Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 60.77
Liaison Breeana Sylvas
Submission Date April 15, 2013
Executive Letter Download

STARS v1.2

University of California, Merced
ER-15: Sustainability Research Identification

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.00 / 3.00
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Has the institution developed a definition of sustainability research?:
Yes

A copy of the institution's definition of sustainability research:

An integrated research and educational program on ecological systems, energy, water and other natural resources, climate change and security threats associated with global change that will help build a sustainable environment.

This definition is provided on page 26 of UC Merced’s Strategic Academic Vision document (which is online at http://academicpersonnel.ucmerced.edu/pdf/090421-strategic-academic-vision.pdf). In this document, UC Merced identifies Environmental Sustainability as its top Research Theme and defines “sustainability” as “the practice of providing for the needs of today without undermining the ability of future generations to provide for their own needs.”


Has the institution identified its sustainability research activities and initiatives?:
Yes

A brief description of the methodology the institution followed to complete the inventory:

UC Merced’s Strategic Academic Vision document (which is online at http://academicpersonnel.ucmerced.edu/pdf/090421-strategic-academic-vision.pdf) explicitly identifies the campus’ sustainability research activities and initiatives, as of 2009. These are the Sierra Nevada Research Institute (SNRI) and the UC Merced Energy Research Institute (UCMERI). It also outlines plans for a proposed School of Sustainable Design. In 2010, UC Merced was also designated as the headquarters of the University of California Advanced Solar Technologies Institute (UC Solar), a multi-campus, multidisciplinary research institute focused on solar energy technologies.

There are 3 URLS for the 3 relevant research entities. One is pasted below and the other 2 are:
http://ucmeri.ucmerced.edu
http://ucsolar.org


Does the institution make its sustainability research inventory publicly available online?:
Yes

The website URL where the sustainability research inventory is posted (required if claiming Part 3 of the credit):
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
---

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.