Whoever said it wasn’t easy being green? 

The Innovation and Sustainability Hub — expected to open the week of April 4 — is in the process of moving into the old Starbucks storefront at the north end of the Student Center. The location will help make the community more environmentally conscious by serving as a place to hold events and display students’ sustainability projects.

Sustainability coordinator Geory Kurtzhals said the hub will provide a space where people can collaborate to solve many of the issues related to sustainability on campus and worldwide.

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Tao Huang, an assistant professor of design and a member of the university’s sustainability council, helped design the new space where students can exhibit research projects — particularly those funded by student green fee grants.

Huang said new light panels will be installed in the office to make the space more inviting for students. 

The Sustainability Office’s student green fee, the Center for Innovation — a part of the College of Business — and the chancellor’s office are funding the renovations. The re-purposed furniture in the room is from Woody Hall and the old Starbucks, Kurtzhals said.

“We’re very conscious of the financial impact it will have on the campus … so we’re going to re-use as much as we can,” Huang said.

Kurtzhals said renovations won’t be final when the hub opens, but rather the space will continue incorporating more project as the year continues.

“We can work together here to create model solutions to problems that can be replicated at other places around the world,” Kurtzhals said. 

Anna Spoerre can be reached at [email protected] or 618-536-3325. 

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