Sustainability is more than just a buzzword in Stevens County. Here at the University of Minnesota Morris, we specialize in sustainable futures, whether that’s for our students, our campus or the world beyond.
For our students, we offer a University of Minnesota degree in an affordable, high-value undergraduate arts and sciences education – and more than half of graduating seniors have held a leadership position or an internship, or participated in a research project (often all three). We are the only four-year college in the Upper Midwest that is federally recognized as a Native American-Serving Nontribal Institution. All 32 majors offer a three-year graduation pathway, minimizing student costs and quickly advancing them in their careers. And 95% of our graduates are employed or enrolled in graduate programs within one year of graduation.
For our campus and beyond, we are proud to be a leader in the sustainability space. Together with our partners in the West Central Minnesota community, we are addressing critical challenges impacting our towns, farms and natural areas. We don’t merely practice sustainability – we embody sustainability in everything we do, from cutting-edge research to hands-on learning.
Collaboratively, we are piloting scalable projects that fit our community’s vision for sustainability, while developing best practices for responsible stewardship of our natural resources. With partners like the West Central Research and Outreach Center, the City of Morris, Stevens County and the Morris Area School District, UMN Morris and the Morris Model have inspired similar research and engagement on all of our U of M campuses, and in communities throughout the world.
We put into action the things we learn and discover. From renewable energy, to zero waste, locally sourced food and conservation, sustainability is an integral part of campus life. We achieved carbon neutrality in electricity in 2020, and ranked number one in the U.S. for producing the most renewable energy per student in 2019.
What other campus in the world is distinguished from a distance by a pair of 1.65 megawatt wind turbines, in this case affectionately named Bert and Ernie? These two turbines do more than just provide a landmark on the horizon – they generate approximately 60% of our campus electricity, with additional energy coming from solar sources.
There was a time in the not-too-distant past when energy from wind was an emerging technology. Today, we continue to explore innovative ways to stay at the forefront of sustainable energy. With our community partners, we are actively expanding agrivoltaics so that we can effectively use land for the dual purposes of solar energy production and agriculture. With a 500-kilowatt solar array nearly completed in a pasture used for grazing dairy cattle, we will operate the largest agrivoltaic dairy pasture in the Midwest.
The campus – a city within the city of Morris – needs about 1000 kilowatts to power itself. While our investment is focused on generating sustainable energy, just last fall, a 90 kilowatt-hour lithium ferrous phosphate battery was installed on campus as part of an ongoing partnership with the U of M Institute on the Environment to develop energy storage solutions for sustainably generated electricity.
Sustainability is ingrained in everything we do, as we educate career-ready scholars, creative problem solvers and community leaders.
The Morris community is not only home to, but also plays an active role in the success of the University of Minnesota Morris, and therefore to the success of our sustainable future. Students, faculty, staff and community members collectively bring forward their talents and ideas to develop and implement a model for sustainability leadership. Together with our partners in West Central Minnesota, we are addressing critical challenges impacting our towns, farms and natural areas.
The work we do together creates pathways to build a fully sustainable future – a key contributor to ensuring our region’s economic vitality and enhanced quality of life for generations to come. There is so much positive momentum for us to build from, and we look forward to growing these partnerships so that we can build a stronger, healthier and more sustainable state for everyone.
Rebecca Cunningham, M.D.
President, University of Minnesota
Janet Schrunk Ericksen, Ph.D.
Chancellor, University of Minnesota Morris