DEGREE PROGRAMS | RESEARCH | LIVING GREEN AT SMU | STUDENT OPPORTUNITIES

Student opportunities for a Greener Society

SMU students have many opportunities to join campus organizations and programs that are directed to sustainability and environmental issues:

Environmental Representatives

SMU’s Environmental Representatives – E-Reps, for short – are 10 students who provide peer role modeling, serve as a resource on sustainability questions and promote environmentally conscious behavior within their assigned residential communities.  E-Reps are sponsored by the SMU Sustainability Committee and supervised by staff from the Office of Residence Life and Student Housing.  Read more about the E-reps here.

SMU Environmental Society

Students for a Better Society (SBS)

Alternative Break Trips Focus On Sustainability, Environmentalism

Alternative Breaks (AB) is a student organization offering direct service opportunities during every academic break, including fall, winter, spring and summer. AB takes groups of students, student leaders, and a faculty/staff trip advisor to communities in need across the country and world to perform vital service with a range of organizations. Two of the trips planned for the 2012-13 academic year are focused on sustainability.

Contact:  
Stephanie Howeth
Assistant Director, Community Engagement & Leadership Center
Hughes-Trigg Student Center, Suite 200
214.768.4292

Spring Break
March 10-16, 2013
Environmentalism in a Fragile Ecosystem - SMU will be returning to Crawfordville, Florida performing environment restoration in the area. Students will learn about environmentalism in America, major challenges, and will get a chance to serve hands on in an environment desperate for help

Big iDea Proposals

SMU's Big iDeas program, held annually under the sponsorship of the Office of the Provost, offers research grants for student-proposed ideas to address the challenges facing the Dallas area. Following are recent proposals related to sustainability:

2011:

•   Health Literacy Dallas, a continuation of a Big iDeas project that seeks to improve interactions between doctors and patients.
– Proposed by Mary Corey (junior; mechanical engineering), Austin Prentice (junior; chemistry and biology), Matthew Gayer (junior; public policy and political science, with minors in biology and economics), Michael Hammack (junior; finance and economics), Stephen Armstrong (junior; engineering), Vanessa Mavec (junior; anthropology), Patrick Probst (junior; biology) and Vincent Rossi (junior; biology)
    

•   “Power of a Nation,” which seeks to design an energy-efficient multipurpose workout machine that generates electricity.
- Proposed by James Matthew Parker (senior; marketing major, with a Spanish minor), Connor Smith (first-year; mechanical engineering), Joseph Esau (junior; electrical engineering), Seth Dennis (junior; management), Robin Hood (junior; mechanical engineering), Zewen Qu (first-year; advertising), Brett Legrow (junior; mechanical engineering), and Corbin Swagerty (junior; electrical engineering)

2010:

•   “Solar Energy on Campus,” an investigation of the feasibility of using solar energy to generate electricity and heat SMU’s buildings and water; presented by sophomore Huanlu Chen.

2009:

•   "The SMU Geothermal Project" - Requests funding to complete a multidisciplinary comprehensive study evaluating the geologic, engineering, and financial feasibility of establishing a binary-cycle geothermal power plant on the SMU Campus. Binary-cycle geothermal power plants produce clean, reliable, emission-free base-load energy, while having a small physical footprint. Read the proposal.
 

•   "Real Fuel on Campus" - Examine the feasibility of reducing emissions at SMU by using an on campus processor to convert SMU food service waste vegetable oil to biodiesel. Read the proposal.
 

2008:

•   "The Dallas Application of Responsible Transportation" - Examines how public transportation systems can work effectively for a city subject to urban sprawl. Read the proposal.

 

Community Garden

The SMU Community Garden is maintained by Perkins School of Theology and the Facilities Management and Sustainability Department (formally CPPO). Professor Elaine A. Heath, the McCreless Assistant Professor of Evangelism, requested the garden be built for the students in one of her classes.