Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 69.72
Liaison Jim Walker
Submission Date June 6, 2022

STARS v2.2

University of Texas at Austin
EN-10: Community Partnerships

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.00 / 3.00 Jim Walker
Director of Sustainability, Financial, and Administrative Services
University Operations
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

1st Partnership 

Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability :
Division of Diversity and Community Engagement

Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? :
Yes

Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe?:
Multi-year or ongoing

Which of the following best describes the partnership?:
Sustainability-focused

Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners? :
Yes

A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability:
Community Housing Hub: The Center for Community Engagement and the Austin Justice Coalition launched the Community Housing Hub, offering tools and resources for equitable affordable housing in Austin. The initial workshop was supported by UT School of Law students participating in the Entrepreneurship and Community Development Clinic, preservation experts, and additional partners including the Austin Area Urban League, Austin Revitalization Authority, Austin Impact Hub, and more. https://diversity.utexas.edu/2019/10/03/center-for-community-engagement-launches-community-housing-hub/

• Longhorns for Equity, Access, and Diversity Initiative (LEAD): The Division of Diversity and Community Engagement serves as a catalyst for positive social change by leveraging the university’s intellectual resources to cultivate partnerships that address significant issues across the state. In partnership with Texas Athletics, the LEAD Initiative gives student-athletes the opportunity to engage in impactful collaborations with nonprofit organizations in Texas that serve underrepresented populations with resources in the following areas: education services, recreation activities, basic needs and/or emergency services. The LEAD Initiative provides student-athletes with experience in real-world civic leadership and empowers them to go above and beyond to strengthen communities by building avenues for lasting relationships with the university. https://diversity.utexas.edu/lead/

• Community Leadership Awards: The Division of Diversity and Community Engagement’s Community Leadership Awards have been given to outstanding community leaders, organizations and alumni since 2007 as a way to celebrate those who have helped make great strides in civil rights, human rights or inclusion and equity in Central Texas. https://diversity.utexas.edu/2021/06/11/recap-2021-community-leadership-awards/

2nd Partnership

Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (2nd partnership):
City of Austin - UT Austin Master Interlocal Agreement

Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? (2nd partnership):
Yes

Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe? (2nd partnership):
Multi-year or ongoing

Which of the following best describes the partnership’s sustainability focus? (2nd partnership):
Sustainability-focused

Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners? (2nd partnership):
No

A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (2nd partnership):
The purpose of the Master Interlocal Agreement (ILA) is to establish pre-negotiated terms and conditions, as well as a framework for research, consulting, and technical services to be exchanged between UT Austin and the City of Austin. The City is especially interested in research projects that will help them achieve the Strategic Direction 2023 goals in the categories of Mobility, Safety, Health and Environment, Culture and Lifelong Learning, Government that Works for All, and Economic Opportunity and Affordability. The ILA is intended to streamline agreements between City departments who are looking for UT research expertise. The ILA is being utilized to establish partnerships between UT researchers and the City of Austin to aid in the implementation of the Austin Climate Equity Plan. https://research.utexas.edu/find-a-researcher/coa/

3rd Partnership 

Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (3rd partnership):
West Campus Move Out/Move Out ATX

Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? (3rd partnership):
Yes

Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe? (3rd partnership):
Multi-year or ongoing

Which of the following best describes the partnership? (3rd partnership):
Sustainability-focused

Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners? (3rd partnership):
No

A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (3rd partnership):
MoveOutATX is a program coordinated by Austin Resource Recovery and University of Texas' Office of Sustainability to help students donate their unwanted goods during the summer move-out.

Property managers lend parking and sidewalk space for local reuse organizations to set-up temporary donation stations around the campus area, and students can drop-off a variety of items right outside their apartments. The reuse organizations accept items including: gently-used furniture, opened cleaning supplies and toiletries, clothing and linens (gently-used or extra-loved), craft/school supplies, unopened food, electronics (working or broken), storage tubs and more. All donations go to local reuse organizations; participating organizations have included: Austin Creative Reuse, Central Texas Food Bank, Goodwill Central Texas, Salvation Army Family Stores, Street Youth Ministry, Arms of Hope, and JOSCO Products.

Optional Fields 

A brief description of the institution’s other community partnerships to advance sustainability:
---

Website URL where information about the institution’s community partnerships to advance sustainability is available:
---

Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

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.