You may have heard geology professor Michael Hamburger refer to the "tipping point of campus sustainability," the point at which a critical mass of people are engaged in sustainability initiatives such that the principles of sustainability become part of the core culture and values of the university. When we reach that tipping point, and some would say that we already have, we will owe much of the credit to a particularly gifted servant leader, Michael Hamburger, the first recipient of the IU Office of Sustainability's Outstanding Service Award.

In his book, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, Malcolm Gladwell defines a tipping point as "the moment of critical mass, the threshold, the boiling point . . . that one dramatic moment in an epidemic when everything can change all at once." Gladwell goes on to state that "The success of any kind of social epidemic is heavily dependent on the involvement of people with a particular and rare set of social gifts."

One of those rare types of people he described as Connectors, "the people who link us up with the world . . . people with a special gift for bringing the world together. They are a handful of people with a truly extraordinary knack [. . . for] making friends and acquaintances." He characterized Connectors as people having social networks of over one hundred people and they have the ability to "span many different worlds [. . . as] a function of something intrinsic to their personality, some combination of curiosity, self-confidence, sociability and energy."

Even before he was co-chair of the IU Task Force on Campus Sustainability, which led to the creation of the Office of Sustainability, Professor Hamburger was involved in campus and community sustainability issues. He was crucial to the Task Force effort as a connector able to "span many different worlds." When the Office of Sustainability formed, Professor Hamburger served again as co-chair of the Campus Sustainability Advisory Board and his knowledge of the people who make things happen on campus and his reputation as an effective leader helped immensely in recruiting board members from all walks of campus life.

As leader of the steering committee for Themester 2010 - sustain.ability: Thriving on a Small Planet, Professor Hamburger's connections to scientists, composers, writers, musicians, dancers, visual artists and other interesting people helped fill the Themester calendar with vitally interesting presentations that filled venues to standing room only. His connections also came in handy for raising money from multiple sources for programs like sustainability curriculum development workshops, sustainability course development fellowships, and sustainability research grants.

As the first Director of Sustainability and a new employee and new resident I have turned to Professor Hamburger on numerous occasions to connect to the people who can make a difference. His patience, sense of humor, kindness and enthusiasm make him a great person to be around. His wisdom, ability to write or speak elegantly on short notice, knowledge of sustainability, balance of tactfulness and advocacy, and his willingness to work into the wee hours for a good cause make him a key leader in Indiana University's campus sustainability initiatives.

As Professor Hamburger steps down as Co-Chair of the Campus Sustainability Advisory Board to take a sabbatical, we are proud to honor him for his outstanding service, we wish him a safe journey, and we look forward to the time when he returns. 

Mckenzie Beverage served four terms as the Energy Challenge Coordinator for Indiana University.  This December, Mckenzie graduated with a Master of Public Affairs at SPEA. She has a B.S. in international studies with a minor in communication and culture also from IU. After her first year at SPEA, Mckenzie completed a six month internship at Southface Energy Institute, a non-profit leader in the promotion of sustainable homes, workplaces, and communities. As the annual IU Energy Challenge coordinator, Mckenzie worked to encourage energy and water conservation in a competition among dorms, Greek houses, and academic buildings on campus.  Under her tenure, twenty-six Greek houses, twenty academic buildings, and Collins Living Learning Community were added as participants in the competition.  Since its inception, the challenge has saved 446,139 KWh of electricity, 613,919 gallons of water, $26,000 in avoided utility costs, and avoided 801,454 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions.

Lauren Gersbach served for two and half years as IUOS's Media and Communications Coordinator. Lauren Gersbach began working with IU's Task Force on Campus Sustainability, and later IUOS, duirng the Fall 2008 semester, serving as the Nonprofit Service Corps fellow from SPEA. She focused on organizing and promoting IUOS events and programming on campus and in the Bloomington community. Lauren earned a B.S. in Biological Sciences with a minor in Chemistry from Butler University in 2007. She then worked with the Bureau of Land Management as a Conservation and Land Management intern in Grand Junction, CO, before returning to Indiana for graduate school at IU. Lauren graduated in December with both a Masters of Science in Environmental Science and a Masters of Public Affairs at SPEA. Her studies were focused on applied ecology and sustainable development.  Lauren authored over thirty-three press releases, and coordinated numerous outreach campaigns to benefit the programming of IUOS. 
 

Alex Rekkas served for three terms as the Utilities Conservation Coordinator. Alex graduated from SPEA with a Master of Public Affairs and a Master of Science in Environmental Science with concentrations in environmental policy and natural resource management and applied ecology. She previously interned at the Environmental Law and Policy Center in Chicago, focusing on energy efficiency issues in the Midwest. Alex holds a B.S. from Cornell University. During her internship with IUOS, Alex assessed water and electricity usage in campus buildings in order to reduce utility consumption. Alex was also instrumental in progress made with the Energy Challenge competition. Her efforts supported the expansion of the academic building competition to twenty participants. 
 

General comments and questions should be directed to sustain@indiana.edu.

Our address:

IU Office of Sustainability
1001 E. 10th St.
Geology 429
Bloomington, IN 47405

For IUOS staff:

Bill Brown
Director of Sustainability
brownwm@indiana.edu
812-855-1822

Emilie Rex
Assistant Director of Sustainability
ekrex@indiana.edu
812-855-2678