Indiana State University Newsroom

Indiana State University's Sustainable Cities Program, which matches community projects with experiential learning for students, is extending its partnership with the city of Sullivan, Indiana until 2022.

"Indiana State University is very pleased to be able to extend the Sustainable Cities partnership with the City of Sullivan," said Vice President for University Engagement Nancy Rogers. "The partnership provides top-notch experiential learning opportunities for our students and allows us to strengthen our engagement in Sullivan, a community with long-standing and deep ties to ISU. I am very much looking forward to learning about the good work that will be taking place through the partnership."

The program partners with an Indiana city each year to work on community-driven projects. During this current academic year, eight courses have been integrated with at least 15 projects for Sullivan, said Interim Sustainability Coordinator Garrett Hurley. For example, interior architecture design students created house designs for empty lots in Sullivan. Those were proposed to the city.

"The City of Sullivan and our Sullivan Neighborhood Revitalization efforts have been at the forefront of all of our community initiatives," Sullivan Mayor Clint Lamb said. "Population attraction and retention is the common denominator in everything that our city is trying to achieve.

"ISU's Sustainable Cities Program and their talented students have significantly supported our vision of housing and neighborhood revitalization. This program not only leverages our community and supports our assets but allows students to be involved in projects that impact thousands. We are grateful for the continued collaboration."

ISU faculty opt-in to the program each year. They identify and assign student projects based on their course material and existing city projects. Hurley said the program invites more faculty to join the program to expand the initiative's reach in Sullivan, to advance current projects, and to address new issues in the city.