A handful of Chronicle reporters, including me, went to a conference for college public-relations managers in Baltimore last week. We were asked to offer tips about how to pitch The Chronicle, how we find and write our stories, what we'll be looking for in the future, and so on. The college PR reps told us that "experts" in other sessions were advising them, Don't bother pitching stories about green trends. That pitch is worthless, DOA.

As the reporter who spends some of his time writing about sustainability and "green" issues, I couldn't help feeling a little hurt by that revelation. I'm going out of style?

But it makes sense—and, in a way, it's good news for sustainability advocates. Journalism still depends on the "man bites dog" rule—unusual news makes the cut—and green stories are no longer unusual at colleges. It's a sign of the success of the sustainability movement that most...

• Renovations to 1963 Andrews Hall Earn LEED Gold for U. of Colorado at Boulder (U. of Colorado at Boulder photo by Glenn Asakawa)

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Westminster College (Utah), Salt Lake City, Utah

Building Type: Science

Construction Type: New

Cost: $27-million

Square Footage: 60,000

Architect: VCBO Architecture

Contractor: Big-D Construction

Opened: 2010

This four-story building houses 14 classrooms with integrated laboratories that are intended to let students move seamlessly between theory and practice. It also houses faculty offices, seminar rooms, lounges, and five research labs, with a central atrium enhancing circulation. The facility was designed to earn LEED gold certification.

(Photos: Westminster College)

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Washington and Jefferson College, Washington, Pa.

Building Type: Academic

Construction Type: New

Cost: $33-million

Square Footage: 47,500

Architect: Einhorn Yaffee Prescott

Contractor: Rycon Construction Inc.

Opened: 2010

This new building was designed for the physical sciences, including physics, chemistry, biochemistry, and bioinformatics. The building houses includes teaching laboratories, research and classroom space, faculty offices, and conference rooms, as well as break-out spaces intended to cultivate a community-learning environment. It also offers a variety of amenities, including a multidisciplinary lab for students not majoring in science.

(Photos: Washington and Jefferson College)

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Mills College, Oakland, Calif.

Building Type: Academic

Construction Type: New

Cost: $21.4-million

Square Footage: 28,500

Architect: Bohlin Cywinski Jackson

Contractor: DPR Construction Inc.

Opened: 2009

This building was designed to make the most of floor-to-ceiling windows that admit natural light and frame spectacular views. Stone, sustainably harvested wood, recycled content, and a vegetated roof help create an attractive setting for learning that also teaches students to respect the environment. The project is designed to earn LEED gold certification.

(Photos: Mills College)

Does your institution have a new building or a recently completed renovation? Make sure it gets included in our campus-architecture database.

New Hampshire Institute of Art, Manchester, N.H.

Building Type: Mixed Use

Construction Type: New

Cost: $7.3-million

Square Footage: 32,000

Architect: Dennis Mires, P.A., The Architects

Contractor: Milestone Engineering and Construction Inc.

Opened: 2009

This project involved a historic renovation to the original building, which was Manchester's first high school, along with construction of a six-story addition. The building provides both academic and residential space. Sustainable features include photovoltaic systems, geothermal heating and cooling, rainwater collection, and a vegetated roof, all part of an effort to reduce the institute's carbon footprint. The project is designed to earn LEED gold Certification.

(Photo: New Hampshire Institute of Art)

Does your institution have a new building or a recently completed renovation? Make...

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Moving a building's occupants elsewhere during renovations is always a problem, but when the University of Mary Washington started planning a makeover for Monroe Hall, a landmark 1911 academic building with 40-foot Corinthian columns on its porch, the facilities staff had a stickier problem than usual: One of the column capitals was home to a big honeybee colony.

"We knew we would need to figure out what to do with them as we planned for the renovation of Monroe," said Bruce Blair, facilities services inspector for the university, in Fredericksburg, Va. "I’ve known about the bee colony for the past 16 years, and they may have been there for more than 20 years."

The university hired a beekeeper, John Adams, who brought a vacuum system and a truck with a lift. He and Mr. Blair went up in the lift together, dressed in protective clothing, and collected about 4,000 bees one day and 6,000—...

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