Many have heard the term, but not everyone may know exactly what it means; sustainability. Lauren Pangburn, campus sustainability advisor and international studies senior, said sustainability is becoming a topic of interest at IU Southeast, but what is it?

The dictionary definition of sustainability is “the quality of not being harmful to the environment or depleting natural resources, and thereby supporting long-term ecological balance.” James Barry, professor of philosophy, said the term is very broad.

“The way that we are approaching sustainability here is very broad-based,” Barry said. “We’re concerned with economic sustainability, sustainability of physical resources, but we’re also looking at it in terms of communities and ethical and political questions as well.”

Barry said that there is still a lot of work to be done at IU Southeast in the way of sustainability, and Pangburn Helping with that. She works within the Student Government Association alongside students, faculty and staff to help make IU Southeast a more environmentally conscious campus.

“I’ve always kind of been environmentally minded. A lot of my interests are about the environment,” Pangburn said.

Pangburn said she has been working on a recycling project and also working with Barry on an environmental ethics class.

“I’ve actually been going around to most of the FYS (First Year Seminar) classes talking about sustainability,” Pangburn said.  “I’ve been working on small projects within the council, trying to get the organization started.” She said that she is also looking into some larger action issues including energy use and transportation. Pangburn said that she thinks interest in sustainability is about to become more popular.

Both Pangburn and Barry spoke about a  new minor that is now available in sustainability. Barry also said that there are faculty members, himself included, that are currently working on a sustainability major. He said that he hopes for the major to become available in the fall of 2016 and said a sustainability certificate should be available in either spring or fall semester of 2015.

“We are working on new academic programming around sustainability and there will even be a study-abroad trip completely focused on sustainable living in the summer of next year,” Pangburn said.

He said the progress toward sustainability isn’t going away anytime soon. In fact, both Barry and Pangburn said they expect that it will become even more popular overtime. Barry said they will mostly encourage students to use sustainability as a second major.

“It will also help students work on critical thinking and get internships,” Barry said.

Pangburn also said that new options for sustainability would be helpful for students.

“Employers are looking for this now. The bottom line is that it saves people money,” Pangburn said.

For more information on sustainability programs and classes, visit the IU Southeast website or contact the school of Natural Sciences by phone at 812-941-2284 or by email at natsci.ius.edu.