Indiana faces up to $8.5 billion funding gap for wastewater and drinking water infrastructure

Posted on November 18, 2016 by Michael L. Jackson

The 20-year statewide funding gap for Indiana wastewater and drinking water infrastructure is estimated to be between $6.5 billion and $8.5 billion, according to a new study by the Indiana Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations.

Between 2005 and 2014, local governments invested approximately $4.5 billion in combined wastewater and drinking water infrastructure. If spending levels remain at the same level, state and local governments will face an annual shortfall between $326 million and $423 million to meet the infrastructure capital needs identified in the report.

“This represents a significant challenge for both local and state government,” said state Rep. Mike Karickhoff, R-Kokomo, who chairs the commission. “There has been a lot of focus on roads infrastructure funding in the state, but it’s incredibly important that we are aware of the needs for wastewater and drinking water and take appropriate steps to close this funding gap.” (more…)

Leaders should be aware of ‘sensemaking’ in post-election

Posted on November 17, 2016 by Sara M Johnson

“Sensemaking occurs in organizations when members confront events, issues, and actions that are somehow surprising or confusing.” (The Social Processes of Organizational Sensemaking, Sally Maitlis, 2005). During this past week, post-election, I believe I have observed our “organization,” the United States of America (as well as other countries around the world), exhibiting this social construction called sensemaking.

What I have observed this week is a look of shock in the eyes of many I pass in the halls. Looks conveying what words cannot. On the street and in public places I see looks of disbelief, confusion, stupefaction, surprise, befuddlement, and in some, fear of the unknown of what lies ahead. (more…)

Project Grow: SPEA students develop leadership skills through mentoring program

Posted on October 31, 2016 by Jaclyn Lansbery

For students who are underrepresented minorities, mentorship is critical to future success. Tamra Wright, who serves as SPEA’s Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, said mentoring opportunities allow women – especially African American women – to develop their own leadership skills and see that others who look like them can rise to the top.

Wright, who currently teaches a SPEA course on career development and diversity, invited her students to apply for Project Grow, a one-year mentoring program aimed at helping young women achieve academic success and develop leadership skills. SPEA undergraduate students Micah Benson and Scherrie Blackwell were accepted to the program and will receive 12 one-hour sessions with professional mentors throughout the country.

“You’ll often find that those who achieve success and end up in leadership positions have had a great mentor by their side,” Wright said. “Unfortunately, when we look at people in leadership, there are very few women and even fewer women of color. Mentorship opportunities are critical in moving the needle toward greater diversity.” (more…)

SPEA course helps students understand regulatory policy for air, water, and hazardous waste

Posted on October 21, 2016 by O'Neill at IUPUI

By Rod Thompson, Regulatory Toxicologist/Vapor Intrusion Expert at Risk Options, LLC and SPEA Associate Faculty Member

Chemical exposure occurs wherever we are in the world. The outdoor and indoor air we breathe, water we drink, lakes we swim in, and the soil we build on and play in, all have chemical exposure from hundreds of years of industrial manufacturing, energy production, land development, and waste disposal practices.

SPEA-V 311: Natural Resources and Environmental Policy has been redesigned to address the increasing role human health and ecological risk-assessment play in current environmental regulation and sustainability. This is because risk assessment is evolving more broadly into what is known as a risk-based approach to regulation – a practice that leads companies to focus on assessing and responding to risks that may arise. (more…)

Students analyze impact of Indiana placemaking projects in SPEA practicum course

Posted on October 12, 2016 by O'Neill at IUPUI

By Doug Noonan, Professor

We are gearing up for another SPEA practicum course this spring, a great opportunity for students to do some original research and inform policy and real-work difference-makers. Interested in adding a course to your fall, with a flexible schedule, a fun topic, and a chance to affect policy? Read on!

When we did this practicum in fall 2015, the results were both fun and valuable – for the students as well as the “client.” The idea started with a request from the Indiana Tourism Association (ITA), who were interested in learning more about how local tourism-related investments benefit the local community and improve “quality of place.” Indiana is chock full of these small-scale investments that also benefit the local community. You know that Indianapolis Cultural Trail you enjoy? Not just for Indy tourists. Whether it’s a local rail-trail or greenspace addition, the aesthetic improvements to a small-town “main street,” the cluster of craft breweries or wineries, or even the big complex of sports fields … all these amenities attract tourists and travelers, but locals enjoy them, too. (more…)