Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 69.24
Liaison Kelsey Beal
Submission Date July 12, 2024

STARS v2.2

Indiana University Indianapolis
EN-3: Student Life

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00 Kelsey Beal
Sustainbility Analyst
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Student groups 

Does the institution have an active student group focused on sustainability?:
Yes

Name and a brief description of the active student groups focused on sustainability:

  1. The following is a sample list of sustainability-oriented student groups/organizations at IUPUI: https://sustainability.iupui.edu/engagement/student-organizations/index.html  Examples include:

    1. Student Sustainability Council

    2. Urban Beekeepers at IUPUI

    3. Students Against Animal Cruelty

    4. Biology Club

    5. Cycling Club

    6. Earth Science Club

    7. Environmental Law Society

    8. Recreational Hiking Club

    9. Energy Club



  2. A more comprehensive list and additional Information on IUPUI Student Organizations can be found at The Spot: https://thespot.iupui.edu/ 


Gardens and farms 

Does the institution have a garden, farm, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery program, or an urban agriculture project where students are able to gain experience in organic agriculture and sustainable food systems?:
Yes

A brief description of the gardens, farms, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery programs, and/or urban agriculture projects:

IUPUI students maintain two urban gardens on campus: The New York Street Garden, located just east of Carroll Stadium, and the Central Garden, located just outside of the University Library.


These gardens are managed and operated by the Office of Sustainability utilizing student garden managers, student summer bridge classes and student volunteers.


These organic gardens average an annual yield of nearly 1,500 lbs of fresh produce, which is used by IUPUI Food Services and donated to IUPUI's on-campus food pantry, Paw's Pantry https://sustainability.iupui.edu/operations/food/index.html


Student-run enterprises 

Does the institution have a student-run enterprise that includes sustainability as part of its mission statement or stated purpose?:
Yes

A brief description of the student-run enterprises:

The Biology Club grows flowers, herbs and vegetables at the IUPUI greenhouse and sells them at an annual spring plant sale. All proceeds are used to promote a love of science, award scholastic achievement, and support a charitable organization. https://thespot.iupui.edu/organization/iupuibiologyclub


The Urban Beekeepers at IUPUI harvest honey for sale on campus.  The funds support the group in purchasing beekeeping equipment and educational materials. https://today.iu.edu/live/news/3597-sweet-sale-to-benefit-student-beekeepers-club 


Sustainable investment and finance 

Does the institution have a sustainable investment fund, green revolving fund, or sustainable microfinance initiative through which students can develop socially, environmentally and fiscally responsible investment and financial skills?:
No

A brief description of the sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives:
---

Events 

Has the institution hosted a conference, speaker series, symposium, or similar event focused on sustainability during the previous three years that had students as the intended audience?:
Yes

A brief description of the conferences, speaker series, symposia, or similar events focused on sustainability:

The 2021 Sustainability & Resilience Conference was held virtually on October 26-27, exploring the themeAccelerating Climate Action in Indiana. The conference was offered for free and sessions are available at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzxCdamm0TvS4a78a1rW-F8poQUMCBQcA


Cultural arts 

Has the institution hosted a cultural arts event, installation, or performance focused on sustainability with the previous three years that had students as the intended audience?:
Yes

A brief description of the cultural arts events, installations, or performances focused on sustainability:

Given our university's diverse student population, we consider all cultural groups and events to be a matter of sustainability for our campus.


Wilderness and outdoors programs 

Does the institution have a wilderness or outdoors program that follow Leave No Trace principles?:
Yes

A brief description of the wilderness or outdoors programs that follow Leave No Trace principles:

  1. Camp Brosius, located on the shores of Wisconsin's Elkhart Lake provides exercise science, fitness management and personal training, sports management, or physical education.  Teacher education majoring students are required to take two courses at Camp Brosius: Recreation Leadership Skills and Dynamics of Camp Leadership. Camp Brosius is an ACA accredited camp. https://campbrosius.iu.edu/

  2. The Recreational Hiking at IUPUI student organization was founded in 2018. The student-led organization provides students with opportunities to experience the outdoors, stay physically active, and educate each other on gear, safety, and respect for nature.

  3.  The Wilderness Medicine Student Interest Group was founded in 2016. This student-led organization explores the intersection of medical education with love for the outdoors by organizing events and lectures that focus of teaching about wilderness medicine in relation to current events, medical education, and skills development.


Sustainability-focused themes 

Has the institution had a sustainability-focused theme chosen for a themed semester, year, or first-year experience during the previous three years?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainability-focused themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences:

As part of the summer bridge program, students contribute to campus sustainability efforts.  Previous efforts have included: planting 100 pollinator plants, weed and mulch at the campus gardens, restoring IUPUI's pollinator gardens, waste audits, beekeeping basics course, and more.  The summer bridge program is a first-year seminar that begins the week before classes and continues throughout the fall semester. https://experience.iupui.edu/index.html


Sustainable life skills 

Does the institution have a program through which students can learn sustainable life skills?:
Yes

A brief description of the programs through which students can learn sustainable life skills:

  1. IUPUI Housing and Residential Life also offers Residential Based Learning Communities (RBLCs). These communities give you the opportunity to live with other students that share an interest in a particular social cause or academic area. RBLCs bring you events and programs that connect you to faculty, staff, and students around the focus of your RBLC. They also help you connect to the city of Indianapolis through cultural and social events, as well as through community service activities with local non-profit organizations. Examples are; Diversity Enrichment and Achievement Program (DEAP), Health and Human Sciences Community (HHS), International House, LGBTQ, Women in Stem and Women in Science communities. https://housing.iupui.edu/explore/rblc/index.html

  2. The Office of Sustainability has a Sustainable Housing Intern which delivers sustainability programming in residence halls to promote sustainable living.


Student employment opportunities 

Does the institution offer sustainability-focused student employment opportunities?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainability-focused student employment opportunities offered by the institution:

The IU Office of Sustainability has an internship program that employs 14 to 18 undergraduate and graduate students. Interns participate in an informal seminar focused on sustainability knowledge and practice, as well as generally professional skill development. https://sustainability.iupui.edu/engagement/internship-program/index.html


Graduation pledge

Does the institution have a graduation pledge through which students pledge to consider social and environmental responsibility in future job and other decisions?:
No

A brief description of the graduation pledge(s):
---

Optional Fields

A brief description of other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives that do not fall into one of the above categories:
---

Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
---

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.