Last modified: Monday, April 18, 2011
Second annual IU Academic Year Sustainability Internship Symposium to showcase student work
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 18, 2011
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Students in Indiana University's 2010-11 Academic Year Internship Program in Sustainability will showcase their completed projects on Earth Day -- this Friday, April 22.
The second annual Academic Year Sustainability Internship Symposium will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Grand Hall of the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center, 275 N. Jordan Ave. It will include oral and poster presentations and a lunch reception hosted by Indiana Memorial Union Catering, featuring local and organic foods.
Interns will share the products of their projects, which range from coordinating IU's Green Teams, Energy Challenge and No Waste Programs to long-range research and implementation projects conducted in conjunction with the Campus Sustainability Advisory Board's seven working groups: academic initiatives, energy and the built environment, environmental quality and land use, food, resource use and recycling, sustainable computing and transportation.
Intern biographies and project descriptions can be found at https://www.indiana.edu/~sustain/Intern/sustainability_ayinterns_10-11.html.
"We ask our sustainability interns to change the university in significant ways through research and engagement with the university community," said Director of Sustainability Bill Brown. "In the process, they become part of the university community and it becomes part of them. Ultimately, they change as young leaders in significant ways and leave a legacy upon which others may build."
In addition to showcasing the interns' work, the Office of Sustainability sees the Sustainability Internship Symposium as an opportunity to showcase green event planning on the IU Bloomington campus. The Indiana Memorial Union's Catering Services will construct the symposium menu around food available locally in April. Additionally, the Neal-Marshall Center and IMU staff are working closely with the office to reduce the carbon, water and waste impacts by providing reusable dishware, composting, recycling and other services at the event.
"Our office was created based on the idea that place and process can inform and enrich students' academic experiences on campus," said Assistant Director of Sustainability Emilie Rex. "There are educational opportunities beyond the content of our interns' presentations and posters. We're working to let the event space and setup tell their own story about how we can be good stewards of the environment."
Those interested in attending the Sustainability Internship Symposium should register at https://tinyurl.com/65glxvt. This event is free and open to the public.
The IU Office of Sustainability was established in March 2009 by IU Provost Karen Hanson and then Vice President for Administration Terry Clapacs. The Campus Sustainability Advisory Board and is co-chaired by Jeff White, professor in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs, and Paul Sullivan, deputy vice president for administration. Its mission is to develop and implement initiatives to advance sustainability on IU's Bloomington campus.
For more information about the Office of Sustainability, visit www.indiana.edu/~sustain. Information on the Sustainability Internship Program can be accessed at https://www.indiana.edu/~sustain/Intern/learn_program.html.
