Shuster Hall, the first building complete in Juniata College's research complex at the Raystown Field Station, has been certified as a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) building by the U.S Green Building Council.

The field station building is one of 11 LEED certified buildings in Pennsylvania and one of two that are associated with higher education. “One of the top priorities for Juniata's new research station is to ensure that our presence on Raystown Lake has a minimal environmental impact on the ecosystem,” says Thomas Kepple, president at Juniata. “Our status as a 'green' building gives us a rare opportunity to use the building itself as a teaching tool for students, while also setting an example for other institutions who are interested in environmentally designed buildings.”

The LEED Green Building Rating System is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings. The system was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council. LEED was created to recognize environmental leadership and stimulate green building competition in the building industry, as well as raise consumer awareness for the benefits of green buildings.

LEED provides a thorough framework for assessing building performance in their rating system. Some of the major criteria considered in a LEED rating are: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality.