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News Release

Last modified: Wednesday, August 31, 2011

IU Office of Sustainability announces internships for 2011-2012 academic year

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aug. 31, 2011

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Continuing a tradition of student engagement in sustainability-related program development and research, the Indiana University Office of Sustainability is recruiting its seventh group of sustainability interns for the 2011-2012 academic year.

The Office of Sustainability (IUOS) addresses issues of environmental, economic and social sustainability in campus operations, academic programs, and university-community relations, building upon a program started by the IU Task Force on Sustainability. 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.

"The sustainability internship program is the driving force for the Office of Sustainability," said IU Director of Sustainability Bill Brown. "Sustainability interns and their mentors unite academic and operational brainpower to accomplish cost-effective sustainability initiatives that reduce waste and environmental impact. Ambitious projects like the Energy Challenge, E-Waste Days, and the Hoosier-to-Hoosier Community Sale all were initiated by sustainability interns, and I can't wait to see what the next class has up its sleeves."

From its inception in 2007, the sustainability initiative at IU Bloomington has strived to promote experiential learning as an integral part of the 'greening' of the campus. Sustainability internships have been offered over the past four summers, and internship projects were conducted over the course of the school year for the first time in 2008-2009.

The academic year internship program allows students the possibility of finding connections between their projects, the academic programs in which they are enrolled, and other extracurricular activities in which they may be engaged. Interns will also participate in a seminar in sustainability, helping to develop a learning community among participants in the internship program.

"Our interns come from academic programs across campus," said Emilie Rex, assistant director of sustainability. "The seminar provides a space where they can use this range of skills, knowledge and perspectives collaboratively. As the semester progresses, we find students designing joint programming that creatively addresses multiple internship goals. It's the kind of systems-based thinking that is essential to tackling sustainability-related problems."

The Office of Sustainability is now accepting applications for 11 new internships for the 2011-2012 academic year:

• Sustainability metrics, evaluation and planning
• Green events coordination
• Living sustainably off-campus
• Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) tracking and documentation
• Academic initiatives: sustainability academic programs and research clearinghouse
• Academic initiatives: new review of interdisciplinary studies programs in sustainability
• Environmental quality and land use: fume hood efficiency and Labs 21 pilot
• Resource use and recycling: academic building and residence hall waste auditing pilot
• Resource use and recycling: Hoosier-to-Hoosier Community Sale coordination
• Sustainability computing: document management
• Sustainability computing: measurement analysis

Details about each of the internship projects are available at https://www.indiana.edu/~sustain/Intern/apply.html. IUOS will accept applications and recommendation letters until 5 p.m. Monday, Sept. 19. Applications can be submitted online at https://www.iu.edu/~sustain/internships/. Questions regarding internships or the application process can be directed to Emilie Rex at ekrex@indiana.edu.

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 Office of Sustainability 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/Intern/learn_program.html.

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