Awards & Accolades

Chatham University’s leadership in sustainability has been recognized on the local, national, and international levels. Explore this page for a selection of our awards and accolades.

Alma mater of Rachel Carson ’29, Chatham is consistently ranked one of the top schools for sustainability by the Sustainability, Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS), selected to the Princeton Review Green Honor Roll, and mentioned as one of the most sustainable universities in the world by USA Today, Forbes, and other national media.

Photo of Eden Hall campus

Photo of Chatham University's Shadyside Campus in the fall

Top 25 in the World

Chatham routinely ranks within the top 25 universities in the world for sustainability as measured by the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS).

Photo of a beekeeper in protective gear looking at a swarming hive on Eden Hall Campus

The 4th Greenest U.S. College

Chatham ranked #4 in the Princeton Review's Top 50 Green Colleges, which highlights schools that make the most exceptional commitments to sustainability from academics and career prep to campus clubs and initiatives. This ranking is an improvement from the #7 spot Chatham received in 2020.

Two Chatham University students walk hand in hand along a path circling a pond on the Shadyside Campus.

Highest Possible Score

Chatham University was selected for the Princeton Review’s 2021 Green Honor Roll for receiving a score of 99 (the highest possible score) in the 2021 Green Rating tallies. Only 30 schools in the country were selected for this honor.

Two Chatham University students sit on a couch laughing and smiling while doing homework together.

A Very Cool School

In 2020, Sierra Magazine, the official publication of the Sierra Club, ranked Chatham University as the country’s 17th greenest university in its annual ranking of the nation's Cool Schools. This is the sixth year in a row that Chatham has earned this top 20 honor.

Photo of Eden Hall's free-standing greenhouse, where Chatham University students are working on agriculture.

Best of Green Schools

Chatham University’s Eden Hall Campus and K-12 Program received a 2018 Best of Green Schools Award from the Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), in collaboration with the Green Schools National Network (GSNN).

Photo of a few students working together in a lab on Eden Hall Campus

Education Facility Design Award of Excellence

Eden Hall Campus was recognized nationwide with a 2018 Education Facility Design Award of Excellence from the American Institute of Architects.

A Chatham University student in a yellow rain jacket walks down a shaded sidewalk on Shadyside Campus.

Healthy Trees & Conservation

Chatham has been recognized as a Tree Campus USA for nine years running (2012-2021) in recognition of the University’s commitment to promoting healthy trees and engaging students and staff in the spirit of conservation.

Photo of two people walking under a solar panel canopy shading their path at Chatham University's Eden Hall Campus.

Environmental Leadership Award

Chatham University’s Falk School of Sustainability & Environment at Eden Hall Campus was one of four organizations awarded the 2018 Environmental Leadership Award by the Pennsylvania Resources Council.

Photo of three masked Chatham University students harvesting sunflowers in a field on Eden Hall Campus

Climate Leadership Award

In 2013, Chatham received a prestigious Climate Leadership Award from Second Nature, a nonprofit that works to create a healthy, just, and sustainable society by transforming higher education. Also in 2013, the International Sustainable Campus Network honored Chatham with a Sustainable Campus Excellence Award, the only North American institution so honored that year.

Photo of a student riding a bike on Eden Hall Campus

A Bike Friendly University

Chatham has been recognized by the U.S. Green Building Council, the U.S. Environmental Agency (2012, 2013), and the Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future (2011), and was the first university in Pennsylvania to be recognized by the League of American Bicyclists as a Bike Friendly University.