About the 可持续发展办事处

The mission of the 可持续发展办事处 aligns with that of 金沙中国: 来改变里奥格兰德河谷, 美洲, and the world through an innovative and accessible educational environment that promotes student success, 研究, 创意作品, 健康, 和幸福, 社区参与, 可持续发展.

As an Area of Focus in 金沙中国's Strategic plan, the 可持续发展办事处’s mission is to advance the principles of sustainability through the continuing existence of a 健康y, 安全, and environmentally sustainable campus that enhances individual 健康, 社会福利, and positive teaching/learning experiences, 在最大化效率的同时, 可访问性, and affordability by educating and empowering 教师, 学生, 工作人员, and community to enact change on our campus and the region.

可持续发展愿景办事处

We strive to support individuals as we move together in pursuit of sustainable innovation, 机会, 目的, 和职业. We seek to engage and unite every corner of the university to create an environment in which all members of the campus community are generating knowledge, 获得技能, 开发价值, and initiating sustainable practices in their personal and professional lives.

OFS is charged with institutionalizing sustainable development across all and recognizes the necessity of infusing sustainability into its curriculum, 社区参与工作, 以及它的日常运作. 像这样, 我们帮助学生, 教师, 工作人员, and the community in connecting them with the resources to make the inclusion of sustainable development.

金沙中国 continuously engages 学生 and the community, providing educational resources and partnering with several departments, both within and outside of the university, to offer student organizations opportunities to participate in sustainability programs, 项目, 以及校内和校外的活动.

可持续发展的里奥格兰德河谷

我们的地区 - 金沙中国 is situated in the Rio Grande Valley, one of the most biologically diverse regions in North America located at the most southern tip of Texas, where the Rio Grande meets the Gulf of Mexico. 四种气候（温带）, 沙漠, 沿海, and sub-tropical) converge to create a 365-day growing season, and rich soils of the Rio Grande delta support a documented 1,200 plant species within the Valley. This plant diversity attracts wildlife, birds, and butterflies that can only be found in the U.S. 而且往往只发生在这个地区. The Valley is also one of the fastest-growing areas of the country, largely due to its proximity to the international border between the U.S. 和墨西哥. The McAllen-爱丁堡-Mission metropolitan statistical area is expected to jump to 1.9 million people by 2030, which is a 397% growth rate from the 1990 population. Though the growth is a boom to the economy, 从30年代开始, 95% of the native habitat found within the Valley has been cleared for agricultural or urban development. This development has relegated native plants and animals to remnant tracts, possibly compromising the genetic integrity of many species.

Producing socially conscious citizens and leaders ——硅谷的爆炸式增长, coupled with its unique ecological situation, presents challenges as well as opportunities with regard to sustainability. The university is dedicated to being a transformative force for the Rio Grande Valley through education and service while contributing to the economic growth, 环境管理, 健康, and cultural richness of the region. The Valley has much to gain in the area of sustainability, and 金沙中国 provides the tools necessary to enact such change through career paths for our 学生 that will directly serve the community, 增进健康和长寿, while multidisciplinary 研究 provides new business models, 保护生境的资料, and opportunities for entrepreneurship. 作为一个机构, 金沙中国有能力激发人们的灵感, engage and prepare 学生 to be socially conscious citizens and transformative leaders who will discover and apply sustainable solutions to preserve and maintain the planet. 金沙中国 serves as a model for the region by integrating sustainability goals of preserving a 健康y and renewable ecological system, 发展经济活力, and pursuing social justice across all areas of the university. By addressing university goals through the wide scope of sustainability, and in accordance with our local tradition and global movements, 金沙中国 works to maintain a high standard of environmental responsibility. 为此目的, in 2009, the university created the University 可持续性 Council (and the 可持续发展办事处 to bridge the gap between old traditions and new goals.)