SYSTEMS USE
ASSETS
• UIC Recycling Program
• Office of the Registrar
• Urban Transportation Center
Will present next meeting
Presented last meeting
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CADE
Office of Technology Management
CAVE 2
UIC Bike Plan
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Undergraduate Student Organization Gov
Martin Jaffe
Ouri Wolfson
Institute for Environmental Science
Priority List
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USG
Institute for Environmental Science
Martin Jaffe
Ouri Wofson
UIC Recycling Program
• Name: Joe Iosbaker
• Title: Office of Sustainability Recycling Program Coordinator
Interviewed by: Romina and Ryan
Most Interesting Points
• UIC just received a $71,000 grant, the money will support the
expansion of the program to more buildings on campus, and
the installation of equipment such as collection bins.
• Recyclemania is a national competition that UIC participates
yearly. In the past the school has obtained awards for total
collection of recycle material; this year UIC will also participate
in the compost division.
• There is also a competition among Residence Halls to improve
their recycling collection rates. The winners will receive a
“shower of candy”.
Examples of Strengths
• Implementation of better methods and systems to quantify our
school’s recycling rate (waste audits).
• Recycling rate improvement from 22% to 45% in 5 years.
• Awareness raising among our community.
• Institutional commitment.
• National recognition.
Examples of Strengths
• In 2012 the program was able to collect 9,000 of electronic
components to be properly recycled.
Recycling
Waste Audits
Waste Audits
Greatest Challenges
• Slow down students to encourage them to think before
disposing their garbage out, specially through places with high
foot-traffic such as Student Center East. The Student Centers
have the lowest numbers in regards recycling rates.
• The recycling program is trying to find better ways to help
students being more conscious about garbage disposal as they
transit through school’s buildings.
Our Thoughts
• The Recycling Program at UIC is not only concerned about
improving the recycling rate at school, but also about engaging
students and the entire community to actively participate in this
process.
• This project is something that we could all be a part of and
support constantly.
• It is important to raise awareness of UIC Recycling program, its
achievements, and the difference that it makes in our school,
our surrounding community, and for the city in general.
UIC Office of the Registrar
Robert Dixon (Left), Jeff Headrick (Center), Kevin Shalla (Right)
Interviewed by: Ryan and Alexis
Registrar Office Achievements
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Thousands of transcripts are electronic secured PDF files
ready for students to download and view
25% of transcripts ordered are electronic which reduces
paper and carbon
Receives electronic transcripts now
Scan transcripts for online viewing
Graduate students can also submit their documents to this
office via electronically as well.
The following are different ideas and
practices implemented by workers of
the Office or Registrar
Bike Delivery at UIC
Jeff Headrick (Distribution Clerk)
 Has been pioneering the bike delivery service at UIC
 Has been picking up and delivery mail 3 times a week from
places like the College of Engineering and University Hall to
other places around campus.
 The Registrars Office is the only office with bike delivery
 Van inefficient - most of what Jeff transports (especially now
that so much is electronic) fits in one box that can be carried
on bike.
Bike Delivery
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Another advantage of bike - safer with sensitive documents
(e.g. student folders)
Route varies by day, saves time, gas, and money
Kevin Shalla's thought: “Biking is not required, not written
into the job - what if there was a bump? In that sense, it's not
sustainable”
Another question to consider: How to improve the safety
issues with biking around campus?
Chancellor's Committee on Sustainability
and Energy
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Areas of Interest: Transportation, Utilities,
Physical Structure, Recreation and
Activities, and so forth
Goal: Try to look at things in new ways
(alternative solutions)
Pushing for more LEED certified buildings
Trying to finds ways to conserve energy
and still meet the demands of the
university.
Analyze the energy infrastructure of the
university
Employee Flower Garden
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Started about two years ago- While Rob was biking one
day, he came across that spot. He started talking about it
with his employees and voila!
Goal – Brings the people in the office together in a relaxed
environment while doing something good for the
environment.
Current/Future Actions - planted perennials/ Could start
composting / Plant drought resistant plants - like native
plantings elsewhere on campus/ Rope off the space to
protect the garden.
Early Stage of Employee Flower Garden
Farmer's Market
Oksana Shanley (Assistant Registrar)
 Organizes Green Initiative at her son's school, St. Nicholas
Cathedral School
 They host 1-2 green markets a year - make $6000/market
 Wants to help incorporate Green Initiative into the UIC
curriculum
 Considers changing the location of the Farmer's Market at UIC
to one of the big teacher's parking lot or where the former
public housing was located.
Analysis of Electric Cars
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Electric vehicles can be a great alternative to conventional
combustion engine cars
Possible future of electric cars will be driven by the price of
gas (i.e. very expensive gas = more hybrid/electric cars being
purchased)
Promoting and selling electric cars need a businessman
mentality in order to succeed (i.e. Carnegie with steel,
Rockefeller with oil, and so forth)
On a university level: Maxwell St., Paulina, and Halsted having
charging stations for cars like the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf
is a great start for electric vehicles being integrated in the
urban culture.
Rob Dixon's 1994 Mazda MX-6 (Electric – Converted)
This car was converted into an
electric vehicle by the Fox Valley
Electric Auto Association. It used a
5-speed manual transmission,
that had 20 batteries to power the
motor.
Future Ideas from the Staff
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There should be bike spaces indoors for
people who ride their bikes to work
More public places (Restaurants, Public
Libraries, etc.) that has charging stations
for electric vehicles
Electric buses wirelessly charging
themselves when they come to a stop
on magnetic pad for a certain amount of
time
Composting more around campus such
in a way that is similar to Employee
Garden.
Our Thoughts
• It was really inspiring to find out what people can accomplish
when they set common goals and work together to achieve
them.
• The Office of Registrar has successfully implemented simple but
useful actions that do make a big difference on campus.
• It would be interesting to see other offices partnered up with
the Office of Registrar in order to work on different projects
across UIC.
Urban Transportation Center
• Name: Steve Schlickman
• Title: Executive Director UTC
• Name: Paul Metaxatos
• Title: Associate Director for
Research Programs and Research
Assistant Professor
Interviewed by: Romina and Ryan
Most Interesting Points
• Most of the current research at the UTC is related in one way
or another to issues of sustainability (ex. Reducing costs and
maximizing efficiency in our transportation systems)
• The UTC fosters an interdisciplinary collaboration among
UIC departments and institutions.
• UTC works closely with regional entities such as IDOT (Illinois
Department of Transportation) conducting research and
receiving funding.
Examples of Strengths
• One of the main research initiatives
is the UTC partnership with IDOT to
look more closely into the
integration of different modes and
their studies as interrelated
methods rather than separate units
(by “modes” they mean the
different units in our transportation
system such as highways, freight,
biking, public transportation, etc.)
Examples of Strengths
• The Metropolitan Transportation Support Initiative (METSI)
frames many of the research efforts at UTC by bringing
together faculty, students, and researchers to address
current issues. In addition, METSI is an important
educational component that consists of workshops,
conferences, training courses, presentations, assistantships,
and seminars
Examples of Strengths
• The UTC has achieves its goals
by bringing together academic,
cultural, and economic assets
that are not only integrated in
the university, but to the
community as well. By doing so,
the department withholds the
university’s mission statement
as expressed by the Great Cities
Commitment: “To address the
challenges and opportunities
facing not only Chicago, but all
the great Cities of the 21st
Century”
Final Thoughts
• We found these three assets to
be of great relevance for our
research project, for they are all
actively promoting and
improving sustainable efforts and
initiatives on campus and
in our community as well as at a
regional scale.
• We will conduct more interviews
this week as we work through our
‘second-priority’ list.