University of Connecticut
EN-10: Inter-Campus Collaboration

The Cooperative Extension program, including its subsidiaries, has hundreds of sustainability programs and publications. http://www.extension.uconn.edu/

The Connecticut Sea Grant College Program is a unique partnership between the nation's universities and its primary ocean agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The University of Connecticut is our State's Sea Grant College. STARS Reporting Tool | AASHE Snapshot | Page 104 Connecticut Sea Grant (CTSG) collaborates with maritime industries and coastal communities to identify needs, and fund research, outreach, and educational activities that have special relevance to Connecticut and Long Island Sound. ( http://www.seagrant.uconn.edu/ ) Our mission is to work towards achieving healthy coastal and marine ecosystems and consequent public benefits by supporting integrated locally and nationally relevant research, outreach and education programs in partnership with stakeholders. The University also partners with the National Cooperative Extension Agencies, the USDA, the NSF, and other national agencies to promote research and extension in sustainability related topics. Much fieldwork is performed as collaboration with other partners, for example, partnerships with the Yale Forest or Audubon Society holdings. The GLISEN efforts for Long Island Sound study also fall into this category: ""The University of Connecticut and Stony Brook University (part of SUNY system) are exploring the formation of a research consortium to understand the full range of environmental interactions that transpire in the Sound, its coastal margins, and associated watersheds. The intent is to be highly inclusive of patterns and processes in terrestrial, freshwater, and marine compartments, including atmospheric, biological, and hydrological dynamics. As a result, research could encompass population and community studies of wildlife and fishery species; biogeochemical dynamics of urbanizing watersheds; plant-animal microbe interactions in terrestrial or aquatic systems; multi-jurisdictional conflicts and climate change adaptation; salt marsh restoration, aquaculture; infectious disease dynamics; landscape ecology of litter invertebrates; efficacy of N-credit policies; fate, transport, and effects of pharmaceuticals; regional circulation models, urban forestry; air pollution and human health; food web dynamics; atmosphere-biosphere interactions"" The University of Connecticut is also a member of AASHE (The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education) an international organization with the aim to advance sustainability in higher education. In order to create leaders in sustainability, AASHE provides institutions with resources to incorporate sustainability in every aspect of their university from governance and operations to education and research. Additionally UConn is a member of the ACUPCC (American College & University President’s Climate Commitment), a national organization that holds American colleges and universities to a variety of commitments in order to further the sustainability of their campuses. These commitments include the completion of an emissions inventory, setting a target date for becoming carbon neutral, following short term actions that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, integrating sustainability into the curriculum, and making this action plan and any progress publicly available. Additionally, UConn is a partner institution with programs like the Department of Energy's Workplace Charging Challenge. Finally, the OEP Director, Rich Miller is on the Steering Committee of the Northeast Campus Sustainability Consortium, and is a frequent speaker at NECSC conferences and programs. He organized the professional development section of last year’s annual conference. He also serves on the external advisory board to Penn State’s Sustainability Institute and, last year, was invited to, and presented about Climate Action Planning and sustainability at, a cabinet-level meeting of Western CT State University and at an Environmental Law guest lecture about sustainability at Quinnipiac Law School.

Examples include collaborations with the UConn Law School for sustainable curriculum development, inclusion of West Hartford representatives at Recycling Workgroup meetings, presenting and advising at regional campus “green team” meetings, collaboration with EcoHusky student groups in Avery point, conducting three regional campus Environmental Complioance Team meetings per year, which include topics like recycling and energy and water conservation, and regional campus pick-ups and collaboration in the annual sneaker recycling campaign. STARS Reporting Tool | AASHE Snapshot | Page 105 This past spring, various UConn environmental student groups, including EcoHusky, Spring Valley Farm, EcoHouse, Green Building Club, and more attended the Yale’s Environmental Law Conference to learn more hear renowned speakers discuss sustainability and modern issues, learn about particular topics of interest and engage with students from other universities in topics centered around environmental stewardship. UConn also worked with nearby universities, such as Yale, and the CT Sierra Club to send students to the People’s Climate March on September 21st. UConn sent near one hundred students to be a part of the largest climate march in history. UConn is also hoping on participating in the global Conference of Parties (United Nations Climate Conference/COP) each year as the university did this past year by sending a cohort of students, faculty and staff.

http://www.aashe.org/about/aashe-mission-vision-goals http://www.presidentsclimatecommitment.org/about/mission-history