Scranton Recognized in Tourism Ireland Greening Competition
From left: Huey Shi Chew (Office of Global Education), Kara Bishop (Office of Global Education), Mark Murphy (Facilities Operations), Nathaniel Smith (Facilities Operations), and James Caffrey (Facilities Operations).In 2021, The University of Scranton received an honorable mention along with a gift basket for its entry in the Tourism Ireland Greening competition. For the past 11 years, Tourism Ireland worked to "green" iconic locations and buildings around the world. Facilities Operations partnered with Kara Bishop and Huey Shi Chew from the Office of Global Education to make the entry a reality. The University of Scranton was one of 690 other schools and iconic buildings to enter the competition for a chance to win a scholarship to study at Maynooth University in Ireland. Because The University of Scranton was a runner-up, the school received a box of Irish cuisine with a collection of chocolates, cookies and coffee. For 2022, Facilities Operations is looking for ways in which to improve the greening to win the 2022 competition. If you have any suggestions, please email mark.murphy@scranton.edu. 
The scholarship competition is sponsored by Maynooth University along with other Irish universities in partnership with Tourism Ireland. The scholarship is valued around $5,000. Tourism Ireland encourages North American universities to turn their campuses green for St Patricks’ Day. Other participants in the greening competition have included iconic landmarks such as the Sydney Opera House and the Empire State Building. For the past two years, The University of Scranton has lit the Class of 2020 Gateway green and competed with these iconic landmarks.
Maynooth University enrolls over 13,700 undergraduate students. Each student at Maynooth University comes from different backgrounds, nationalities and cultures. Over 2000 international students from around the world attend Maynooth University yearly. The International Office is the first point of contact for new students and collaborates with other Irish universities. Besides support, the International Office provides cultural information and assistance to international students. The International Office Team works together to make international students as comfortable as possible by supporting their integration into Irish culture.
For more information regarding the competition, please see Tourism Ireland’s press release about the 2021 competition.
