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  1. Solar Farm 2.0 to Nearly Triple on Campus Renewable Energy Production

    Construction of a new 54-acre, 12.1 megawatt (MWdc) Solar Farm is approved by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees as the sole member of Prairieland Energy, Inc. Referred to as “Solar Farm 2.0,” the new utility-scale array to be located north of Curtis Road, between First Street and U.S. Route 45, will produce approximately 20,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) annually, almost tripling the university’s existing on-site renewable energy generation. Solar Farm 2.0 will generate the equivalent electricity use of more than 2,000 average American homes.

    Sol Systems, LLC, will design, build, operate, and maintain Solar Farm 2.0, for the duration of a 20-year contract which includes power purchase and land lease agreements, and an option to buy the system at the end of the term.

    https://emails.illinois.edu/newsletter/234685.html

  2. Freezer Challenge was in the Chancellor's message

     
    Click here to see this online
     
     
     

    A monthly e-newsletter where Chancellor Robert Jones shares campus news, stories, successes and information


    Welcome Back


     
     

    I hope you'll take a moment to watch this short video welcoming students to campus. I am grateful to each one of you for making this a special place to live, learn and work. No matter how long you’ve been part of the Illinois community, there is always something new to discover. I look forward to seeing what we will accomplish together. 

    Sincerely,
    Robert J. Jones
    Chancellor

     


    Celebrate Homecoming


    It's time to come home, Illini.

    Illinois Homecoming will take place Oct. 13-19. From pancakes at the Homecoming 5K to family fun in Grange Grove, don’t miss out on all our community has to offer. 

    For the full list of events, view the homecoming website and the Facebook event.

     


    Congratulate Students


     
     

    Illinois students are outstanding. For the spring 2019 semester, the university announced:

    - 7,240 Dean’s List students
    - 243 Bronze Tablet honorees
    - 9,068 May graduates

    For the complete list of names, view this list.

     


    Rediscover TailGREAT


    The 1980s tailgating competition is returning to Illinois after a 30-year hiatus. 

    TailGREAT will take place on Saturday, Sept. 21 when the Illini take on Nebraska at Memorial Stadium. The competition will award the Best BBQ and Most Creative Tailgate.

     


    Celebrate Our Community


     
     

    Illinois was ranked #20 on the list of Best Colleges for your Money by Money magazine.

    Champaign-Urbana was named one of the Top 40 places young people are moving to by USA Today.

    Illinois received first place in the International Laboratory Freezer Challenge’s Academic category for the second year in a row.

     


    Learn About University News


    Application opens - The Illinois application for freshmen and transfer students opens Sept. 1.

    Scholar endowment - A University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign endowment to honor scholar Yingying Zhang has been established by the Zhang family. Yingying's Fund will assist international students in crisis and their families.

    Student Success - A new Student Success Initiative aims to better understand the factors that lead to retention, graduation rates, placement, degree-completion time and more.

     


    Discover Illinois Research


     
     

    Better sleep - Optimistic people tend to sleep better and longer, according to a new Illinois study.

    Cheaper flight costs - Illinois researchers are using artificial intelligence to design a customized pricing model that benefits airline customers.

    Healthier diets in children - An Illinois study provides more evidence that kids who cook have healthier dietary habits.

    Safer K-9s - A new Illinois effort will ensure law enforcement K-9s get the specialized care they need when injured on the job.


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  3. ILLINOIS WINS FREEZER CHALLENGE FOR THE SECOND STRAIGHT YEAR

    For the second straight year, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is the best at implementing cold-storage best management practices, including reducing the energy required for laboratory cold storage. Campus efforts in more than 70 laboratories across 15 buildings earned back-to-back first place awards in the International Laboratory Freezer Challenge’s Academic category.

    The total energy usage in these spaces decreased by an estimated 438 kWh/day or a combined annual total equivalent of 13.5 homes energy for 1 year. The reductions were achieved due to the dedication and creativity of researchers across campus in implementing best practices for cold storage management. They received points for taking actions such as properly maintaining freezers and refrigerators, discarding old samples, and retiring unneeded units.

    See attached file or visit: https://www.fs.illinois.edu/resources/announcements/2019/08/08/the-university-of-illinois-wins-the-international-freezer-challenge-for-the-second-straight-year for full press release.

    More information on the challenge is available at https://www.freezerchallenge.org/ and https://go.fs.illinois.edu/freezerchallenge. The program is jointly run by My Green Lab and I2SL.

  4. Washington Post article: The next money crop for farmers: Solar panels

    The Washington Post published an article on February 22, 2019, about how farmers are making the transition to solar based on current corn and soybean price drops, and the implications of that. Evan DeLucia is quoted in this article.

    See attached or follow the link to read the article.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/the-next-money-crop-for-...

  5. Article: Cyclists have same rights as cars

    Parkland students may want to consider biking, as it affords them an opportunity to exercise and is an ecofriendly way of getting around. There are dangers associated with cycling though, and there are laws that must be followed to ensure your safety while cycling.

    Link to the article: http://www.prospectusnews.com/2017/09/06/cyclists-have-same-rights-as-cars/

  6. Article about Billion Dollar Green Challenge

    The Chicago Tribune included a mention of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as one of two schools in Illinois that have joined the Billion Dollar Green Challenge.  http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/naperville-sun/ct-nvs-north-centra...

  7. Chancellor Signs Resilience Commitment

    http://sustainability.illinois.edu/ui-remains-green-campus-leader-as-cha...

    Illinois a Green Campus Leader as Chancellor Signs Climate Resilience Commitment

    MARCH 3, 2016 — The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign took on a leadership role to more actively respond to global climate change when Interim Chancellor Barbara Wilson signed Second Nature’s Climate Resilience Commitment in February.

    Illinois is a Charter Signatory of the Second Nature Climate Commitment, which combines a Carbon Commitment the campus signed in 2008 with the newly signed Resilience Commitment. The full Climate Commitment formally acknowledges that the effects of climate change are already felt — and that universities and colleges must pursue both mitigation and adaptation to combat the unfolding crisis.

    By adding the Resilience Commitment, Illinois has made a pledge to evaluate campus vulnerabilities to a changing climate in its landscapes, natural resources, and energy production — and to make an action plan that addresses those weaknesses.

    In 2015, Illinois released an updated Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP) reporting its progress toward emissions reduction and other campus sustainability goals and outlining a new path to reaching net zero carbon emissions as soon as possible, but no later than 2050.

    “While the iCAP is a plan for how campus impacts the atmosphere and climate, the resilience plan will be about how the campus reacts to atmosphere and climate change,” said Evan DeLucia, Director of the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE).

    Resilience is a measure of the ability to react to and recover from difficult circumstances. Resilient communities bend but do not break under pressure, he said.

    Wilson, who signed the document Feb. 9, said: “Signing the Resiliency Commitment is a natural extension of our efforts to carefully steward university resources. By planning ahead, we can prepare for a range of potential challenges presented by climate change — whether social, financial, or ecological.

    “We’re positioning ourselves to be the kind of nimble and responsive university that can deliver on our educational and research missions for generations to come.”

    DeLucia said that carrying out the terms of the commitment will create a more holistic picture of sustainability on campus.

    “I think this commitment will make us think about sustainability in a broader way,” he said. “Rather than only asking, ‘How much renewable energy do we use?’ we’ll also be asking ‘Do we have a diverse enough pool of energy resources so that if one fails, the entire system doesn’t fail?’ It will be less about being ‘green’ and more about being truly sustainable.”

    A PDF of the Resilience Commitment — complete with Wilson’s signature — can be viewed on iSEE’s website.
    Second Nature is a nonprofit organization with more than 20 years of experience mobilizing institutions of higher education to lead the way to a more just, healthy, and sustainable society. It sponsors the Climate, Resilience, and Carbon commitments and oversees reporting of the signatory institutions’ progress toward their goals.

     

  8. Chancellor Blog: Sustainability at Illinois

    Dear Colleagues,

    In the midst of a cold winter, it may seem ironic to discuss our sustainability efforts on campus. But it seemed like the beginning of a new year is the perfect time to see where we have gone and where we are going. In the quest to become a pre-eminent research university with a land-grant mission and global impact, integrating sustainable practices in our research, classes, and buildings - every facet of campus – is a necessity and has been identified as a priority by our students and faculty.

    We were excited to take another major step in that effort with formal establishment of the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment – iSEE - and the appointment of a permanent director, plant biology professor, Evan DeLucia. This is one of the first recommendations that came out of last year’s Visioning Future Excellence conversations and was also identified as a goal in the campus strategic plan. The institute will serve as a research and educational hub for environmental and sustainability initiatives for the entire campus community.

    As a campus, we have long been active in new initiatives to promote sustainable practice, both in our own activities and in research that translates to broader impact beyond our walls. From a campus-wide effort that has cut our annual energy costs by millions of dollars and has rewarded buildings with high energy reductions through the Energy Conservation Incentive Program, to the RecycleMania Game Day event February 26 and efforts in University Housing that have reduced daily food waste by hundreds of tons – thinking about ways to preserve our world and to steward our resources is a part of our community identity.

    And the world is noticing. This year we garnered several national recognitions including a rating of Gold from the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Reporting System. Gold is the highest distinction a university has been given. For the first time, we were also named to the Princeton Review Green Honor Roll, one of only 22 schools to make the list this year. We were ranked #1 in the Big Ten and 28th overall for Sierra Club Cool Schools. PETA2 named us one of the most “vegan-friendly” schools in the U.S. The U.S. Green Building Council awarded the Lincoln Hall project LEED Platinum certification, its highest ranking. And we also received a Governor’s Sustainability Award.

    We have a long history of innovation and leadership in environmental science and sustainability. But it is exciting to see how that hallmark is being incorporated into our strategic future excellence.

    --The above paragraphs were quoted from the Chancellor's Blog.

    Attached Files: 
  9. Housing Sustainability Report 2011

    University Housing’s 2010 Strategic Plan identified stewardship of resources as critical to our long-term success. According to the plan, stewardship of resources means “University Housing will demonstrate intentional and transparent stewardship of the financial, physical, and human resources of our entire organization. We will seek to use and conserve our resources in an effective manner that meets the needs of our residents and customers seeking and expecting excellent value.”

    While University Housing had already initiated a number of sustainability efforts, the University developed the Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP) in May 2010, identifying new sustainability mandates with which Housing will need to comply. Additionally, the Student Sustainability Committee (SSC) was asking for support on multiple initiatives.

    As a result, University Housing identified the need to pool our sustainability resources through a single point of contact and formed the Housing Sustainability Council.

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