IU Office of Sustainability

Program Background | Back to Top

In its first six months of existence, the IU Task Force on Sustainability established the Internship Program in Sustainability. The program utilizes campus as a living-learning laboratory, enlisting undergraduate and graduate students in research and implementation projects mentored by faculty in academic areas and staff in operations. Now in its seventh season, the program has funded 113 internships.

Determining Projects | Back to Top

Initially internship projects were determined based on the immediate needs of the Task Force. The first group of internship projects supplied background information for the first Campus Sustainability Report (January 2008) or helped establish basic functions of the Task Force (i.e. creating a Sustainability website.) Since the establishment of the IU Office of Sustainability (IUOS) in March of 2009, internships are determined based on the strategic goals of the Office and the Campus Sustainability Advisory Board (formerly the IU Task Force on Sustainability.) Office projects fall into one of three categories: internal development, auxiliaries, or ongoing campus projects. Internships housed in the Campus Sustainability Advisory Board are determined by the co-chairs of each of the seven working groups: Academic Initiatives, Energy and Built Environment, Environmental Quality and Land Use, Food, Resource Use and Recycling, Sustainable Computing, and Transportation.

The internship program currently has two sessions: Summer and the Academic Year. During the Summer Program interns work 20 hours per week and are enrolled in a 1-credit seminar designed to provide students a background in sustainability and a forum for collaborating. The Academic Year Program employs interns for 10-15 hours a week. Academic Year interns participate in an informal seminar focused primarily on communication between interns.

The Sustainability Internship Symposium is an end-of-program event where interns have the opportunity to share their research and implementation projects with community members and IU students, faculty and staff. Several students present their findings to attendees over a locally sourced lunch, provided by the Indiana Memorial Union's catering services. Lunch is followed by a poster session featuring each intern's project.

Internships to Date | Back to Top

Since its inception, the internship program has employed 82 students in academic and operations related research and implementation projects. The table at the bottom of the page also lists these projects chronologically by area.

• ’07 Outreach Study
• ’07 Survey of Academic Sustainability Programs
• ’08 Education and Community Outreach
• ’08 IU Energy Challenge, Sustainability Task Force Web site
• ’08 Green Orientation Guide
• ’08 Sustainability and the Libraries
• ’08-’09 IU Energy Challenge 2009
• ’08-’09 Diversity and Sustainability
• ’08-’09 Development of Sustainability Clearinghouse
• ’08-’09 Central Heating Plant Media Relations
• ’09 Utility Department Media Relations
• ’09-’10 Integrating Service Learning into Sustainability Coursework
• ’09-’10 College Themester Coordination

• ’07 Energy Density Survey
• ’07 Utility Metering Study
• ’07 Building Standards Survey
• ’08 Building Standards and Sustainable Design Practices
• ’08 Utility Data Display
• ’08 Greenhouse Gas Inventory
• ’08-’09 Utility Conservation, Water and Energy
• ’08-’09 Utility Conservation, Auxiliary Departmental Buildings
• 09 LEED Documentation
• ’09 Utility Conservation, Non-Academic Buildings
• ’09 Campus Energy Metric Development
• ’09-’10 Strategic Energy Planning
• ’09-’10 Non-Academic Energy Building Audits
• ’09-’10 Water Conservation in Academic Buildings

• ’07 GIS Tree Canopy Study
• ’07 Jordan River Study
• ’08 Griffy Lake Watershed
• ’08 Campus Tree Inventory/Geographic Information System (GIS)
• ’08-’09 Campus Tree Inventory
• ’09 Campus Tree inventory
• ’09 Prairie Restoration and Labyrinth Development
• ’09 Native Landscaping
• ’09 Campus Wetlands Inventory
• ’09-’10 Wetland & Stream Inventory of IUB and the Five Regional Campuses

• ’07 Food
• ’08 Local Food Purchasing Alternatives
• ’08 Sustainable Food Model
• ’08-’09 Sustainable Food
• ’09-’10 Sustainable Food Procurement

• ’07 Green Chemistry Study
• ’07 Resource use/Recycling Study
• ’08 Purchasing and Green Cleaning Plan
• ’08 Water Conservation
• ’08 Resource Use and Recycling Project
• ’08 Integrated Pest Management Pilot Program
• ’08-’09 Campus Recycling Center Feasibility Study
• ’08-’09 E-Waste Solutions
• ’08-’09 Campus Waste Audit
• ’09 Campus Recycling Center Feasibility Study
• ’09 Green Purchasing Guide
• ’09 Sustainable Computing and E-Waste Solutions 
• ’09 Environmentally Sustainable Practices at IMU
• ’09-’10 Campus Recycling Awareness
• ’09-’10 Student Moveout Waste Reclamation and Resale

• ’08 Sustainable Computing Project
• ’09-’10 E-waste Solutions
• ’09-’10 E-waste Solutions

• ’07 Transportation Survey
• ’08 Alternative Transportation Planning
• ’08-’09 Bicycle and Pedestrian Infrastructure
• ’08-’09 Transportation Demand Management
• ’09 Carsharing Implementation study
• ’09-’10 Bike and Pedestrian Infrastructure
• ’09-’10 Feasibility of Acquiring Alternatively Fueled Buses

• ’07 Sustainability Web site
• ’07 Peer Survey of University Sustainability Programs
• ’08 Communications
• ’09 Funding Opportunities for Campus Sustainability Projects
• ’09 Campus Sustainability Reporting Research and Database
• ’09 Presidents Climate Commitment/Climate Action Plan
• ’09 Office of Sustainability Communications and Outreach
• ’09-’10 Energy Challenge
• ’09-’10 Greening of the IMU Charrette
• ’09-’10 Funding Opportunities for IUOS
• ’09-’10 Greening of the Athletic Dept.
• ’09-’10 Integrating Sustainability into First Year Experience Programs
• ’09-’10 Green Team Coordination and Planning