MIT Initiates the Energy Systems Research Center
Working with energy partners, the new research consortium, the Future Energy Systems Center, aims to address the climate crisis and the role energy systems can play in solving it. The center investigates the emerging technology, policy, demographics and economics reshaping the landscape of energy supply and demand, then conducts integrative analysis of the entire energy system.
U Albany Adopts Official Land Acknowledgement
The University at Albany, part of the State University of NY system, has adopted an official land acknowledgment that recognizes the homelands of the Kanien’keháka and Muh-he-con-neok people upon which the campus resides.
Dickinson College Announces $100,000 Prize Winner
Announced during the COP26 U.N. Climate Conference in Glasgow, Dickinson presented the Sam Rose ’58 and Julie Walters Prize at Dickinson College for Global Environmental Activism to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The $100,000 Rose-Walters Prize is bestowed annually on an individual or organization making a defining difference to advance responsible action on behalf of the planet, its resources and people. The 2022 prize honors the IPCC’s work, including producing and communicating scientific knowledge that is the foundation of informed and effective action on climate change.
Emory U to Establish Civil Rights & Social Justice Center With $7M Donation
The university recently received a grant from Southern Company Foundation to establish the Emory University School of Law Center for Civil Rights and Social Justice and to support other student success and access initiatives. The newly established center will serve as a hub for interdisciplinary scholarship, research, teaching, evidence-based policy reform, and community outreach that improves the lives of individuals who have experienced violations of their civil rights and been impacted by social injustice.
Texas A&M U Launches Social Justice Leadership Certificate
The new certificate is designed for nonprofit leaders committed to accelerating racial equity within nonprofit organizations. The online, asynchronous program is a non-credit-bearing professional education opportunity for nonprofit practitioners. It consists of five three-week courses that can be completed in approximately four months.
Nine Georgia HEIs Receive $300K for State Climate Consortium
The Ray C. Anderson Foundation has awarded a $300,000 grant to the next phase of the Georgia Climate Project, a state-wide consortium of nine colleges and universities working to strengthen Georgia’s ability to prepare for and respond to a changing climate. With this new grant, the project will engage a diverse network of experts to develop and disseminate knowledge on climate impacts and solutions through webinars, workshops, and an online Georgia climate information portal.
Georgia Tech Connects 1.4 MW Microgrid
The university and Georgia Power recently celebrated the opening of a 1.4-megawatt microgrid, designed to provide clean power locally while also serving as a living laboratory for Georgia Tech, industry and government researchers. The microgrid will provide Georgia Power with insight into how smart energy management systems can interact with the grid to achieve optimal energy use. The installation includes fuel cells, battery storage, diesel generators and a natural gas generator, and it is adaptive to new and additional distributed energy resources.
U California Launches 'Center for Climate Justice'
The new center is a system-wide initiative to address climate change as a social justice and equity issue. The center seeks not only to address the root causes of climate change, but also the broad range of associated social, racial and environmental injustices. The center will be led by management of complex systems professor and UC Presidential Chair Tracey Osborne.
Emory U Farms Fund to Receive $4.8M Grant
The United States Department of Agriculture recently awarded $4.8 million to the university's Working Farms Fund, an initiative supported by a partnership between The Conservation Fund and Emory University that acquires and permanently protects farmland, helping farmers who would not have the means to purchase the land at full market price.
HEI Leaders to Guide Net Zero Endowments Initiative
A group of seventeen leaders from higher education endowments, investment consultants, asset managers and nonprofit partners recently joined together as a steering committee to guide a new Net Zero Endowments initiative hosted by the Intentional Endowments Network. The Net Zero Endowments steering committee aims to accelerate the adoption of net zero portfolio commitments to 50 endowments over the next two years.
