The University of Texas at Arlington’s Meghna Tare received the transformational leader honor at the 2020 Women in Sustainability Awards, presented by Wells Fargo.

Tare is UTA’s chief sustainability officer (CSO).

“The striking challenges of our time—such as health care, the environment and education—are complex,” Tare said. “These challenges also present a striking opportunity for cross-sector collaboration. UT Arlington is creating alliances of organizations from the nonprofit, public and private sectors, and building on their diverse perspectives and resources to create sustainable communities in North Texas.

“I am very excited to lead this charter for UT Arlington and to be recognized as a transformational leader for Women in Sustainability for 2020.”

John Hall, vice president for administration and campus operations, said Tare plays a key role in collaborating with sustainability stakeholders across North Texas.

“Meghna understands the complexity, interdependence and emergent nature of our current sustainability challenges,” Hall said. “This award is a testament to her hard work and leadership at UT Arlington.”

The awards were given by Envision Charlotte, a nonprofit that focuses on public-private-plus collaboration to lead efforts to make Charlotte, North Carolina, a more sustainable city.

Amy Aussieker, executive director of Envision Charlotte, said, “The impact these women have had—and continue to have—on sustainability is meaningful and long-lasting.”

As UT Arlington’s first CSO, Tare works collaboratively to foster partnerships among academic, research and operational departments at the University, and to address opportunities to promote sustainability in several areas, including energy efficiency, resource conservation, waste management, transportation, education, outreach, community engagement, supporting and encouraging student initiatives and implementing an interdisciplinary and sustainability-focused curriculum.

Tare serves and represents UT Arlington on several advisory boards, such as the National Academy of Science Board on Higher Education and Workforce Development—Policy and Global Affairs, Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, and Local Government for Sustainability. She is also a Fellow at Hunt Institute for Engineering and Humanity at Southern Methodist University.

She has spearheaded launching a Regional Center of Expertise for Education in Sustainable Development Goals in North Texas, a program of the United Nations University, and the Institute for Sustainability and Global Impact at UT Arlington.