The SUST @ RU blog features news and information about Roosevelt University’s Sustainability Studies BA/BPS program, the first such program in the Chicago area. Its daily updates include short news and upcoming event updates related to sustainability in Chicago and Illinois, as well as in-depth essays by RU Sustainability Studies faculty on water, waste, energy, environmental policy, and other current issues.
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Hello, I am a journalism major at DePaul University and right now I am a part of a project created by the Institute of Cultural Affairs. The project I am working on is finding sustainability programs in Chicago’s 77 communities. The community I am focusing on is the Near South Side. I was wondering if there was anyone I could talk to about the sustainability studies program at Roosevelt University and how the program is bringing the issues of sustainability to the public eye. Thank you for your time.
Hi, Trent — This is Prof. Mike Bryson at Roosevelt, where I teach in the Sustainability Studies program here. What a coincidence: my own students are doing this very same research this semester in collaboration with the ICA on four Chicago community areas: the Loop, Rogers Park, South Lawndale, and Fuller Park. This class is my honors version of SUST 210: The Sustainable Future. In particular, due to the density of the Loop community area (CA), I split that region into two student groups: the north half (north of Madison) and the south half (from Madison south to Roosevelt Rd, where the Near South Side community area begins).
Technically, then, RU itself due to its location north of Congress, is well within the Loop CA rather than the Near South Side. Consequently, my Loop South group will be documenting it thoroughly for the ICA project. Nevertheless, I’d be happy to provide you with some info on the university’s sustainability efforts, if it will assist you in your class assignments. Just email me directly at mbryson@roosevelt.edu.