Sustainability at Roosevelt University

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​RU's sustainbility efforts accelerated in 2010 with the founding of its Sustainability Studies undergraduate program, the first sustainability-focused bachelor's degree in Illinois. That same year, Roosevelt launched a sustainable redevelopment plan for its 24-acre suburban campus by replacing 60% of its turf grass with native prairie, establishing a community garden, transforming a forlorn detention pond into a biodiverse wetland, and achieving arboretum status for its campus forest. Two years later in downtown Chicago, RU opened its 32-story LEED-Gold Wabash Building "vertical campus," which among its many green design features includes five green roofs (two of which are student-managed rooftop gardens). 2015 was a landmark year in which Roosevelt approved its first Strategic Sustainability Plan and achieved a STARS bronze rating from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. Meanwhile, SUST students and faculty created the Roosevelt Urban Sustainability Lab as an experimental "idea space" for tackling campus sustainability projects.

Online resources for Sustainability at Roosevelt University

Sustainability Studies @ RU
Blog (includes our annual Year in Review of students & alumni)

RU Green Campus
Comprehensive info about all things sustainable at Roosevelt

SUST on Twitter & Facebook
(news, events, people, stories)

Prof. Bryson’s Faculty Website/Blog
(lots of key resources on internships and green jobs)

Schaumburg’s Sustainable Future Website/blog (e-subscribe!)