Portland State’s Sustainability Office is looking to create a new position designed to connect with students who are interested in sustainable ideas and development, after the university sent out a request for new positions and initiatives to major university departments.
According to Heather Spalding, sustainability assistant in PSU’s Sustainability Office, a series of requests for proposals for new positions and initiatives from university faculty and staff were recently issued to each of PSU’s major departments. There were 97 proposals submitted, according to the Portland State Web site, and a handful will be selected and then given funding to allow them to come to fruition.
Funding for the chosen proposals and initiatives will come in part from PSU’s recent $25 million sustainability grant.
One of the proposals and is the new position in the sustainability office, which is called the sustainability leadership liaison. This person would work with students on a personal level, Spalding said.
“The position is necessary because we need a link between our office and students that are reaching out who can’t find physical resources, and can’t find a particular person to connect with,” said Anne Gire, a graduate research assistant at the sustainability office. “The sustainability leadership liaison will be that link.”
Spalding was not exactly sure who would be making the final decision on which proposal to accept, but she did say that there is a committee who decides which student-initiated positions will be created.
Spalding said she worked in direct collaboration with Gire and Sion Zivetz, a sustainability graduate student, to create the proposal for the position, which explains the need for the new position as well as a job description.
The proposal lists areas such as leadership, project development, inspiration and encouragement, community development and diversity as several areas of focus.
Through these areas of focus, whomever holds the new position would be able to train students in different sustainability methods and empower them to take on their own projects, Spalding said.
Spalding explained that the new position would differ from Noelle Studer-Spevak’s, PSU’s sustainability coodinator. Studer-Spevak’s position has a very different focus by helping the university with energy and talking with staff, she said.
“Noelle does energy tracking right now. She goes to meetings with faculty to provide a sustainability perspective, and is working on a comprehensive energy management plan for the university,” Spalding said.
According to Spalding, Studer-Spevak also manages a team of eight people.
“She has a lot on her plate,” Spalding said of Studer-Spevak.
Studer-Spevak will play an integral role in finalizing the proposal for the new position, Spalding said.
The idea for the position was born out of a forum held with the Associated Student of Portland State University, Spalding said. Jennifer Allen, associate professor of Graduate Studies and Research, asked members of student government to give feedback and ideas about how to use the money, Spalding said.
Spalding said it was evident that the group was concerned about the lack of direct sustainability leadership on campus, which would get students excited, directed and informed them on where they wanted to go.
This project is somewhat in collaboration with a separate proposal for the creation of a “Green Space,” a hangout spot for students who are interested in sustainability, she said.
The sustainability office is hoping that the new position would have an office located in the proposed Green Space, which Spalding helped work on the proposal for alongside student senator Peter Welte and ASPSU administrative director Eddie Hallman.
If all goes according to plan, the sustainability office hopes to officially fill the position by the middle of March and have them start work in the spring term.