A new institute supported by the university’s Academic Excellence Fund is working with Rutgers officials to promote sustainable construction on campus and nationwide.

The Center for Green Building, launched in June 2006 with a $100,000 award from Rutgers’ Academic Excellence Fund, is a multidisciplinary institute whose activities are dedicated to fostering more green building nationally.

“There was no common umbrella or home to tie this type of research together. There is a tradition of doing this research at Rutgers,” said Jennifer Senick, the center’s executive director. “The center was formed in part to pull together all the different departments and schools and advance from there.”

The center already has had two major reports published making recommendations on industrial and residential green building management in the Meadowlands region and is working on a third study on affordable green housing. “In the New Jersey Meadowlands District, they have changed some of their building ordinances to be more green friendly,” Senick said.