Pennsylvania State U Sustainability Institute Introduces Affiliate Program
Open to Penn State community members from all colleges and at all 24 campuses, the Affiliate Program is a new initiative for faculty, staff and students interested in becoming affiliates of the institute in order to build stakeholder communities with common interests in issues of sustainability in researching, teaching and engagement.
Chalmers U Tech Professor Contributes to New Environmental Cost ISO Standard
(Sweden) Over the past three years, Bengt Steen, professor emeritus at Chalmers, has led the development of a new ISO standard that will help companies evaluate and manage the impact of their environmental damage, by providing a clear figure for the cost of their goods and services to the environment. The ISO standard contains a guide for how monetary valuation should be made, defines terms and sets requirements for documentation.
U Florida Establishes Institute to Study Resilience in Built Environment
The Florida Institute for Built Environment Resilience, housed in the university's College of Design, Construction and Planning, will focus on research that helps communities respond to complex environmental challenges by improving the way they plan, design and build the physical environment.
21 HEIs Launch the Public Interest Technology University Network
With the support of the Ford Foundation, New America, and the Hewlett Foundation, 21 colleges and universities recently announced the creation of the Public Interest Technology University Network. The network is a new partnership dedicated to defining and building the field of public interest technology, as well as growing a new generation of civic-minded technologists and digitally fluent policy leaders. Public interest technology is a broadly defined and emerging area of study that combines digital innovation and public policy.
U Texas Arlington Creates UN Regional Center of Expertise
In an effort to unify sustainability efforts across North Texas, the university was recently approved to establish a U.N. Regional Center of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development. Called the North Texas RCE, the center aims to address how to advance sustainability in the face of a booming population.
Michigan Governor Proposes Tuition-Free Community College
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer proposed a tuition-free community college plan that would start in 2021 and include a $2,500 scholarship for eligible students who attend a four-year college. The proposal offers financial aid for students after all other federal aid and grants are applied to a student's tuition bill. Whitmer also proposed a tuition-free program for adults called Michigan Reconnect. The program would allow residents age 25 and older to enroll in the state's two-year institutions, career certificate programs and union apprenticeships for free.
U Maryland Professor Reports to Congress on Carbon Emissions
Speaking before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change, Nathan Hultman, director of the university's Center for Global Sustainability in the School of Public Policy, outlined findings about how universities, businesses, states and cities are making important contributions to cutting carbon emissions in the U.S., even without the federal government’s support of the Paris Agreement’s goals on climate change. The findings Hultman reported on were from the most recent America's Pledge Initiative report, an assessment of how leaders are driving the U.S. toward a low-carbon future.
Binghamton U to Establish Institute for Social Justice for Women & Girls
A large donation from Ellyn Uram Kaschak '65 will be used to fund an institute focused on equality for women and girls. The institute will support faculty affiliates, practitioners-in-residence and student fellows at the graduate and undergraduate levels, all while fostering public engagement and outreach.
Mercer U Students Grow Food for Local Food Bank
Two third-year students at the university's School of Medicine are growing fresh produce for a local food bank to combat a lack of access to fresh, local food. They also create and donate health resource pamphlets with the food they donate.
U Maryland Unveils 'Do Good Accelerator' Program
The Do Good Accelerator program supports student teams by providing space and assistance to develop ventures and projects aimed both at tackling societal problems and building successful companies and nonprofits.
Ohio State U Introduces Eco-Friendly Search Engine
A group of Ohio State graduate students and their faculty adviser were awarded $40,000 in funding to install Ecosia as the default search engine onto 30,000 campus computers. Ecosia is a search engine where 80 percent of ad revenue generated by internet searches is used to fund organizations that plant trees around the world. The team plans to spend the $40,000 on different marketing initiatives, including widespread advertisement campaigns on campus and through social media channels, and hiring support staff to manage programming and development, track usage, and handle public relations and social media.
U San Diego Introduces PhD in Education for Social Justice
The School of Leadership and Education Sciences at the University of San Diego will welcome its first cohort of students in fall 2019 for the Education for Social Justice Ph.D. and Ed.S. programs. The online program offers a course of study that allows students to develop research, teaching and advocacy skills by using local, national and international contexts to construct more equitable, tolerant and socially just societies and institutions.
U Virginia Collaborates With City & County to Reduce Emissions
The city of Charlottesville, Albemarle County and the university will soon embark on a collaborative community outreach effort as each entity begins to update their greenhouse gas reduction targets and develop climate action plans. To enable broad community engagement and participation in informing these commitments, the three organizations are coordinating their outreach efforts across their sustainability offices and encouraging residents, businesses and area stakeholders to get involved.
21 New York Universities Form RE Purchasing Coalition
Called New York Campuses’ Aggregate Renewable Energy Solutions (NYCARES), the newly formed consortium is comprised of 21 private and public higher education institutions and is working towards a goal of purchasing or producing electricity from 100 percent zero-net-carbon sources.
UK Government Allocates $22M for Nitrogen Pollution Research
The U.K. government recently announced a $22 million (17.1 million British pounds) commitment for an international research program to tackle the challenge that nitrogen pollution poses for the environment, food security, human health and the economy in South Asia. The South Asian Nitrogen Hub will study the impacts of the different forms of pollution to form a coherent picture of the nitrogen cycle. Comprising around 50 organizations from across the U.K. and South Asia, partners include the Universities of Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Bristol, plus research institutes and universities in South Asia.
Ohio State U Announces Creation of Sustainability Institute
At the opening of the Ohio State Community Engagement Conference, the university president announced the Sustainability Institute, which aims to promote the teaching of sustainability; drive research; work with public and private partners to develop sustainable solutions; engage students in learning about sustainability through research and experiences; and help the university in attracting students, talent and resources.
U North Carolina Pembroke Receives $100K for Water Runoff Research
A $100,000 grant from the Duke Energy Foundation will allow the Lumber River Conservancy and its partners in the UNC Pembroke biology department to study the effects of agricultural runoff, drought and recent hurricanes on the river’s overall health. The results will help the Lumber River Conservancy, regulatory agencies and members of the community make decisions to protect the river and improve its water quality.
Higher Education Cluster Addresses Agenda 2030
The Global Cluster on Higher Education and Research for Sustainable Development was initiated by the International Association of Universities to advocate for the key role that higher education institutions play in achieving Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development. Consisting of 16 lead universities, the cluster has two main objectives: to serve as a resource and networking hub for universities around the world, and to be a global voice for higher education in sustainable development, informing international organizations and national governments about the role of universities in achieving the SDGs.
Clemson U Engineering Students Partner on Sustainable Vehicle
Clemson University students are partnering with ExxonMobil to develop an ultra-efficient, lightweight, highly durable sustainable concept vehicle. The project emphasizes the integration of sustainability in the entire product lifecycle – from manufacture and operation with circular economy considerations.
Western Washington U Receives $18K Grant for Local Education Program
The Russell Family Foundation awarded $2.3 million in grants in the Pacific Northwest region for programs that focus on outdoor environment and community empowerment. Of that amount, $18,000 went to Western Washington's SEA Discovery Center to engage youth in hands-on marine education about the local environment. The grant will expand its curriculum for middle school students specifically.
Appalachian State U Introduces Community Meal Program
A new partnership between the university's Department of Nutrition and Health Care Management and a local nonprofit is addressing local food insecurity through the new Grab and Go Meal Program. Students in the department use the nonprofit's Food Recovery Kitchen to prepare hot meals that are paired with donated food and distributed to those in need.
Maharishi U Management Students Tackle Local Food Insecurity
The new program, “Global Solutions: Consciousness and the Challenges of the 21st Century,” engages students in projects that range from encouraging farmers and gardeners to grow extra food to contacting retailers to reclaim unsold food rather than having it go into a landfill.
Emory U Receives $650K to Advance Climate Project
The Ray C. Anderson Foundation has awarded a $650,000 grant to Emory University to advance the Georgia Climate Project. This foundational grant will support efforts to build a network of experts who can improve understanding of climate impacts and solutions and better position Georgia to respond to a changing climate. The Georgia Climate Project is a state-wide consortium co-founded by Emory, the University of Georgia, and the Georgia Institute of Technology, and joined by Agnes Scott College, Georgia Southern University, Spelman College, and the University of North Georgia.
UCLA Partners to Fund Water & Energy Research
Through a new partnership, UCLA and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power will identify research that would move the city to greater use of recycled water, increase water and energy conservation and efficiency as well as electrification of the transportation network. The partnership also seeks to use and produce local water and strengthen climate adaptation planning.
Penn State U CSO Becomes Club of Rome Inductee
Paul Shrivastava, Penn State's chief sustainability officer, director of the Sustainability Institute, and professor of management in the Smeal College of Business, was inducted last month as one of the 100 members of the Club of Rome, which seeks solutions to pressing global problems and is well known for its first report, "The Limits of Growth," published in 1972.
U Maryland Pilot Project Cleans Water & Produces Energy
Helping to keep pollution out of the Port of Baltimore and the Chesapeake Bay while providing a pollution-free source of renewable energy, a university research pilot project harvests algae that is used to filter pollution from water and turns it into biogas, which is used to power flood lights at the algae digester site.
Second Nature Receives $90K From Ray C. Anderson Fdn
The NextGen Committee of the Ray C. Anderson Foundation has awarded a $90,000 grant to Second Nature, which will be used to provide resources for colleges and universities that have signed Second Nature's Presidents' Climate Leadership Commitments and are ready to move from the initial administrative commitment stage to measurable climate action within the next calendar year. Second Nature aims to enable multiple universities to complete a large-scale, aggregated procurement of clean energy in 2019 through a power purchase agreement.
U New Hampshire Receives $1.4M for Aquaculture Training & Research
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently announced that the New Hampshire Sea Grant will receive $1.4 million to expand aquaculture research in New Hampshire. The funding will support two projects. The first one is an offshore aquaculture system that will serve as a training platform to recruit fishermen and farmers to participate in workshops and daily operations of farming steelhead trout and blue mussels. The second is a research project that seeks to assess and mitigate microbial safety issues associated with shellfish aquaculture.
U Maryland Research Technology Helps Clean Up Surface Water
Technology developed at the university's School of Engineering will be used in a new stormwater basin that will capture nutrient pollution in an effort to protect aquatic life in the Chesapeake Bay. Before reaching the bay, stormwater will be captured in an artificial pond lined with a bed of stones and a 12-inch layer of an aluminum-based material known for its ability to bind with and trap phosphorus.
Boston U Partners With Rocky Mountain Institute on Internship
The new, year-long internship program, exclusively for BU students, allows student interns to work with the communications teams at both sustainability@BU and at the Rocky Mountain Institute. Students will assist staff in communicating complex issues around sustainability, energy and climate change and develop skills in public relations, digital marketing, and media.
Keele U Opens 'Institute for Sustainable Futures'
(U.K.) Based around six themes each mapped to the SDGs, the new institute will bring together academics, students and other stakeholders to identity sustainability challenges and work together on solutions.
Virginia Commonwealth U Plants Trees in Local Community for Carbon Offset Credits
A project to plant dozens of trees this month in Richmond's Carver area will make the neighborhood a greener and more walkable community, while offsetting the carbon footprint of the university as the trees grow. The Carver Tree Project has brought together resources from VCU, nonprofits and state agencies to plant and maintain 75 trees in the neighborhood. VCU will claim carbon offset credits for the new trees under a peer-reviewed program developed at Duke University.
U Queensland Diverts Cardboard From Landfill By Reusing for Horse Bedding
(Australia) Used cardboard boxes are now turned into bedding material for horses and foals at the university's VETS Equine Specialist Hospital. Using cardboard allows the university to save approximately $80,000 (100,000 Australian dollars) annually in bedding costs. The initiative was originally developed by the 2017 cohort of Agribusiness students as part of an integrated learning project to make the university’s Gatton campus more sustainable. The project is now sourcing additional cardboard waste from local supermarkets.
Pennsylvania State U Gets Nearly $4M Grant for Community Wellness Program
Penn State College of Medicine has received a nearly $4 million grant to promote healthy lifestyles and improve nutrition for Hispanic people living in nearby Berks and Lebanon counties. Awarded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s REACH project, the grant will help establish healthy nutrition standards, provide healthier food access at community venues and increase electronic benefit transfer acceptance. It will also help create a bilingual hospital-based breastfeeding program.
U Wisconsin-Platteville Receives $270K for Sustainable Ag Research
The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently awarded $270,000 to the university to continue collaboratively exploring best practices for sustainable agriculture. Plots of land at a local enterprise will be used to evaluate alternative cropping practices and their effect on improved production and sustainability before potentially upscaling the methods. The project intends to take a comprehensive approach to integrating the research with education and outreach components, which will help ensure its value to the local farming community.
Case Western Reserve U Students Compile Business Innovation Case Studies
The university's Weatherhead School of Management recently announced a student learning initiative co-sponsored by the city called Aim2FlourishNEO. Using the Sustainable Development Goals as their lens, students research and identify a business innovation and interview a business about it. Students then publish case studies to the Aim2FlourishNEO site that are also shared at an annual forum.
Real Food Challenge Initiates 'Uprooted & Rising' Campaign
The Real Food Challenge recently launched Uprooted and Rising, a movement that seeks to end higher education’s support for "Big Food" corporations and white supremacy in the food system and to direct the energy of students' towards food sovereignty. Uprooted & Rising aims to create a culture shift through public action, digital organizing and creative storytelling that uplifts and centers the ideas and experiences of those who have been marginalized in the food system.
U Illinois Urbana-Champaign Earns Bee Campus USA Certification
Making the world safer for pollinators through extensive habitat improvements, awareness efforts, and engagement strategies earned the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign recognition as a certified Bee Campus USA. The Bee Campus USA program is designed to amass the strengths of educational campuses across the country for the benefit of native bees, honey bees, butterflies, moths, hummingbirds, bats, beetles and flies that 90 percent of the world's wild plant species rely on for pollination.
U Virginia Launches Food Justice Initiative
Named after the former Virginia first lady, the First Lady’s Food Lab is a meeting space and kitchen in a former barn that will support food justice initiatives at the university and in the Charlottesville area. The Charlottesville City Council recently voted to support the initiative with $65,000.
U Colorado Boulder Helps B Lab Map Its Work to the SDGs
The new partnership between university's Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility and B Lab will map the 1,000 indicators of the B Impact Assessment to the targets underlying the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as well as the more than 1,500 indicators featured in the SDG Compass.
U Nebraska Enters 5-Year Partnership to Save Energy
Recommended by a university-wide committee and approved by the Board of Regents in June, a new five-year partnership with an energy-efficiency company aims to find energy savings across the university's campuses through technology- and behavior-based strategies. Each month during the partnership, the university will pay the company 50 percent of total energy savings realized during that month that resulted from the firm’s recommendations.
Stanford U Launches Sustainable Finance Research Program
The university’s Precourt Institute for Energy is launching a new research program, supported by Bank of America, that will fund research to develop finance and policy tools for financing sustainable infrastructure. The program, called the Sustainable Finance Initiative, seeks to accomplish this by engaging public and private financial institutions, companies and governments with Stanford researchers in economics, law, business and computer science to create solutions that support the transition to a climate-resilient global economy.
U New Mexico Begins Denim Recycling Partnership
The university’s Environment Coalition partnered with the Blue Jeans Go Green program to kick off a denim recycling effort to turn the collected material into insulation. Once the denim is processed, it is turned into a non-toxic denim insulation that gets donated to eligible grant programs or sent out to various Habitat for Humanity affiliates.
Michigan State U & U California Win 2018 Green Power Leadership Award
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency bestowed its Green Power Leadership Award to the two universities for their efforts in advancing the voluntary green power market. MSU hosts the largest solar photovoltaic carport system in the U.S. through a long-term power purchase agreement and operates an anaerobic digestion system that turns dairy farm and dining hall food waste into renewable energy. UC increased its voluntary green power use by 40 percent system-wide, completed 12 new on-site solar projects, and hosts more than 40 megawatts of on-site solar capacity with photovoltaic systems at every campus.
U Exeter Launches Center for Circular Economy
(U.K.) The new center, hosted by the university's business school, aims to support the circular economy research agenda through new educational programs including MOOCs, executive and leadership programs, undergraduate courses and doctoral training. The current research focus is on farming and food, building and construction, waste, and regional approaches to circular economic regeneration.
U Virginia Convenes 'Universities Studying Slavery' Consortium
Bringing together over 40 colleges and universities from across the country, the consortium seeks to allow institutions to work together as they examine the role of slavery and racism in their histories and its impacts today. The consortium hosts semi-annual meetings to share strategies, research, and knowledge. The fall 2018 meeting will be held at Tougaloo College in Mississippi.
12-Institution Consortium Receives $4.9M for Open Textbook Pilot Program
The Education Department recently announced that a consortium of 12 universities, led by the University of California Davis, will receive $4.9 million to expand a STEM-focused open textbook repository called LibreTexts by adding publications on STEM, career and technical topics. The other schools are American River College, Contra Costa College, Cosumnes River College, Diablo Valley College, Folsom Lake College, Hope College, Los Medanos College, Prince George's Community College, Sacramento City College, Saint Mary's College, and University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
U North Carolina System Promotes College Affordability Plans
The NC Promise tuition plan lowers undergraduate tuition to $500 per semester for in-state students and $2,500 per semester for out-of-state students at Elizabeth City State University, University of North Carolina at Pembroke and Western Carolina University. The Fixed Tuition Program dictates that tuition will remain the same all four years at a UNC System university. Both of these programs are part of the "We Promise" campaign launched in early October to promote affordable college opportunities for all North Carolinians.
Delta College Receives Bee Campus USA Certification
Campus ground crews have been steadily increasing wildflower-planted areas and native plant habitat, as well as designating pollinator habitat, that have enable the college to obtain the Bee Campus USA certification. The college undertook seven steps including establishing a committee, developing a plan, sponsoring student service-learning projects and installing signage around campus.
