FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas received the Commitment to Sustainability award 
from the Southwest Affiliate of College and University Residence Halls at the No Frills Conference, Feb. 21.
The Southwest Affiliate is one of the eight regional organizations in the National Affiliate of College and University Residence Halls. The Southwest region includes Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Mexico. Previous regional winners include University of North Texas, Arkansas State University, and Texas Tech University.
“The Commitment to Sustainability Bid is a testament to our generation’s desire to live more at peace with our planet,” said Kenneth Hamilton, Residents’ Interhall Congress director of sustainability. “In my second year as RIC director of sustainability, our team thought it was time to show off what our school had been doing. … We just never knew how successful we would be! This award is special to me, because this small 14-page document represents so much that our student leaders on campus have achieved since my inception as RIC Director of Sustainability. I’m so glad that I was a part of it!”
The team created a bid highlighting students’ efforts to make the U of A campus sustainable, such as “Know Tomorrow,” RecylceMania, Campus Conservation Nationals, Razorback Food Recovery, “Ban the Bottle” and having reusable water bottle stations around campus.
“I’m thrilled to see University of Arkansas residence halls receive this international honor,” said Eric Boles, director of the Office for Sustainability. “Recognition like this doesn’t come without passionate staff and students who go above and beyond what is expected.”