Florida International University
EN-14: Participation in Public Policy

FIU Government Relations advocates for sustainability policy as it fits within the mission of the university. Interagency Sea Level Rise and Coastal Resiliency Initiative: Increase solutions-based research engagement with an interagency task force and encourage the appointment of an interagency lead to address the challenges facing the country’s most vulnerable, urban, flood-prone, coastal areas at risk of rising seas, exacerbated by violent storms or other hazards. Extreme Events: Promote FIU research, expertise and state-of-the-art practices that replicate high-force windstorm impacts on buildings and test large, integrated models of such impacts to improve mitigation and reduce costs of severe natural events. Strengthen NOAA Partnerships: Maintain positive working relationships with NOAA Administrator and key advisers, seek Minority Science Center with focus on Fisheries, and seek FIU NOAA Fellows program. Students Engagement with Research: a key recommendation of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), FIU is increasingly offering opportunities for students to become engaged with ongoing research. For example, 93 FIU STEM minority students (graduates and undergraduates) have been inducted as DOE Fellows since program inception in 2007. Over 120 student posters and professional presentations given at national & international conferences (e.g., Waste Management Symposia, American Nuclear Society, etc.) 41 DOE Fellows graduated FIU with BS or MS degrees and obtained employment in STEM industry, including Florida Power & Light, GE, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Texas Instruments, and others. Hiring rate for DOE Fellows is over 99%. 33 Fellows have obtained Master’s or PhD degrees at FIU as a result of DOE EM research. Others have continued their graduate education at MIT, Michigan, Purdue, Stanford, and other institutions. Additionally, FIU has formed the UniversityCity Alliance with the City of Sweetwater. This unique combination of innovation and adaptive community building is made possible by a very strong and enthusiastic alliance with the City and a coalition of public and private participants including the Florida Department of Transportation, the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority, IBM, TY Lin (an international engineering firm), and a private developer. The UniversityCity Alliance is attempting to transform the FIU/City of Sweetwater relationship from one of friendly neighbors to a truly unique and collaborative relationship that will create a growing and innovative community with greater connectivity to the rest of Miami-Dade County and beyond, through viable yet innovative transportation options and best design practices. FIU also advocates support for sustainability funding in Congress with little success, but continues to pursue objectives locally.