UTRGV Office for Sustainability Programs
The UTRGV Office for Sustainability Programs provides an innovative and collaborative approach to designing sustainable development initiatives. The United Nations 17 goals lead our programs into building and growing competencies in our students, faculty, and staff, and our RGV Partners within the social, economic, and environmental justice spheres, all-sustaining the quality of life. The programs cover a wide range of research, marketing, and academic projects that are implemented to support the UTRGV mission statement in progressing sustainability at UTRGV, the Americas, and the World.
Graduate Assistantship Program
The Office for Sustainability welcomes graduate students from all academic backgrounds and interests to connect with other advocates and participate in the greater mission to achieve and promote sustainable development efforts across campuses, and valley-wide. Our graduate students learn the essential core values of living a sustainable lifestyle, incorporating sustainability practices into their discipline, becoming sustainability leaders and transformative change agents within their communities. Graduate students have a great opportunity to develop their career-crafted skillsets and create a meaningful impact in achieving and supporting sustainability that translates to a competitive edge in today’s professional job markets.
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The Internship program at the Office for Sustainability opens the window for undergraduate students of all backgrounds with a great passion for making an impact in achieving sustainable efforts across campus and their communities! Interns work in a hands-on environment with other sustainability leaders that provide a rich learning experience allowing them to gain networking opportunities and build their leadership potential by the time they are ready to graduate and pursue greater opportunities. Internships are awarded to those students who share a great passion for sustainability and meet all academic criteria requirements needed to participate in a UTRGV Student Employment Initiative (SEI).
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SUSTAINABILITY RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) will competitively award fellowships to outstanding undergraduate students to engage in projects addressing sustainability and community resilience on campus and in the Rio Grande Valley under the mentorship of a faculty member and coordinated by UTRGV’s Office for Sustainability. Benefits of the Experience:
- Pioneer sustainable solutions
- Learn new skills and knowledge
- Potential for integration of Fellowship project into thesis/dissertation work
- Improve collaborative skills
- Outstanding portfolio and resume material
- Competitive compensation
Sustainability Ambassadors
The UTRGV Sustainability Ambassadors are comprised of students through internships who understand and advocate for sustainability at UTRGV, the Rio Grande Valley, Texas, and the World. The Sustainability Ambassadors represent UTRGV through conducting research or developing projects surrounding sustainable development from supporting small businesses with building sustainable business models, to incorporating sustainable living practices with local school districts, and research into environmental, social, and economic spheres of the Rio Grande Valley.
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Sustainability Adelante... Speaker Series
The Sustainability Adelante UTRGV Office for Sustainability Speaker Series offers expert insight into the world of sustainable development from leaders in the subject matter of diverse and distinct disciplines. The speaker series is intended to invite its viewers to integrate sustainability into their professional and personal development and become sustainable champions of their universities and communities. The Sustainability Adelante Speaker Series will offer innovative and change-inducing platforms that will collaborate and support the intention of sustaining human life as ascribed by the United Nations 17 Goals for Sustainable Development.
Learn MoreI.C.S.A.C.
The International Center for Sustainability Across the Curriculum (ICSAC) is an annual conference hosted by the university in conjunction with the Association for Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). Faculty members interested in sustainability efforts are encouraged to come on board and participate in the conference as discussion forums will be held that incorporate sustainability concepts, problems, or solutions into new or existing courses. Participants essentially learn to brainstorm with other faculty members and discover new ways to teach sustainability and apply these approaches to the classroom and teach critical sustainable development goals.
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ICSAC Digital Resources
The International Center for Sustainability Across the Curriculum (ICSAC) is an annual conference hosted by the university in conjunction with the Association for Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). The conference provides the opportunity to facilitate sustainability concepts into courses using multiple resources. Such resources offer the framework to successfully introduce sustainability to students clearly and effectively.
Learn MoreSustainability Adelante... Podcast Series
The Sustainability Adelante UTRGV Office for Sustainability Podcast Series showcases the testimonials and accomplishments of our expert sustainability partners throughout the Rio Grande Valley. The Podcasts will cover a wide range of Sustainable Development topics that support the social, environmental, and economic areas that are needed to sustain life and promote equity in our world. The series will cover spotlight topics each month that is historically significant to sustainability in the Rio Grande Valley, Texas, and the World beyond.
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Sustainability Adelante... Film Series
The Sustainability Adelante UTRGV Office for Sustainability Film Series provides its viewers an opportunity to view our world, as it is today, through the lens of sustainable development of our environmental, social, and economic spheres. The Film Series will showcase films that bring its viewers closer to understanding their relationship with the world around them, and their contribution to sustaining life for the generations to come. The film series will be conducted from the Fall and Spring semesters and will feature experiences to their respective months/days of historical recognition.
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BEE CAMPUS USA
Bee Campus USA aligns with UTRGV’s commitment to sustainability, which it carries out through university operations, engagement, teaching and research. In addition to UTRGV’s incorporation of native plants into campus landscaping and exclusion of pesticides that are harmful to pollinators, students, staff and faculty from the UTRGV’s Department of Biology and School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences (SEEMS) are contributing to conservation efforts with pollinator gardens, among other efforts...
Learn MoreTREE CAMPUS HIGHER EDUCATION
UTRGV understands the importance of having healthy trees in the city and throughout campus. The University owns and maintains a healthy urban forest of over 2,000 trees on its Edinburg campus, with the value estimated to be over $5,735,000 (CTCR, 2014). The University maintains strong partnerships with the cities surrounding our campuses in maintaining natural transitions between campus and community. The University contributes to sustainable development goals by providing tree maintenance training, providing necessary funding to ensure the sustainability of the community forest...
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