About : Programs

The Office of Sustainability manages four funded programs to encourage and facilitate participation in sustainability efforts by faculty, staff, and students.

Sustainability Mentors Program

The Office of Sustainability is pleased to announce the Sustainability Mentors Program. This program highlights outstanding faculty and staff who mentor undergraduate or graduate students in sustainability activities on campus, with the dual goals of celebrating faculty/staff mentoring excellence and encouraging others to serve as mentors. Sustainability Mentors are selected based on their commitment to working with USF students on sustainability issues as well as the social, economic, and environmental impact of these efforts. Two Mentors will be selected each semester. Each Mentor will be featured on the website of the Office of Sustainability and will receive a gift certificate to the USF Bookstore in the amount of $100. Questions and applications should be directed to sustainability@usf.edu. Applications, consisting of a nomination letter explaining the nature of the sustainability activity and the faculty or staff member’s role in mentoring USF students along with at least two letters of recommendation from students, must be received via email by July 1 for the fall semester program or December 1 for the spring semester program.

Sustainability Fellows Program

In collaboration with the Office of the Provost, the Office of Sustainability is pleased to announce the Sustainability Fellows Program. This service-learning program provides talented USF graduate students with the opportunity to work closely with the Office of Sustainability staff to make USF a Green University. Sustainability Fellows will serve as 0.25 FTE Graduate Research Assistants, working 10 hours per week to help coordinate sustainability activities on campus, educational and community-based initiatives on sustainability, and other tasks integral to the mission of the Office of Sustainability. Two Sustainability Fellows will be selected each semester. Reappointment for a second semester is contingent upon satisfactory performance of assigned duties. Each fellow will receive a stipend of $3750 (for Ph.D. students) or $2500 (for MA students) per semester along with the rights afforded to graduate assistants as outlined in the USF/BOT-UFF/GAU Collective Bargaining Agreement. Questions and applications should be directed to sustainability@usf.edu. Applications, consisting of a letter of interest and a resume, must be received via email by July 1 for the fall semester program or December 1 for the spring semester program.

Sustainability Scholars Program

In collaboration with the Office of Undergraduate Research, the Office of Sustainability is pleased to announce the Sustainability Scholars Program. This service-learning program provides talented USF undergraduate students with the opportunity to work closely with the Office of Sustainability staff to make USF a Green University. Sustainability Scholars will work collaboratively with stakeholder groups to conduct “sustainability audits” of selected programs, offices, or businesses on one of USF’s campuses, examining and assessing coupled social, economic, and environmental practices that promote or impede sustainability. Scholars will then share their results with the group in the form of a sustainability report card with specific suggestions for creating or improving sustainable practices. The greater goal of the research effort is to help the USF community become a cleaner, greener place to live and work. Throughout the experience, Scholars will learn how to construct and implement a formal research design, receive training in research ethics and relevant methods for data collection and analysis, and use their results to help create and evaluate policies and programs for sustainability initiatives at USF. Two Sustainability Scholars will be selected each fall and spring semester. Each scholar will be awarded $1000 (applied to their OASIS account) and will receive three credit hours of mentored “Undergraduate Research” (IDH 4910). The time commitment for this program is roughly 10 hours per week for one semester. Questions and applications should be directed to sustainability@usf.edu. Applications, consisting of a letter of interest and a resume, must be received via email by July 1 for the fall semester program or December 1 for the spring semester program.

Sustainability Teaching Grants Program

In collaboration with the Graduate School and the Office of Undergraduate Research, the Office of Sustainability is pleased to announce the Sustainability Teaching Grants Program. This course development program is a competitive funding initiative that provides USF instructors with financial and research support to design and implement new research-based courses dealing with issues in social, economic, and environmental sustainability. Since sustainability can only be achieved through communities of educated citizen scientists and activists, courses that include a service-learning component will be given preference. Each year, up to four successful proposals will be funded up to $1500 each. Questions and applications should be directed to sustainability@usf.edu. Applications, consisting of a proposal of no more than five double-spaced pages and a detailed budget, must be received via email by July 1 for the fall semester program or December 1 for the spring semester program.