In principle, Dan, this vision is very promising, and much to be hoped for.  But let us be sure we know what we are dealing with.  Who exactly are the students involved in the UCSB Climate Neutral project?  What proportion of the student body are they?  Is it likely that they will go forth and find themselves in relevant decision-making positions?

The cynical side of me is thinking that in fact most students, especially those of us in the liberal arts, may stroke ourselves for supporting the "climate neutrality" of our campus, but are not necessarily committed to doing much in that regard once we leave.  I hope I am very very wrong.

A minor detail: Your point is correct about the historic connexion between the major American universities and big business interests, especially as they developed in the 19th century.  (Do not forget Ezra Cornell, in your catalogue of rich people who got fancy colleges named after them.)  Nevertheless, it may be argued that at least here on the East coast, the interest of the founders was more religious than business-related.

This is from the history page of the Brown University site:
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Brown was the Baptist answer to Congregationalist Yale and Harvard, Presbyterian Princeton, and Episcopalian Penn and Columbia. At the time, it was the only one that welcomed students of all religious persuasions (following the example of Roger Williams, who founded Rhode Island in 1636 on the same principle). Brown has long since shed its Baptist affiliation, but remains dedicated to diversity and intellectual freedom.
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I do not know how Episcopalian Penn was, having been founded by Benjamin Franklin, with friends, and it is hard to think of Franklin as a religious figure.  Also, the Quakers were not yet altogether driven from positions of influence in Philadelphia in the mid-18th century.  Nevertheless, what the hell.

On the other hand, Columbia, whose lofty walls cast a shadow down the avenue before my door, is indeed accurately described as "Episcopalian" (even better, Anglican, since the Episcopalians had not quite been invented yet).  This was King's College originally, a title that in the Colonies had more a religious than a political implication.  

Out west of us, the foundations of Carnegie-Mellon, Vanderbilt, Case Western Reserve, Chicago and Stanford, for starters, are apparently very different.

I know next to nothing about Duke.  One thing I know is that their lacrosse team are not models of good taste, however vindicated they might be after that odd story last year, nor are they all that cute.  (Ooh!  Unfair snarl-plus-slash or what!)

Chickens are our cousins! So are other sensitive animals! Enough is enough! No more factory farms!

Thanks for this extensive and rich article, Dan. I am a current student at Arizona State and I have to say that it is nice to see our president receive some positive press. Many students dislike the restructuring of the administration ad are upset with Crow, but he is one of the most active faculty members on campus when it comes to sustainability. This year marks the opening of the first ever School of Sustainability, bringing together students and faculty from policy, biology, sociology, engineering, political science, and other disciplines to work on problem solving in a cooperative environment. I myself will be entering the PhD program in Environmental Social Science, which does not begin until next year through the School of Human Evolution and Social Change. These programs, and Crow's vision for tacking problems through study and application have convinced me to continue my education at ASU. I just hope to see other universities doing the same. They are one of the great influences that has the manpower, funding, and knowledge base to do so.