The University of California, Davis (UC Davis) received the 2025 Innovative Excellence in Internationalization Award from the Association of International Education Administrators (AIEA) during the AIEA annual conference on March 3 in Houston, Texas. This award recognizes UC Davis’ leadership and accomplishments in institutionalizing and advancing the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“We are honored by this recognition from AIEA, which reaffirms UC Davis’ commitment to global engagement and sustainable development,” said Joanna Regulska, vice provost and dean of Global Affairs at UC Davis. “This award is a testament to the dedication of our faculty, staff, students and global partners who are working tirelessly to create a more sustainable and inclusive world.”

Institutionalizing the SDGs at UC Davis

The 2030 Agenda and the SDGs closely align with UC Davis’ core mission areas of teaching, research and service, as well as its dedication to advancing global sustainability and diversity, equity and inclusion. In 2021, UC Davis completed the first-ever Voluntary University Review to identify activities advancing the SDGs across the entire university. This review underscored UC Davis’ contributions to this agenda, revealing that students, faculty, and staff are addressing all 17 SDGs with partners across more than 80 countries around the world. Building on this solid foundation, the university’s Global Strategic Plan, released in 2023, formally positioned the SDGs as a cornerstone of international engagement.

Building Partnerships and Collaborations to Advance the Goals

Partnership and collaboration are the foundation of UC Davis’ SDG work on campus, in the region and globally. UC Davis offers several programs that foster engagement with the SDGs. Since 2019, Global Affairs has worked with the Sustainability and DEI offices to offer faculty funding through Grants for Advancing Sustainable Development Goals. To date, over $200K has been awarded to 30 diverse projects that support innovative research and solutions addressing all 17 SDGs. These projects have furthered progress in critical areas and deepened collaborations around the world. UC Davis has also worked closely with partner institutions to develop new joint funding mechanisms to support research for advancing SDG-related topics, including joint initiatives with Tecnológico de Monterrey, the University of California Alianza MX, the University of Sydney, and Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. 

UC Davis plays an important role in both global and local communities to drive progress on complex challenges. Global Affairs, in partnership with UC Davis Government and Community Relations, recently developed a Voluntary Local Review with the City of Sacramento to directly connect local priorities with the global goals while strengthening university-community partnerships. This review strategically maps Sacramento’s 2040 General Plan and Climate Action & Adaptation Plan to the global goals and key principles. 

UC Davis actively shares its expertise to help advance global progress on the SDGs. Global Affairs represents UC Davis in global networks focused on the SDGs, including United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI), where it serves as an SDG Hub co-chair with EARTH University for SDG 2 on Zero Hunger and the Global University Coalition, where it co-leads a Consortium with EARTH University on SDG2. UC Davis has also shared its strategies and lessons learned through international conferences, collaborative projects and thought leadership engagements.

In May 2024, Jolynn Shoemaker (Director, Global Engagements, Global Affairs) and Joanna Regulska (Vice Provost and Dean, Global Affairs) co-edited a book, Global Goals, Global Education: Advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, highlighting how higher education institutions integrate the SDGs into their priorities and strategies, teaching and research. 

Empowering Students as Sustainability Leaders

UC Davis equips students with the skills and experiences needed to tackle global challenges through the SDG Internship Program, which has engaged over 30 students since 2020 in projects focused on sustainability and outreach. SDG interns completed a UC Davis Student Guide to the SDGs in Spring 2022 and are active in amplifying campus initiatives that support the SDGs and providing outreach at events to raise awareness on campus and in local communities. In 2024, UC Davis launched Global Intensive Programs, which offer short-term study abroad experiences centered on SDGs. Additionally, the university facilitates student participation in SDG initiatives through international networks, including a Student Challenge on SDG2: Zero Hunger, co-led by UC Davis, which attracted over 200 student applications worldwide.

The Launch of the Sustainable Development Leadership Initiative

Building on five years of purposeful work to advance the SDGs, UC Davis launched the Sustainable Development Leadership Initiative (SDLI) in Fall 2024 to unify and expand our ongoing programs while fostering new opportunities to engage students, faculty and global partners across sectors. Through the SDLI, UC Davis is preparing the next generation of global leaders while advancing innovative solutions to critical global issues.

• For more information on UC Davis’ global engagement and the Sustainable Development Leadership Initiative, visit our webpage.