This networking event will bring together HBCU faculty, staff, administrators, students, sustainability professionals, and partners to connect, exchange ideas and resources, and identify opportunities for collaboration around sustainability and campus infrastructure.

The gathering will also introduce the Carver BUILD UP Collaborative, an emerging HBCU network developed by Howard University in partnership with the HBCU Green Fund. Inspired by George Washington Carver’s How to Build Up Worn Out Soils, the collaborative draws on Carver’s philosophy of strengthening existing resources through research, innovation, and shared knowledge.

Rather than operating in isolation, Carver BUILD UP seeks to strengthen HBCU connections within the broader higher education sustainability community, including AASHE, while creating more intentional opportunities for HBCUs to learn from and support one another.

The event will prioritize networking and relationship-building, with opportunities for participants to share what is happening on their campuses, discuss common needs and challenges, identify potential institutional partners, and explore areas for collective action. Areas of interest may include campus infrastructure, sustainability planning, geospatial and data capacity, applied research, workforce development, and student engagement.

Participants interested in continued collaboration will also have an opportunity to learn more about and help shape the emerging Carver BUILD UP Collaborative.