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Bradley news, views & updates
stepping up sustainability In a continuing effort to help Bradley red “go green,” the University has made recent improvements with the environment in mind. Three electric vehicle charging stations were installed on campus in February. In addition, cafeterias and other food outlets on campus began collecting online food scraps and food-soiled paper Visit bgreen. for composting last winter. bradley.edu for Two charging stations are in the more information about Bradley’s Main Street parking deck, and one sustainability is in the deck on Duryea. They are practices. among the first public electric vehicle outlets in Peoria. Each station features a universal standard connection and a screen with user-friendly instructions. With the swipe of a credit card, drivers are able to fully charge their vehicles. Charging costs 75 cents per hour, and users can specify the length of charging time when they plug in their vehicles. It takes an estimated three to four hours for a vehicle to receive a full charge. “As ownership of electric vehicles increases, there will be a growing need for such power stations. Bradley is looking to the future and will be prepared to serve the campus
{ Senator discusses student loan debt U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin spoke about the need to keep student loan interest rates low when he visited campus in May. Durbin, the second-ranking Senate Democrat, said student loan debt passed the level of credit card debt in the U.S. in late 2010. A proposed rate hike from 3.4 to 6.8 percent would add $4,000 to the cost of the average student loan. “We need to help the next generation of students get the education they need to lead the country,” Durbin said.
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bradley.edu/hilltopics
community’s needs,” said LeRoy Neilson, University facilities supervisor.
From table to farm Twice a week, Midwest Fiber Recycling takes cafeteria waste to Illinois State University’s farm in Lexington, where ISU students and farm employees mix it with livestock manure and leaf and yard waste to create a fertilizer that can be purchased. Approximately 1,800 pounds of waste were sent weekly during the school year. “Everyone benefits from composting,” said Gary Anna, Bradley’s vice president for business affairs. “Rather than filling up the landfills, we are putting the items back into the earth. Bradley recycled more than 25 tons of material during the first quarter of 2012, a University record.” According to Midwest Fiber Recycling, more than 30 percent of Illinois landfill waste is food scraps and food-soiled paper — 54,000 tons each year.
shows off Bradley Bradley University is now on Pinterest. Be sure to check out Bradley’s Pinterest page, created by Bradley Hilltopics student intern HANNAH ANTONACCI ’12. Visit pinterest.com/ bradleyuniv to view 30 Bradley bulletin boards reflecting what makes Bradley such a unique university community for its alumni, students, faculty, administration, and staff. The third most popular social media site is similar to a wall of bulletin boards. Users create themed boards (for example, Bradley Hilltopics), collect interesting and inspiring content from the Web, and then “pin” pictures and stories on virtual bulletin boards.
— Abby Wilson Pfeiffer ’10