{"id":1031,"date":"2023-08-08T00:40:55","date_gmt":"2023-08-08T00:40:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sustainabilityreport.ucop.edu\/2023\/?page_id=86"},"modified":"2024-11-27T19:50:32","modified_gmt":"2024-11-27T19:50:32","slug":"academics","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sustainabilityreport.ucop.edu\/2024\/academics\/","title":{"rendered":"Academics"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Leveraging interdisciplinary scholarship, community engagement and collaboration, the UC system fosters innovation in addressing the climate challenge on local, regional and global scales. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Research<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 2023\u201324, the University of California awarded $83 million in California Climate Action Seed Grants and Matching Grants<\/a> to 38 projects directly addressing California\u2019s climate action priorities. These grants are active in every region of the state and collectively involve more than 130 community, industry, tribal and public agencies, as well as 12 UC locations, 11 California State University campuses and two private universities. These projects aim to provide practical solutions<\/a> to a range of climate challenges, including wildfire, drought, sea level rise and extreme heat, among others. Ten of the Seed and Matching Grant projects received $20,000 Community-Engaged S\/Hero Supplements<\/a> to identify best practices for engaging communities around climate risks, resulting in a series of online workshops and other resources<\/a> on community engagement in climate action research. The ultimate goal of this work is to build capacity for climate resilience, adaptation and mitigation across the state of California, especially for the state\u2019s communities most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo credit: Rebecca Hernandez<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Beginning in 2022, UC Research and Innovation<\/a>\u202fhas led the development of the\u202fAlliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems<\/a> (ARCHES). ARCHES is California\u2019s public-private partnership aiming to accelerate the development and deployment of hydrogen as an alternative energy source to fossil fuels. Renewable hydrogen can provide a clean, sustainable energy solution for hard-to-decarbonize sectors such as heavy-duty trucking, power generation and port operations as California advances toward its 2045 goal of a zero-carbon economy. ARCHES was awarded $1.2 billion<\/a> from the U.S. Department of Energy\u2019s<\/a> (DOE) Hydrogen Hub program, with matching funds from state, municipal and corporate partners for support totalling nearly $13 billion. ARCHES is the first of seven national hydrogen hubs to sign its cooperative agreement with the DOE and receive funding. These funds will support renewable hydrogen production facilities, hydrogen fueling stations, hydrogen power plants, and hydrogen-powered zero-emission trucks and port equipment with ARCHES oversight to ensure safe operation and benefits for California\u2019s disadvantaged communities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

UC Natural Reserve System<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In 2024, the Natural Reserve System (NRS) launched a summer Data Science Training Essentials<\/a> program for low-income or first-generation college students from historically marginalized backgrounds. Full-time UC, California Community College and California State University students are eligible for the free six-week course. The training is hosted in an online computing environment that enables students to log on using a web browser rather than requiring special software. In addition to the online course component, students participate in a multi-day trip to an NRS reserve to learn field-based research techniques, such as recording wildlife with camera traps and bioacoustic devices. The hands-on experiences in the field, interwoven with training in data management and visualization, provide students with a strong foundation in data literacy while building a peer support network. The program expands a model developed by the UC Santa Barbara Office of Education Partnerships and the Smithsonian Institution that creates partnerships to support students along their educational and career trajectories.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Photo credit: Lobsang Wangdu<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Education <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The University continued to expand its educational offerings related to climate change and sustainability last year. Most notably, the UC San Diego Academic Senate approved the Jane Teranes Climate Education Requirement for incoming first-year students beginning fall 2024. Students are required to complete a one-quarter course designed to empower them with the knowledge and skills needed to confront the urgent global challenge of climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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At the systemwide level, the UC President\u2019s Global Climate Leadership Council<\/a> funded an expansion of systemwide courses such as the Bending the Curve<\/a> course platform. Through spring 2024, more than 5,500 students at UC and across the world have enrolled in the course and the textbook has been downloaded nearly 26,000 times. In collaboration with Bending the Curve, the Center for Climate, Health and Equity<\/a> partnered with the American Medical Association to provide continuing medical education<\/a> on climate change and health. The UC Center for Climate Justice<\/a> continued expanding and adapting its materials to help students understand the growing climate justice field, and in 2024 launched the Climate Justice Faculty Network Map<\/a> to facilitate community-engaged research and collaboration across the University.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Students<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The University of California\u2019s environmental sustainability goals are rooted in student activism, beginning more than two decades ago when students encouraged the Regents to approve UC\u2019s first green building and clean energy policy, which they did in 2003. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The UC Office of the President oversees the Bonnie Reiss Leading on Climate Student Fellowship<\/a> program (previously the Climate Action and Global Food Initiative Student Fellowships). The program funds student-generated research, operational and engagement projects across all UC locations. Student fellows study climate- and food-related challenges, engage the UC community in the power of climate action and sustainable food systems, and implement solutions at UC locations and in neighboring communities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fellows meet throughout the year to build leadership skills, apply an equity lens to their projects and cultivate systems of peer support \u2014 including sharing strategies<\/a> to address climate anxiety. Alumni of the program, now in its 10th year, are blazing paths for new careers<\/a> in climate and sustainable food systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Leading on Climate Fellows<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
78<\/strong>\n\n

annual fellows in 2023\u201324<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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804<\/strong>\n\n

total fellows since 2014<\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Academic Senate<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The University of California\u2019s Academic Senate<\/a> carries out shared governance responsibilities established by the Regents and relating to academic matters. Academic Senate divisions continue to advance climate action and education, as the highlights below illustrate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Engagement in UC\u2019s Fossil Free Pathways<\/summary>\n

Systemwide Academic Senate leadership participated in the UC President\u2019s Global Climate Leadership Council<\/a> and the Pathways to a Fossil Free UC Task Force<\/a>. The Pathways to a Fossil Free UC Task Force is charged with developing recommendations on the necessary steps and timelines for eliminating the use of fossil fuels in each location\u2019s energy system. As part of that task force, Academic Senate leadership co-led an effort to help shape systemwide messaging about the University\u2019s fossil fuel-free planning and coordinated with divisional Academic Senate chairs to encourage faculty engagement in state-funded decarbonization studies at each campus.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

Campus-Level Senate Climate Crisis Committee Accomplishments<\/summary>\n

Academic Senate divisions advanced climate and sustainability activities across the University in 2023\u201324. Notable achievements include the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n