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US EPA joins UC Riverside students in tree planting ceremony

Release Date: 04/20/2011
Contact Information: Francisco Arcaute, (213) 244-1815, Cell (213) 798-1404, arcaute.francisco@epa.gov

(4/20/11) LOS ANGELES – On Thursday, April 21, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will join the University of California, Riverside in a tree planting celebrating EPA’s year-old internship program that reaches out to diverse and underserved communities with internships, joint projects, and scientific research opportunities for students and faculty.

EPA Regional Administrator Jared Blumenfeld and UC Riverside Chancellor Timothy P. White will be planting the tree, joined by Sustainability Coordinator John Cook and EPA interns Thomas Kwan and Jacqueline Zaldana.

"EPA appreciates the tremendous pool of talent, energy and environmental commitment offered by these students," said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest. “Our partnership encourages UC Riverside students to pursue degrees in environmental fields, ultimately helping EPA attract a workforce as diverse as the public we serve.”

The event celebrates the leadership UC Riverside and EPA have demonstrated in moving our country closer to sustainability. UC Riverside focuses on built environment, energy and climate protection, water, sites, transportation, recycling and waste management, procurement, food, and academics and research and EPA’s mission encompasses many of the same goals.

“Our partnership with the EPA is a year old and already it is putting down roots and producing branches,” said UCR Chancellor Timothy P. White. “From student internships, to EPA-sponsored engineering contests to things as simple as having an EPA professional critique a student’s resume at a job fair, we are grateful for this tool to help our students compete in the economic marketplace.”

The agreement between EPA and UC Riverside, coordinated by the university’s Career Center and the agency, provides numerous benefits for both partners including:

* EPA student internships during summer and the academic year;
* Agency participation in UCR career fairs to tout employment opportunities at EPA, and EPA support for environmental curriculum development at UCR;
* UCR faculty and student participation in public policy forums, presentations, and other events at EPA, and EPA staff participation in lectures and conferences at UCR;
* UCR faculty serving as visiting scientists at EPA, and EPA staff serving as mentors for UCR students.

The University of California, Riverside (www.ucr.edu) is a doctoral research university, a living laboratory for groundbreaking exploration of issues critical to Inland Southern California, the state and communities around the world. Reflecting California's diverse culture, UCR's enrollment has exceeded 20,500 students. The campus will open a medical school in 2012 and has reached the heart of the Coachella Valley by way of the UCR Palm Desert Graduate Center. The campus has an annual statewide economic impact of more than $1 billion.

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