The University of Utah defines sustainability as the integrated pursuit of social equity, environmental integrity, and economic security for current and future generations. In 2008, the University of Utah joined the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment, which dedicated our campus to reaching carbon neutrality by the year 2050. In 2019, President Watkins signed the Presidents’ Climate Leadership Commitments renewing the university’s commitment to carbon neutrality by 2050 and placing the institution on a path towards resilience and adaptation. The University Climate Commitment Task Force (UU CCTF), co-chaired by Chief Sustainability Officer Kerry Case and Global Change and Sustainability Center Director Brenda Bowen, completed a campus-community resilience assessment this year and will now focus on developing a comprehensive Climate Action Plan.
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The University of Utah Climate Commitment Task Force is seeking a small team of graduate students with experience in environmental and climate justice to serve through the coming year as UC3 Fellows.
UC3, the University Climate Change Coalition, is a core program of Second Nature that connects 23 of the world’s leading research universities committed to accelerating climate action on campus, in communities, and at a global scale. The UU UC3 fellows will be linked with a cohort of graduate student fellows from participating institutions across North America that are working on the climate justice pilot project.
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UU UC3 Fellows will be supported with a $10,000 fellowship for the year for ~10 hours per week of engagement with the UU Climate Commitment Task Force and the UC3 Fellows program through the 2021-2022 academic year. There is flexibility in how the fellowship funds can be awarded depending on the student’s funding situation (e.g., either as an hourly wage up to $10k or as a summer 2022 stipend).
Description of Duties:
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- Work with UU CCTF to collect and collate information and resources on climate justice in Utah, the US, and globally, with a focus on climate justice in universities and in local and Indigenous governments
- Participate in meetings with UC3 Climate Justice Graduate Student Fellows from other participating campuses to share information and develop a set of best practices for centering justice and equity in higher education climate planning
- Provide the climate action planning team with information and resources related to equity and climate planning
The University of Utah Sustainability Office is committed to promoting social equity and justice as part of a sustainable future for all. We recognize that social equity and justice are as integral to sustainability as ecological and economic concerns. We will: center equity as a primary element of our work; act against systemic discrimination that harms people and undermines community sustainability; listen and learn from Indigenous knowledges; and create inclusive and anti-racist spaces for education, research, and programming.