Overall Rating Bronze - expired
Overall Score 40.54
Liaison Rebecca Quesnell
Submission Date Dec. 18, 2015
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

Roosevelt University
IN-1: Innovation 1

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Michael Bryson
Professor & Director of Sustainability Studes
College of Arts & Sciences
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Title or keywords related to the innovative policy, practice, program, or outcome:
Sustainability Studies Student Symposium

A brief description of the innovative policy, practice, program, or outcome :

The SUST Student Symposium is a biannual event in which undergraduate students in Roosevelt’s Sustainability Studies program (est. 2010) share their recent internship work, study abroad experiences, and/or independent research results in a forum open to all RU students, faculty, and staff as well as the general public. Co-sponsored by the Sustainability Studies Program in the College of Arts and Sciences, and the Department of Physical Resources, the Symposium is a showcase for student achievement and an excellent means of encouraging other students to pursue their own research and internship activities. Students' presentations are archived on the SUST at RU Blog and thus provide an important reference and recruitment tool for prospective students, as well as concrete examples of successful internship and research projects.

One particular innovation of this Symposium is how it serves as a culmination of student internship work that is also integrated with student' writing original work for the widely-read SUST at RU Blog. As part of their academic internship requirements, students may write periodic essays/field reports for the blog in lieu of keeping a more conventional journal. These pieces then become useful writing samples for the students' portfolios to use in job searches and graduate school applications.

Fall 2015 Symposium:
https://rusustain.wordpress.com/2015/11/22/fall-2015-sust-student-symposium-glaciers-in-iceland-sustainability-in-chicago/

Example of student writing on internship experiences:
https://rusustain.wordpress.com/2015/07/27/sustainability-at-the-field-museum-sust-major-laura-miller-hill-reports-on-her-summer-internship/


A brief description of any positive measurable outcomes associated with the innovation (if not reported above):

Since its initiation in the fall of 2013, the SUST Symposium has provided a unique interdisciplinary and student-centered forum at Roosevelt for discussing sustainability education, empirical research, and community-based practice. Symposium presenters have not only honed their presentation skills and built up their resumés with this work, they have used the research and information from their experiences to contribute concretely to the sustainability efforts of the institution; notably, by helping conceive, lead, and draft RU's first Strategic Sustainability Plan during the 2014-15 year. In the spring, the Symposium is held during Earth Week and serves as an important showcase of students' sustainability-focused research and projects, thus enhancing university an community engagement.


A letter of affirmation from an individual with relevant expertise:
Which of the following STARS subcategories does the innovation most closely relate to? (Select all that apply up to a maximum of 5):
Yes or No
Curriculum Yes
Research Yes
Campus Engagement Yes
Public Engagement Yes
Air & Climate No
Buildings No
Dining Services No
Energy No
Grounds No
Purchasing No
Transportation No
Waste No
Water No
Coordination, Planning & Governance No
Diversity & Affordability No
Health, Wellbeing & Work No
Investment No

Other topic(s) that the innovation relates to that are not listed above:
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The website URL where information about the innovation is available :
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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