University of Miami
EN-14: Participation in Public Policy

Below is some information on our local government efforts:

• University of Miami is partnering with local municipalities in the deployment of hybrid artificial reefs to protect shorelines from coastal flooding.


• University of Miami is partnering with Miami Dade County Parks and Recreation Department on a new program and operation agreement to provide educational opportunities on reef restoration for Miami Dade County residents while expand the reef restoration infrastructure for the Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric and Earth Science.


• University of Miami is a member of the Climate Resilience Tech Hub along with Miami Dade County. The hub’s initial focus is to expand decades-long work on sustainable resilient infrastructure and clean energy in response to our changing interaction with water - evidenced by extreme weather, rising sea levels, and intense humidity.


• The School of Architecture's Center for Urban & Community Design and the Resilient Miami Initiative, an interdisciplinary and inter institutional group of faculty focused on resilient design for historic neighborhoods, are in conversations with the City of Miami on several projects linking historic preservation and resilient design.


• Faculty from the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science and the School of Architecture have assisted the City of Miami Sea Level Rise Committee and the Waterfront Advisory Board in providing policy recommendations to the City Commission.


• The University of Miami  School of Architecture Center for Urban & Community Design has an MOU in place with the City of Coral Gables. We have a contract with them to digitally survey historic properties in Coral Gables. Through their preservation division, we are also contemplating collaborations focused on resiliency. 

Below is some information on our state/regional public policy efforts:

• UM advocates for state funding with the creation of the Firefighter Cancer Initiative at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, which aims to better understand the risks firefighters are exposed to and how those risks can be reduced through the development of sustainable best practices and decontamination efforts shifting policy and practices at the state, federal, and international level to help save those most at-risk. This work lead to an MOU with the Federal NIOSH to help assist with efforts on the National Firefighter Cancer Registry.

Below is some information on our national public policy efforts:

• The University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science is a designated Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies (CIMAS), one of 16 nationally, which is a federally supported, NOAA Center of Excellence that brings together research and educational resources to increase scientific understanding of Earth’s oceans and atmosphere within the context of NOAA’s mission. CIMAS researchers work closely with two NOAA laboratories located across the street from the Rosenstiel School—the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML), and the Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC), as well as the National Hurricane Center (NHC) located in West Miami.


• The University of Miami hosted its first Miami Climate Symposium bringing together industry and academic leaders to discuss a variety of climate issues and public policies related to: Tropical Cyclones, Global Warming, Resilience, Coastal Flooding, and Heat Waves. Featured speakers included partners from the Federal National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Miami-Dade County Chief Resiliency Officer.


• The University of Miami is a member of the Coastal Universities Coalition (CUC) that brings together leading academic institutions nationally, including international partners, to foster interdisciplinary research collaboration and shape public policy in order to address the challenges facing coastal communities and developing new sustainable resiliency plans. The coalition together has advocated for Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations related to NOAA’s Coastal Management and Resilience Grants; Coastal Science, Assessment, Response and Restoration; and the National Oceans and Coastal Security Fund. The CUC most recently hosted Congressional roundtables to address sustainable solutions to coastal resilience regarding specific policy proposals about implementation and logistics of flood maps, nature-based infrastructure implementation, and the social impacts of sea-level rise and disaster recovery.


• The University of Miami’s Center for Southeastern Tropical Advanced Remote Sensing (CSTARS) presents scientific institutions, government entities and community organizations with a broad outlook on dangerous environmental phenomena, climate change, and coastal safety issues that can assist in more timely and efficient disaster planning. With the ability to create and assess pre and post disaster assessments, CSTARS was involved in the assessment of Hurricane Katrina damage, earthquake response efforts in Haiti, as well as in the monitoring of the  resilient strategies around the ever-changing landscape.


• Through the Leadership UMiami program, a cohort of 25 students analyze local issues through public policy areas. These students then travel to DC to meet with elected officials on a number of topics including climate change, sustainability, water quality, and sea level rise.


• The University is a member of the Metrolab Network Consortium. As a member of the network, the University will research, develop, and deploy technologies and policy approaches to address challenges facing the nation’s urban areas. "Our cities are living laboratories for innovation in addressing these challenges. Miami-Dade County, the City of Miami Beach and the City of Miami (in coordination with the Miami Foundation) created a unique partnership to apply for and receive the Rockefeller 100 Resilient Cities designation. Out of this process, Greater Miami and the Beaches was created to develop a Resilience Strategy for the entire county to address the challenges of urbanization, globalization and climate change" http://metrolab.heinz.cmu.edu/

Below is some information on our international public policy efforts:

• UM advocates for addressing climate change by sending representatives and experts international conferences and symposiums. In April 2024, Michael Berkowitz, executive director of the University of Miami’s Climate Resilience Academy, travelled to the Vatican's “From Climate Crisis to Climate Resilience” summit. Together with Gina McCarthy, a special White House advisor on climate and former Environmental Protection Agency administrator, Berkowitz facilitated a session on governance, which examined programs, policies, practices, laws and regulations that tackle the climate crisis in ways that benefit their communities, families, workers, health, and well-being.


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  In 2023, the University of Miami signed an agreement with Guyana to build Silica City, a smart city designed at the School of Architecture that will integrate emerging technologies into its infrastructure and be a model of sustainability, resilience, and advances in health care.

  
  


• On Aug. 3, 2020, UM Athletics Director, James Blake signed the UN Sports for Climate Action framework, reaffirming the University of Miami's commitment to carbon emission reduction. The U.N. Sports for Climate Action Framework has two overarching objectives: to achieve a clear trajectory for the global sports community to combat climate change and to leverage sports as a unifying tool to drive climate awareness and action among global citizens. Signatories of the framework commit to five core principles: undertaking systematic efforts to promote greater environmental responsibility; reducing overall climate impact; educating for climate action; promoting sustainable and responsible consumption; and advocating for climate action through communication. Our commitment to this framework runs through 2040.