The University of Toledo’s Savage & Associates Complex for Business Learning and Engagement, an expansion of the College of Business and Innovation which was dedicated in November, 2009, has received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

A plaque recognizing the achievement will be placed in the second floor atrium of the Complex during a ceremony at 2 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 22. Speakers will include UT President Lloyd Jacobs and Robert Savage, co-founder and former president of Savage & Associates.

“LEED certification identifies Savage & Associates Complex for Business Learning and Engagement as a pioneering example of sustainable design and demonstrates your leadership in transforming the building industry,” said S. Richard Fedrizzi, president and CEO of the U.S. Green Building Council. ” In honor of this impressive achievement and in appreciation of your participation in LEED, we are pleased to present you the certificates recognizing your accomplishment.”

“Our goal is to acquire at least a LEED silver certification on all UT construction projects, and ultimately to have our environmental impact be zero; to achieve carbon neutrality,” said Charles Lehnert, UT’s vice president of administration. “I subscribe to the notion that if you are doing good planning, good engineering and good architecture, you will be implementing green principles anyway.”

“From the beginning of developing a new facility for the college, we focused on what it takes to have something that was aesthetically appealing, effective and efficient. These were inseparable concepts,” said Dr. Thomas Gutteridge, who was dean of the College of Business and Innovation during the project’s development and construction and currently serves as UT’s senior vice provost and interim dean for the College of Social Justice and Human Service.

“The keys to the new facility were that it would be very functional; dedicated to experiential learning through learning laboratories; would be technologically sophisticated; and that it also would be open to serve the business community,” he added. ”The complex is clearly delivering on all cylinders, as promised. It is a facility that meets the needs of students, faculty and the business community.”

College of Business and Innovation Interim Dean Thomas Sharkey added, “The Savage & Associates Complex is a sophisticated and environmentally friendly building that facilitates the learning and discovery of the students who come here. It contributes, with our faculty and staff, to our growing reputation as the premier business college in this region.”

The $15.4 million, 54,000 sq. ft. Savage & Associates Complex for Business Learning and Engagement includes 10 classrooms; 5 action-learning labs, including the John B. and Lillian E. Neff Trading Room with 15 Bloomberg terminals, and the Huntington Professional Sales Lab; outreach and engagement suites; and the LaValley Family Rooftop Garden.

Tags: College of Business and Innovation