The University of San Francisco School of Management Awarded Large Grant from the California Strategic Growth Council

SAN FRANCISCO (May 13, 2021) – The School of Management at the University of San Francisco (USF) has been awarded a signature grant of $845,600 from the California Strategic Growth Council through a collaboration with the City of Oakland and its Transformative Climate Communities (TCC) program. The four-year grant aims to develop and implement neighborhood-level climate sustainability plans and projects that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, foster public health and environmental benefits, and catalyze economic opportunity and shared prosperity within the neighborhood of East Oakland. The grant is one of the largest ever awarded to the USF School of Management.

Associate Professor William Riggs, Assistant Professor Shivani Shukla, Assistant Professor Majid Dadgar, and Assistant Professor Longyuan Du. will help the City of Oakland and its partners in providing evaluation, technical assistance, and data analysis for implementation of the projects. A team of up to 12 USF students will be involved in the planning and implementation process, providing a hands-on opportunity for leadership and learning about applied data and policy projects.

“These initiatives represent extensive investments in community-led transformation for an inclusive, equitable and sustainable neighborhood,” said Assistant Professor Shivani Shukla. “We will be developing frameworks to track the progress and outcomes of these projects while quantifying the environmental gains to the community.”

“Our team could not be more excited to partner with the City of Oakland, the California Strategic Growth Council, and the California Air Resources Board to address climate change in a way that balances economic growth with our shared mission and vision for a more just and equitable society,” stated Associate Professor William Riggs.

The grant focuses on implementing neighborhood-level climate sustainability plans in East Oakland as part of the TCC program referred to as the “Better Neighborhoods, Same Neighbors” initiative. The USF School of Management team is responsible for data evaluation and assessment outcomes of the initiative’s five projects, which include an urban greenway, a community greening project, new affordable housing including a community health clinic, an urban farm focused on food justice, and a bike safety and repair program.

“These kinds of transformative projects are closely aligned with the School of Management’s vision to lead with integrity across the public and private sector,” said Charles T. Moses, dean of the USF School of Management. “Promoting our work with the City of Oakland illustrates the amazing work our students and faculty do to apply lessons from the classroom in the real world while actively shaping a more just and sustainable economy.”

About the USF School of Management

Founded in 1925, University of San Francisco’s School of Management is on the forefront of educating the next generation of conscious, mindful business leaders. Each year those students join the over 40,000 School of Management alumni around the world to create ethical and innovative change in the private, public, and non-profit management sectors. The School of Management is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) and the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).

About the University of San Francisco

The University of San Francisco is a private, Jesuit Catholic university that reflects the diversity, optimism, and opportunities of the city that surrounds it. USF offers more than 230 undergraduate, graduate, professional, and certificate programs in the arts and sciences, business, law, education, and nursing and health professions. At USF, each course is an intimate learning community in which top professors encourage students to turn learning into positive action, so the students graduate equipped to do well in the world — and inspired to change it for the better. For more information, visit usfca.edu.