January

• The Office for Sustainability  kicks off its Spring '19 Sustainability Fellows program. Sustainability Fellows are graduate students who receive a scholarship for their collaboration with OFS on sustainability research projects, including the biennial AASHE-STARS assessment of UTRGV's sustainability  commitment across the campus. Learn more about the Fellowship.
• Faculty and staff make sustainability connections in D.C.. UTRGV faculty from the College of Engineering and Computer Science and Marianella Franklin, UTRGV Chief Sustainability Officer, attended a "Sustainable Infrastructure and Resilience" conference sponsored by the National Council for Science and the Environment. "We came back with a lot of great contacts for federal agencies and corporations that we hope to collaborate with in the future," said Franklin.

February

• The Texas Regional Alliance for Campus Sustainability (TRACS) is a network of faculty members, students and sustainability professionals supporting higher education in Texas by implementing climate change and sustainability solutions across campus operations, academic curriculum and off-campus fields of influence. TRACS facilitates collaboration between higher education institutions through a variety of means including the Annual TRACS Summit. TRACS is supported by volunteer members representing Texas colleges and universities.

  Huston-Tillotson was proud to host the 2019 Summit that took place on the campus in Austin, Texas from February 17-19, 2019. The year’s theme was “Bringing Environmental Justice to Campus,” so that TX colleges and universities can share what they are doing to advance environmental justice.  

April

• Earth Day 2019 at UTRGV Edinburg is on from 10am-2pm April 22 & 24.  Join us  in  front of the Edinburg Student Union for this open air celebration of our planet!    

  10-2: You'll have the chance to pledge to "leaf" a positive mark on Earth and learn how YOU can make a difference! We invite you to c heck out  student and faculty research demonstrations on earth/conservation topics  and lots of activity booths from different student and community organizations, including  an organic farmers market hosted by students, for students!  Improve your health  with a relaxing outdoor yoga lesson from the WRSC at 10 and a guided  nature walk to our campus organic garden at 10:30 . There,  we're having a Garden Fiesta  and  another  outdoor   yoga session at 11 !  Make it back to the student union for  an environmental movie screening (title  TBD) at 12.

• Earth Day 2019 at UTRGV Brownsville is on from 10am-2pm. Join us in front of the UTRGV Brownsville Student Union for this open air celebration of our planet!  You'll have the chance to pledge to "leaf" a positive mark on Earth and learn how YOU can make a difference! You can take immediate action at our blood drive, and don't forget to stop by the "Pollinator Cantina" for a refreshing natural beverage and info about the butterfly garden! Check out student research on earth/conservation topics, faculty demonstrations,  an environmental movie screening (title TBD), and lots of activity booths from different student and community organizations.

• New UTRGV online graduate certificate focuses on global sustainability management under the Robert C. Vackar College of Business & Entrepreneurship aims at preparing students for careers in international sustainability management.

• UTRGV opens Center for Vector-Borne Disease to address illnesses spread by insects. The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley is now home to the UTRGV Center for Vector-Borne Disease (CVBD), a collaborative effort to develop a self-sustaining , research-focused center in South Texas.