Apply Now for Funding from the Student Sustainability Committee – Deadline This Sunday!
The Student Sustainability Committee (SSC) reviews, recommends and funds over $1.1 million in sustainable projects annually that increase environmental stewardship, inspire change, and impact students. Past projects partially funded by the SSC include the Sustainable Student Farm, the ECE Building, and the Sustainability Living-Learning Community in University Housing.
The SSC is now accepting funding requests for the Fall 2014 funding cycle of the 2014-2015 academic year. All projects working toward a goal of improving sustainability at the University of Illinois are encouraged to apply. Student-led projects are welcome, but must be affiliated with a campus department and have a faculty or staff member as a sponsor. For full funding criteria or to complete an application, please visit the SSC Website. Applications are due by 11:59 PM THIS SUNDAY, October 19th for consideration in the Fall 2014 Funding Cycle, and projects will receive notification on whether they are invited to the next step in funding consideration by mid-November. Projects submitted after this deadline will have consideration deferred to the Spring 2015 funding cycle.
Announcing a new course offered in Spring 2015 -- Monitoring and Evaluating SSC Projects Adjunct Professor Warren Lavey is teaching a new class this Spring: ENVS 299 (Independent Studies of Environmental Topics) (2 credits, meeting Wednesdays 4:00 pm - 4:50 pm)
Enrollment limited to three juniors, seniors, or graduate students involved with the Student Sustainability Committee (present or past members or participants in a working group)
Stronger processes for monitoring and evaluating the performance of projects will help the SSC learn from and communicate the benefits of its efforts. This course will teach the tools for financial, environmental and other assessments, and apply them in developing information useful for the SSC's current and future work. Students will research and submit two 10-page reports -- one evaluating the performanceof a project funded several years ago, and the other analyzing the monitoring provisions and expected impacts in a pending proposal. Each student will work with the SSC to select important projects to research. Students will interview staff involved with the projects, collect data, research the performance of similar projects, and develop a customized framework for monitoring and evaluation.
