SCIF Survey

SCIF grants still available during COVID-19

By Maria Archibald, Sustainability Office   Have you ever looked around campus and had a creative idea, perhaps for an art installation or a landscaping initiative? A green building feature or collaborative research project? Or maybe an educational opportunity for students to learn about environmental justice and build appreciation for the natural world? Fortunately, there […]

Sustainable Campus Initiative Fund: Year in Review (2019-20)

By Emerson Andrews, Sustainable Campus Initiative Fund manager During the 2019-2020 academic year, the Sustainable Campus Initiative Fund (SCIF) provided more than $100,000 to 19 projects designed by University of Utah community members. The projects covered a range of issues, from concerns about equity and accessibility, to water-use reduction, air-pollution awareness, and more. Project funding […]

Building a sustainable food culture on campus

by Amber Aumiller, graduate assistant, Sustainability Office Nearly half of the earth’s usable land is designated for human agriculture which means food consumption significantly impacts our planet. According to a comprehensive study published in Science last year, our current relationship to consuming and producing food is not sustainable for the health of the land, water, […]

When Green isn’t Green

Kate Whitbeck, communications manager, Sustainability Office Wes Mangum, communications specialist, Facilities Our landscape has slowly been changing around us. Those who have been on campus for more than 10 years remember when much of it was a vast expanse of lush green turf. As awareness of water conservation became more prevalent, the University of Utah […]

Humans of the U: Myron Willson

Janelle Hanson, managing editor, University of Utah Communications June 14, 2019 “I’m retiring as the deputy chief sustainability officer after being on campus for 10 years. I’ve seen a lot of change over the past decade. There’s a lot more support for sustainability efforts across campus. In my former career as an architect and planner—plus […]

Campus is abuzz with innovation

Imagine a smoldering late-August day on campus. The pavement radiates heat and you struggle to find a place to take cover from the sun. The walk from the Union to the Utah Museum of Fine Arts seems unbearable and you wonder what will come first: The museum doors or your body in a puddle on […]

INVESTING IN A CLEAN ENERGY FUTURE

Originally post on @theU on April 1, 2019. By Emerson Andrews, Sustainable Campus Initiative Fund program manager Did you know that every semester U students are investing in a clean energy future? In the past 15 years, students have come together on two occasions to pass self-imposed fees to create a fund for renewable energy […]

SHEDDING LIGHT

How the project benefited the library Then: Lights in the Special Collections area were typically on 10-13 hours per day Now: Lights now are only activated when there is activity and only in the area where that activity is occurring Then: A compact fluorescent bulb is 54 watts, lasts about 10,000 hours and produces heat […]

SAVING BIRDS

Funded by SCIF The Sustainable Campus Initiative Fund, created through an ASUU initiative in 2008, collects about $180,000 yearly from a $2.50 per student fee. Since 2009, it has awarded more than $900,000 to projects aimed at enhancing sustainability on the U campus. The fund receives about 30 to 45 proposals each year and approves […]