Category: Roosevelt

Green Fire Film to Screen at RU on Earth Day

On Earth Day — that’s Friday, April 22nd — Roosevelt University’s Schaumburg Campus is proud to host a free public screening of Green Fire, the new full-length feature documentary of Aldo Leopold, a remarkable conservationist, scientist, and writer who helped shape the modern environmental movement in the US and beyond. As the Green Fire website notes, Leopold’s ideas and writings (most notably the 1949 classic, A Sand County Almanac) “remain relevant today, inspiring projects all over the country that connect people and land.” This film is an extraordinary co-production by the Aldo Leopold Foundation and the Center for Humans and Nature; its world premier was on Feb. 5th in Albuquerque, NM. RU’s screening will be the one of the first in the NW suburban Chicago region.

We are very pleased to have Gavin Van Horn, Director of Midwest Cultures of Conservation at the Center for Humans and Nature, join us on April 22nd for the Green Fire screening and a post-film discussion. Popcorn and refreshments will be provided — this will be a fun movie night as well as a chance to connect with the environmental community at RU and in the Schaumburg region.

When:  Friday, April 22nd (Earth Day) — 7:00pm
Where:  Roosevelt University’s Schaumburg Campus (1400 N. Roosevelt Blvd), Alumni Hall
Cost:  Free!
RSVP / Questions:  Contact Prof. Mike Bryson at mbryson@roosevelt.edu / 847.619.8735

This public event is co-sponsored by the RU’s Sustainability Studies program as well as the Schaumburg Campus Provost’s Office.

New Deal Service Days at RU

Every spring, Roosevelt students, faculty, and staff get together in groups and fan out over the city and NW suburbs to engage in a variety of service activities. I’ve done this several times over years, sometimes with my small kids in tow — and it’s always a fun and rewarding experience. Here’s a letter to faculty and students from NDSD organizers Yvette Garcia and Tara Hawkins:

New Deal Service Days, Roosevelt’s largest community service event of the year, is now entering its ninth season. Mark your calendar for this year’s event, which will be held on Friday and Saturday, April 8-9 in the Northwest suburbs and Saturday, April 9 in Chicago.

This event offers unique opportunities for you to further social justice and the mission of the University. We encourage you to mention the event and the opportunities for volunteering during your classroom discussions with students and faculty.

This is a wonderful opportunity for all of us to work together in honor of the University’s mission by helping the needy in our communities. Years from now, it is unlikely that you will remember your Fridays and Saturdays filled with chores and other personal demands. However, you will remember New Deal Service Days and the positive difference being made in the lives of those who need  our help the most.

For details on how to register, the schedule of volunteering opportunities, FAQs, etc., check out the NDSD website.

“Past is Present” Undergraduate and Graduate Student Conference

Paper submissions for the “Past is Present: History, Social Movements and Justice” undergraduate and graduate student conference are due this Friday, Feb. 25 at 5 p.m. We request students provide a 200-word abstract and author information. All submissions can be emailed to pastispresent@roosevelt.edu. If you have any questions, please contact Stephanie Farmer in Sociology (sfarmer@roosevelt.edu) or Eric Gellman in History (egellman@roosevelt.edu).

The Call for Papers is available here: Past is Present — Call for Papers 2011 (pdf)

Address questions and replies to: sfarmer@roosevelt.edu

Sustainable Landscape Design and RU’s Campus Plan

On Thursday, Feb. 17th, landscape architect Bill Bedrossian of Bedrock Earthscapes visited Mike Bryson’s SUST 210 The Sustainable Future class in Schaumburg and gave a special guest lecture on green landscaping practices. Bill is working with a faculty/staff/student green campus committee led by Paul Matthews, Asst. VP for Campus Planning/Operations, to design a new look and sustainable landscape plan for the Schaumburg Campus. This past Thursday, Bill updated us on this ongoing planning process as well as presented his knowledge about sustainable landscape design and maintenance, a topic that connects with a variety of themes in SUST 210 this semester. Also in attendance that night were members of Prof. Greg Buckley‘s seminar in natural science (who among other things are working on a project of identifying all the tree species on the Schaumburg Campus grounds), SUST major Alan Swartz, Paul Matthews, and a few other members of the Schaumburg Campus community.

Excellent discussion ensued about the advantages of various landscape design features for energy and water conservation, as well as about the in-progress ideas for the Schaumburg Campus redesign, which includes extensive native vegetation replacing the bulk of the current turf grass; a restored wetland at the detention pond site; native plant demonstration beds and a potential orchard; bioswales, a rain garden, a cistern, and pervious paving in the parking lots for on-site water retention; a composting site and possible “edible wall” vertical garden; and better outdoor recreational space, including a baseball field. Open areas near McConnor Parkway on the campus periphery will be planted in native grasses in the short-term, but could be re-developed later as a small-scale urban farming operation.  

A pdf version of Mr. Bedrossian’s presentation to SUST 210 is included here: Sustainable Site Practices and RU Concepts. Slides 46-49 address RU’s campus grounds planning process, and slide 48 is the current draft Sustainable Landscape Plan Map. Take a look at that map (zoom in on it to see details) and as you analyze it, ask yourself some questions:

  • Who are the various groups of people that would use and experience this landscape — students, staff, faculty, visitors, etc. — and what are their needs and interests? (Think about, for example, the value of a walking/biking trail that could wind through the campus.)
  • What kinds of learning and leisure activities should the campus landscape support and encourage? How can it connect the university to the surrounding community of Schaumburg?
  • What about the plan at present do you like, and why?
  • Is there anything missing that you’d like to see incorporated into the plan?

If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions about the plan, please post them here on this blog post (if you’d prefer to simply email me feedback privately, you may do so at mbryson@roosevelt.edu ). I’ll make sure your suggestions find their way to the Schaumburg Campus committee working on this plan. Thanks for your input!

Summer Offerings in Sustainability Studies

The Sustainability Studies program at RU is pleased to unveil the summer schedule, including the debut offerings of three SUST courses.

During the May 4-week session, Professor Greg Buckley will offer SUST 390 Special Topics — Sustainability of the National Parks at both the Schaumburg campus and in a 10-day trip to Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  Enrollment for this special seminar is capped at eight students, so we urge you to look at Professor Buckley’s preview of the course and indicate soon whether you wish to participate in this unique experience.

In the session running from May 31 to August 19, we will offer three courses.

We will announce more new courses for the fall very soon, but if you are interested in taking courses this summer, please contact your RU academic advisor for registration details and consultations on financial aid options. Registration for the summer session begins March 1. If you are not currently a Roosevelt University student, we encourage you to investigate our degree options, and our course listings.  For more information, please visit  our Sustainability Studies website, call 1-877-277-5978 (1-877-APPLY RU) or email  applyRU@roosevelt.edu.

Free Old-Time Music Concert at RU, Feb. 11

This coming friday, my friend and RU colleague Greg Reish is giving his annual recital in Roosevelt’s historic chamber music concert space, Ganz Hall, at 8pm. This is a free concert, and not one to be missed! Greg is an accomplished guitarist and banjo player, as well as a music historian / musicologist who is a recognized authority on American folk, country, and blues music. Check out his website, and better yet, see him in person if you’re free on Friday night!

Greening the Schaumburg Campus: A Presentation

A detention pond with native planting along its banks, one of the landscapes restored by Bedrock Earthscapes

 

During the Week 4 Thursday class session for my SUST 210 Sustainable Future class in Schaumburg, we will have a guest presentation by landscape architect Bill Bedrossian of Bedrock Earthscapes. Bill is working with a faculty/staff/student green campus committee to design a new look and sustainable landscape plan for the Schaumburg Campus. He will update us on this ongoing planning process as well as present his knowledge about sustainable landscape design and maintenance, a topic that connects with a variety of themes in SUST 210 this semester. 

All 210 students as well as Sustainability Studies majors are particularly encouraged to attend; RU students/faculty at large are also welcome. Light refreshments will be served. Please RSVP to me at mbryson@roosevelt.edu by Monday, Feb. 14th, if you plan to make it. 

When / Where:
Time: 6:30pm (45-min presentation followed by 20-min Q/A discussion)
Location: Schaumburg Campus, room 627
Travel Info: Check out the Shuttle Service from the Chicago Campus if you’re coming from downtown

RU Lecture by Activist Eli Clare on Feb. 8

Join the Roosevelt University community for a discussion with writer, speaker, and activist Eli Clare, author of Exile and Pride: Disability, Queerness, and Liberation. In his presentation “Stolen Bodies, Stolen Lands,” Clare will offer a fresh take on how environmental justice issues are connected to ableism, heterosexism, racism, and classism.

When/Where:
Tuesday, February 8th, 4:30 – 6:00pm
Congress Lounge (2nd floor), Roosevelt University, 430 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago

For more information please e-mail Prof. Ellen O’Brien at eobrien@roosevelt.edu

This event is co-sponsored by the Women’s and Gender Studies Program, the Social Justice Studies Program, the Department of Economics, Feminist United, RU Proud, the Delta Gamma Pi Multicultural Sorority, and the Mansfield Institute for Social Justice and Transformation.

Help RU Win a $250K Sustainability Grant

You and your friends can help Roosevelt University win a $250,000 grant from Pepsi that will be used to make the Schaumburg Campus an environmentally sustainable facility.

All you have to do is vote once a day during the month of January at this site: http://www.refresheverything.com/rugreenrooseveltuniversity. You can also vote on Facebook. The organization with the most votes receives the grant.

Should Roosevelt win, we plan to use the grant money in Schaumburg for the following projects:
— construction of a LEED-certified greenhouse that is powered by solar energy
— development of an organic garden to teach students how to grow native plants that will enhance the surrounding landscape
— replacement of the present asphalt in the parking lot with pervious concrete.

Roosevelt’s application is sponsored by RU Green, a student organization which was established to promote ecologically-conscious students, staff and faculty. Please help us win this major grant by voting only once a day!

Paul Matthews, Assistant Vice President, Campus Planning & Operations
Address replies to: pmatthews@roosevelt.edu

Register Now for the Wild Things 2011 Environmental Conference

The Wild Things conference is a fun and educational all-day event sponsored biannually by the Chicago Wilderness organization and other partners, and covers a vast array of topics related to urban ecology, conservation, gardening, wildlife, science, politics, and environmental activism. Some of the presentations and workshops have more of a scientific bent; others are directed toward environmental policy; but many have a humanities component to them (such as how we represent and conceptualize the natural environment, apply concepts of “wilderness” to urban landscapes, think about environmental ethics, etc.).

Advance registration is required (the deadline is Jan. 30th for early online registration, which features a cheaper rate). Students can attend inexpensively for $15 — cheap for an event of this topic and quality. The conference will be a great potential source of ideas about urban ecology and other matters related to sustainability, wilderness, etc., and is also a cool networking opportunity. Professors Mike Bryson and Carl Zimring will be in attendance as well as co-presenting a talk at 4pm (session D6) on RU’s new Sustainability Studies program. In particular, we highly recommend the keynote address at 9am by Curt Meine, a terrific presenter who will discuss the life and legacy of Aldo Leopold, one of the most important American environmental writers (as well as an ecologist) of the 20th century. That talk will include a preview of a new film about Leopold, who exemplified the integration of science and the humanities in his engagement of the natural world.