Last modified: Wednesday, September 30, 2009
IU Office of Sustainability announces internships for the 2009-2010 academic year
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 30, 2009
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- In an effort to continue the growth of the sustainability initiative on Indiana University's Bloomington campus, the IU Office of Sustainability has established internships for the 2009-2010 academic year.
The student interns, selected from both undergraduate and graduate student applicants, will work on a broad array of issues related to sustainability, under the mentorship of IU faculty and staff. While engaging in research, students will be laying the groundwork for new initiatives to further improve the sustainability of the Bloomington campus.
"Sustainability internships have proven to be powerful levers for change on our campus," said IU Director of Sustainability Bill Brown. "By connecting academics and operations, these outstanding students and their mentors transform the campus and community into a dynamic lab for applied sustainability research and implementation."
Sustainability interns donned hard hats to tour the IU Bloomington Central Heating Plant in the summer of 2009.
From its inception in 2007, the sustainability initiative at IU has strived to promote experiential learning as an integral part of the 'greening' of the campus. Although sustainability internships have been offered over the past three summers, internship projects were conducted over the course of the school year for the first time during the 2008-2009 academic year.
The academic year internship program allows students the possibility of finding connections between their projects and the academic programs in which they are enrolled. Interns will also meet informally within cohorts to share ideas and help develop a learning community among participants in the internship program.
"The Sustainability Internship Program is one of our greatest achievements," said Michael Hamburger, co-chair of the Advisory Board to the Office of Sustainability. "To date, it has engaged over 60 of IU's best and brightest students to focus their talents on environmental education, stewardship of natural resources, campus community collaboration, and fostering a program of positive institutional change. Together, they have made a lasting contribution to the life of our institution."
Following on the success of the 2008-2009 academic year internship program, the IU Office of Sustainability is now accepting applications for 18 new internships for the 2009-2010 academic year:
- Energy Challenge Coordinator
- Funding Opportunities for the Office of Sustainability
- Greening of the Athletic Department
- Greening of the IMU Charrette Coordinator
- Green Team Coordinator
- Sustainability Reporting Research and Database
- Social Dimensions of Sustainability
- Campus-wide Sustainability Studies Curriculum Development
- Preparing for the College Themester in Sustainability
- Water Conservation in Academic Buildings
- Non-academic Building Energy Audits
- Wetland and Stream Inventory of IU Bloomington and the Five Regional Campuses
- Sustainable Food Procurement
- Increased Awareness of and Initiatives for Recycling
- Reclamation and Resale of Reusable Student Move-out Waste
- E-waste Solutions
- Feasibility of Acquiring Alternatively Fueled Buses
- Bike and Pedestrian Infrastructure
Details about each of the internship projects are available at https://www.indiana.edu/~sustain/sustainabilityiu/academic-year-09-10/. Interested students should send a brief statement of interest, specifying the project or projects of interest, a 1-2 page resume, and one letter of reference by e-mail to sustain@indiana.edu or, if there are problems with electronic submission, by mail to Emilie Rex, Sustainability Program Director, Office of Sustainability, Geology 429, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, no later than 5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 5.
The Sustainability Internship Program is sponsored jointly by the Office of the Provost and the Vice President for Capital Projects and Facilities.
General information about the IU Bloomington Sustainability Program can be found at https://www.indiana.edu/~sustain. Information on past internship projects is also available on the Web at https://www.indiana.edu/~sustain/sustainabilityiu/internship-projects/.
