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President's Sustainability Research Fellowship

The President’s Office, the Office of Sustainability, the Environmental Studies Program, and the Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility jointly host the high-impact learning program, The President’s Sustainability Research Fellowship (PSRF). 

Since the program’s founding in 2016, our Fellows are doing all we could have asked: redesigning our waste management system, developing a 3-year vision for campus woods stewardship, implementing Swarthmore's internal carbon price, launching behavioral change strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and creating a system to track sustainability progress across campus. They’re also doing more than we could have imagined. In tackling waste reduction, for instance, Fellows are uniting custodial staff and students by redefining waste as an environmental justice issue. In championing the campus woods, Fellows are connecting faculty and students with grounds and arboretum staff to engage not only the College provost and vice-presidents but also neighboring communities.

Check out the Annual Report from the 2021 - 2022 academic year here.

Program Description

How do students learn to lead?

In the President’s Sustainability Research Fellowship (PSRF) at Swarthmore College, students learn by leading: by taking stewardship over vital sustainability challenges. The program matches motivated students with small teams of staff and faculty mentors to research, develop, and implement projects in a year-long course and associated internship. With faculty guidance, students conduct wide-ranging research and write reports, proposals, and/or white papers relevant to their sustainability project. Students will hone their skills in collaboration, gain valuable leadership and project management experience, and make meaningful contributions to advancing campus sustainability at Swarthmore. No previous environmental study or sustainability experience is required to apply, as the PSRF program seeks to encourage students to bring their unique background and develop multifaceted, creative  approaches to making change. 

2022-2023 Fellows

Name.                        

Project

 Mentor(s)
Daniela Kim '23 Crum Woods Engagement

Carolyn Bauer, Assistant Professor of Biology, Co-Chair of Environmental Studies Program 

 
Viktoriia Zakharova '24 Electronic Waste

Chris Kane, Director of Procurement
Anna Considine '23 Environmental Justice

Giovanna DiChiro, Professor of Environmental Studies, Faculty Coordinator of Environmental Justice & Climate Resilience Program

 

Oswaldo Morales Solorzano '21, Sustainability and Engaged Scholarship Fellow
Darid Prom '24 Environmental Justice

Giovanna DiChiro, Professor of Environmental Studies, Faculty Coordinator of Environmental Justice & Climate Resilience Program

 

Oswaldo Morales Solorzano '21, Sustainability and Engaged Scholarship Fellow
Catherine Atalig '23 Hawai‘i Relationships

Elizabeth Drake, Director of Sustainability

 

Oswalod Morales Solorzano '21, Sustainability and Engaged Scholarship Fellow
Gary Chen '25 Sustainable Food Tracking Clare Hyre, Associate Director of Sustainability
Ryan Jin '24 Vehicle Electrification

James Adams, Director of Sustainable Maintenance

 

Hannah Ulloa, Climate Action Manager
Alice Du '24 *

Embodied Carbon

Roderick Wolfson, Senior Planner/Project Manager

 

Hannah Ulloa, Climate Action Manager
Olivia Stoetzer '23 * Greenhouse Gas Inventory

Hannah Ulloa, Climate Action Manager
Jorge Lopez Nava '23 * Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating (STARS) Alexander Flowers '21, Sustainability and Engaged Scholarship Fellow
Olivia Fey '23 * To Zero By Thirty-Five: Student Engagement Hannah Ulloa, Climate Action Manager

* Denotes returning "Senior Fellow"

Learn more about PSRF

Benefits to Students

  • Contribute to improving sustainability on campus through a specific, high impact project
  • Learn to be an agent for change in a large organization
  • Gain valuable project management, communication, and advocacy skills
  • Receive ongoing mentorship from faculty, staff, and other advisors
  • Earn two credits (1 credit per semester) for project-based learning. Credits will be awarded through ENVS 089A and B, taught by Environmental Studies faculty, with support from the Director of Sustainability. In some cases, one of the two credits may be awarded in a major department as a directed reading.
  • Earn top Swarthmore student wages for 6-10 hours weekly throughout the academic year
  • Participate in a cohort of motivated students, supporting one another and solving real-world problems using interdisciplinary approaches
  • Present your final projects to the President, senior staff, and the community

Program Expectations

  • Enroll in 1-credit course each semester (either ENVS 089 or a directed reading in the faculty mentor’s department) and complete all course requirements. As part of the credit received:
    • Participate in weekly seminar (T/Th with written assignments including a case study, a benchmarking study, a mid-project report, and a final report)
    • Meet every two weeks throughout the year with a faculty mentor in a specific discipline; produce a literature survey relevant to your project and conduct research and/or analysis as appropriate to the subject
  • Work on your project for 6-10 hours per week through the academic year, including weekly meetings with a staff mentor, plus additional meetings as required by the project
  • Attend a launch meeting in the fall semester; present initial work mid-year to the extended PSRF community; present final projects at the end of the year at a public meeting