In September, Marlboro College installed an electric vehicle (EV) charging station in the admissions parking lot, a boon to students, faculty, staff, and visitors with electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles. This forward-thinking addition to campus is thanks to a Vermont State grant, as well as funds from an anonymous private donor that were dedicated to environmental stewardship and sustainability. 

“Environmental sustainability is something Marlboro College has taken very seriously, from making dorms energy efficient to composting our food waste,” says chemistry professor Todd Smith, who served in the role of sustainability project manager last academic year. “The EV charging station is a very visible way of staking this claim, and encouraging the use of electric vehicles. Transportation is the single biggest contributor to greenhouse gases in Vermont, so this is one small step toward reducing that component of our ecological footprint.” 

Marlboro College was one of nine locations in Vermont that received awards from a $400,000 Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) Grant Program last year. The grant application was an example of the college’s shared governance in action, with Todd working with Environmental Quality Committee members Amber Hunt and Matt Ollis as well as Hillary Twining, director of corporate and foundation relations. The new EV charging station will be part of a statewide network of publicly available charging stations that drivers can locate through an app.