Lots of colleges are working to enhance their eco-friendly credentials, but Walsh College is making a significant move to set itself apart from the rest with its newly opened environmentally sustainable Jeffery W. Barry Center in Troy.
The new 37,000-square-foot building (named in honor of Jeffery Barry, Walsh's President from 1970 to 1991) incorporates a enough recycled materials and green systems to make a tree hugger blush.
The $10.5-million structure incorporates recycled and environmentally sensitive materials, captures rainwater and uses solar power for climate control. Its terrazzo floors contain 20,000 pounds of recycled glass and will be a key point when it goes for bronze-level LEED certification.
Stephanie Bergeron, president and CEO of Walsh College, says the new building speaks to the college's commitment to its students and its community because it is investing for the long-term to improve the area and educational experience. The Barry Center will serve as a template to make the college's other buildings more environmentally friendly.
"I think we're at the cutting edge of how construction will be done in the future," Bergeron says.
The building has nine classrooms, three conference rooms, two seminar rooms, a 135-seat auditorium, a marketing focus group room with one-way glass and a library. The center was built to help to accommodate Walsh College's 40 percent growth in enrolment.
Walsh College, founded in 1922, offers upper-division undergraduate and graduate business education programs to 4,430 students at campuses in Troy, Novi and Clinton Township.
Source: Maribeth Farkas, Caponigro Public Relations and Stephanie Bergeron, President and CEO of Walsh College
Writer: Jon Zemke
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