Sustainability: An Office without an office, but it’s still an office

The focus of Dr. Itnyre’s sabbatical was to convert the existing Sustainability Council into an Office of Sustainability on the IU East campus under the auspices of the Office of the Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs. He focused on increasing his knowledge and increasing connectedness by reading literature on sustainability, and attending two conferences. The first was the IU system-wide Sustainability conference. This year, on IU South Bend’s campus, the focus was on conducting a Sustainability Literacy and Culture Survey during spring 2020. This is the second iteration of the survey at Bloomington to see if changes implemented so far have impacted current students’ knowledge of sustainable issues; this first such survey on the IU East campus seeks to understand our students’ knowledge. All campuses also are striving to achieve the Tree Campus USA status, a designation IUE already has. In October, Dr. Itnyre attended the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) annual conference in Spokane, WA. Back on the IUE campus, Dr. Itnyre focused on increasing connectedness with our local community, with plans to coordinate efforts and events throughout the year. Dr. Itnyre has also forged relationships with representatives of Cope Environmental Center, Hayes Arboretum and the Richmond Parks, and joined a local organization that is addressing the invasive species problem in Wayne County. This Sabbatical Presentation will summarize the highlights of Dr. Itnyre’s semester focused on Sustainability issues centered at IUE, and having effects locally, regionally, and nationally.  

Dr. Ron Itnyre was raised on a farm in Illinois where “reduce, reuse and recycle” were just a routine part of doing things so that one thing supported the next:  The crops fed the animals. The manure from the animals fertilized the crops. His father planted on the contour and used crop rotations to keep the soil in place and healthy. Dr. Itnyre did not think of this in the context of sustainability at the time but rather that this was exactly as things were. From the time he left the farm until the time he arrived at IU East, Dr. Itnyre attained a Ph. D. in Crop Science from the University of Illinois and worked in the seed industry. All the while, he attempted to do things that were sustainable. He shared sweet corn from his work with neighbors rather than just plowing it under; bought fuel-efficient and hybrid vehicles; and encouraged his company to be better stewards of the environment. So, it was only natural for Dr. Itnyre to volunteer to be the chair of the new Sustainability Council at IU East when it was formed in 2016.