Archive for the 'Communications' Category

On a green internship in the heart of The Bluegrass

Vin. Published on June 4, 2010 in Communications and General. 0 Comments

I am Vinodh Valluri, a recent graduate from the Environmental & Earth Sciences (M.S.) program at UT Arlington. AASHE, Association for Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education has recently hired me as an Intern at their Interactive Resource Center in Lexington, KY.

UT Arlington is one of several institutions across U.S.A. that form the core membership of AASHE, which includes colleges and universities throughout the U.S. and Canada, as well as a growing number of international institutions. In addition, businesses, nonprofit organizations, K-12 schools, higher education associations, system offices, and government agencies partner with AASHE to help advance sustainability in higher education.

As an Intern, I actively conduct sustainability research at AASHE, developing resources that members would use to build their sustainability programs. I compile a variety of resources, such as a list of campus solar-electric installations, and a list of worldwide sustainability-centric study abroad programs, upload the information on the website www.aashe.org, and regularly update the database. Please note that these resources are free for ALL faculty, students and staff of member institutions.

I will also assist with the affairs of the AASHE Awards 2010 Conference which is set to take place in Denver, CO this October. The call for presentations at this conference provides an ideal arena to showcase the sustainability efforts at UT Arlington. Deadline to submit presentations for the conference is 15th June 2010. As a member, UT Arlington is also eligible to submit nominations for the awards: Campus Sustainability Case Study, The Oops! Award, Student Sustainability Leadership, and Student Research on Campus Sustainability. Deadline for submitting nominations for the awards is 1st July 2010. For more information on the awards, please visit the AASHE Awards website.

Please feel free to contact me at vinodh@aashe.org or 682.234.8388 with questions or comments, or for more information about the services provided by AASHE.

North Central Texas Campus Climate Summit

bes8430. Published on November 12, 2009 in Air & Waste Mgt. Assoc. student chapter, Assessment, Building & Development, Communications, Composting, Curriculum & Research, Dining services, Energy, Environmental Society (student organization), General, Landscaping & Habitat, Management Systems, Purchasing, Student Planning Association (student organization), Transportation, Waste reduction and Water. 0 Comments

On October 28th UTA hosted the North Central Texas Campus Climate Summit. The event was co-sponsored by the University of Texas at Arlington, the National Wildlife Federation’s Campus Ecology Program and the Texas Regional Alliance for Campus Sustainability. The student groups involved with bringing this event to campus were:

Air & Waste Management Association at UTA

Environmental Society at UTA

International Business Society at UTA

Student Planning Association at UTA

UTA Volunteers

The first-ever North Central Texas Campus Climate Summit brought together over 50 participants from 15 different universities and colleges in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The summit provided opportunities for faculty, students, staff and administrators from the region to get together to share ideas, best practices and resources to accelerate climate change and sustainability solutions. The main themes explored were 1) Transforming the Curriculum to Address Eco-literacy 2) Green Workforce Development and 3) Comprehensive Greening of Campus Operations.

NCTCCS Website

Program and Agenda

Mission Statement

Presentation Files

Workshop Descriptions

Sponsors and Organizers

“Green screen: Student films about the environment,” Sept. 30

Jeff Howard. Published on September 28, 2009 in Communications, Curriculum & Research and OneBook program. 0 Comments

On Wednesday, September 30, at 12:00 p.m. in the 6th floor Library Parlor, the OneBook Program will host “Green Screen: Student Films about the Environment.” The films featured were produced by English undergraduates under the direction of Asst. Prof. Carolyn Guertin.

Poster

AASHE overview for 2008

Jeff Howard. Published on June 29, 2009 in Assessment, Building & Development, Communications, Composting, Curriculum & Research, Dining services, Energy, General, Landscaping & Habitat, Management Systems, Natural gas wells, Purchasing, Transportation, Waste reduction and Water. 0 Comments

The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, of which UT Arlington is a member, has issued its annual compendium of developments in campus sustainability. The 356-page volume provides an overview of sustainability efforts on hundreds of campuses, including UT Arlington.

AASHE Digest 2008 (pdf)

What’s your story?

Jeff Howard. Published on May 6, 2009 in Communications. 0 Comments

Amy Schultz, Associate V.P. of Communications, is seeking personal stories about university students, faculty, staff, and alumni involved in efforts to promote sustainability. Tell her yours.

Info

Summer course — Carbon footprint reduction planning

Jeff Howard. Published on April 16, 2009 in Assessment, Building & Development, Communications, Composting, Curriculum & Research, Dining services, Energy, Landscaping & Habitat, Management Systems, Natural gas wells, Purchasing, Transportation, Waste reduction and Water. 0 Comments

 Project Planning:

Campus Carbon Footprint Reduction

CIRP 5332 (course no. 51241)

Summer 2009

Wednesdays, 6:00-9:50 p.m., June 3 – August 13

Instructor: Dr. Jeff Howard, School of Urban & Public Affairs, howardj@uta.edu

This graduate course will be devoted to assisting the University of Texas at Arlington with planning reductions in its “carbon footprint” – that is, reductions in its direct and indirect emissions of greenhouse gases responsible for climate change. During a parallel course in summer 2008, students and the instructor developed a report on the university’s carbon footprint, which now serves as the starting point for the President’s Sustainability Committee’s effort to plan effective means to reduce the footprint.

In collaboration with the instructor, students will examine preliminary recommendations included in the 2008 report, assess these in light of initial responses from the sustainability committee, and use tools such as the guide produced by the Association for Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education to develop further analysis and recommendations for formal presentation to the committee and the campus community.

Because climate change is increasingly prominent in public policy nationally and internationally, the course will provide students an opportunity to develop a skill set, conceptual base, and practical experience that can be applied in municipalities and institutions across the world. It also provides concrete assistance to a large university devoted to making improvements in its environmental impacts.

The course is expected to be of particular interest to students in Urban & Public Affairs, Environmental & Earth Science, Environmental Engineering, Architecture, and Business but is open to graduate students from across the campus (and conceivably to senior undergrads). Students interested in taking the course are invited to contact the instructor.

Syllabus

PSC budget for 2009 announced

Jeff Howard. Published on October 21, 2008 in Assessment, Building & Development, Communications, Curriculum & Research, Dining services, Energy, Landscaping & Habitat, Management Systems, Purchasing, Transportation, Waste reduction and Water. 0 Comments

A PSC budget of $138,750 for fiscal year 2009 has been approved by President Spaniolo and was announced at the Oct.14 meeting. These funds are to cover the expense of implementing some of the Sustainability Agenda items approved in the spring.

It is important to note that this budget does not include numerous Sustainability Agenda items that are being funded under the regular budget of various administrative units.

Building & Development                        $ 0  (0.0%)

Communications                              16,250 (11.7)

Curriculum & Research                    5,000 (3.6)

Dining Services                                          0 (0.0)

Energy & Water                              10,000 (7.2)

Landscaping & Habitat                   12,500 (9.0)

Management Systems                   60,000 (43.2)

Purchasing                                                  0 (0.0)

Transportation                                     TBA

Waste Reduction                             35,000 (25.2)
Total                              $138,750 ( 100.0%)

Detailed budget (if you have difficulty downloading, contact me)

Sustainability Agenda

UT Arlington: Sustainability in the media

aschultz. Published on August 13, 2008 in Communications. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

As seen in D Magazine, Texas Monthly, and Fort Worth Texas Monthly, just to name a few. UT Arlington Maverick Thinking