The Climate Narrative Project may have had its final event last week.

In a statement to The Daily Iowan, UI Associate Vice President for Facilities Management Don Guckert said program will no longer be supported by the UI.
“[The Climate Narrative Project] was initially supported by a grant from the University of Iowa Office of Outreach and Engagement. UI Facilities Management subsidized the program when the grant expired but because of budget cuts is no longer able to support the project. The University of Iowa is proud of the stories developed through Climate Narrative Project and the attention the program received,” the statement said.

The program, which began in 2014, allowed for a multifaceted approach to disseminating information about climate change. Students assembled semester-long projects that were presented at the end of each semester.

Guckert said, “The UI’s Sustainability Charter Committee continues to focus on integrating sustainability into existing campus programs in education, research, operations, and community outreach in order to reach a greater number of students.”

Despite the cut, Guckert iterated the UI’s commitment to a coal-free campus by 2025.

Writer Jeff Biggers, who founded the Climate Narrative Project and has lectured about climate change at more than 100 universities nationwide, said the effect of the project has been immense.

After receiving attention from NPR and the New York Times, Biggers was contacted by numerous universities with the hopes of establishing Climate Narrative Projects.

“I just returned from doing [climate narrative] workshops at Appalachian State University in North Carolina,” Biggers said. ”The Climate Narrative Project will continue to grow and train a new generation of climate leaders on campuses where sustainability is a priority.”

Although the project’s success has been growing at other schools, Biggers said he is dismayed by the apparent nonchalance the UI has about the project.

“In a time when UI should be ramping up its commitment to climate action, such actions are really sad and ultimately self-defeating and costly,” Biggers said in a statement to The Daily Iowan. “I believe climate change should be at the forefront of preparing our students as scholars, artists, citizens, and leaders, not an afterthought.”

Biggers said the UI has a “lack of commitment” to sustainability in an age of climate change.

“This is not an issue of statewide budget cuts — our Climate Narrative Project budget was tiny, but it generated huge results and outcomes in outreach and engagement, recruitment, and national attention and achievement for UI,” Biggers said.

The budget for the Climate Narrative Project was $10,000 to $12,000 a semester, Biggers said.

Anthony Lucio, a fellow at the Climate Narrative Project two semesters ago, said he was taken aback when he found out about the cuts to the project.

“All of the fellows got a $500 stipend, and I’m sure there’s more overhead than that,” Lucio said. “But at least in my opinion, it was not about the money — I was there to learn something. It’s something I would like to see continued if that could be done. I got the email from Jeff early last week, and I was in disbelief that a program like this would be cut.