College
• Pima Community College
• Tohono O’odham Community College
• Universidad del Sagrado Corazón
• University of Arizona
• University of California, Merced
• University of Idaho
• University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• University of Nevada, Las Vegas
• University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire

Continuing the work

Applications for the first full classification cycle are currently underway, with a deadline of Dec. 18. The full inaugural cohort of classified institutions will be announced in June 2027.

Learn more about the Carnegie Elective Classification for Sustainability.