| Overall Rating | Bronze - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 35.51 |
| Liaison | Jessica Thompson |
| Submission Date | March 2, 2017 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Northern Michigan University
AC-9: Research and Scholarship
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
9.31 / 12.00 |
Sarah
Mittlefehldt Professor Earth, Environmental & Geographical Sciences |
Total number of the institution’s faculty and/or staff that are engaged in research (headcount):
Number of the institution’s faculty and/or staff that are engaged in sustainability research (headcount):
Percentage of the institution's faculty and staff researchers that are engaged in sustainability research :
Total number of academic departments (or the equivalent) that include at least one faculty or staff member that conducts research:
Number of academic departments (or the equivalent) that include at least one faculty or staff member that conducts sustainability research:
Percentage of research-producing departments that are engaged in sustainability research:
A copy of the institution’s inventory of its sustainability research that includes names and department affiliations of faculty and staff engaged in sustainability research:
The institution’s inventory of its sustainability research that includes names and department affiliations of faculty and staff engaged in sustainability research:
A brief description of the methodology the institution followed to complete the research inventory (including the types of faculty and staff included as researchers):
Members of the Sustainability Advisory Council contacted the heads of all 29 departments on campus and requested time to present information about STARS and to request information about course offerings, research, and engagement at one of their upcoming department meetings. We were able to meet with nearly all departments and gave a 15-20 minute talk about the STARS process and the information we needed from them about sustainability and “sustainability-related” coursework and research. This process provided a fruitful conversation about the value of sustainability in our curriculum and in our research, and we were delightfully surprised by the number of faculty who reported that they address sustainability challenges in their research.
After we presented and discussed the STARS process and AASHE’s definition of sustainability at department meetings, we had faculty members take a questionnaire that contained the information we needed for the Academics and Research and Engagement sections. We then compiled this information into comprehensive inventories of the different sections of the Academics and Research section.
To determine the “total number of the institution’s faculty and/or staff that are engaged in research” we counted only tenure or tenure-track faculty. Northern has a range of other types of faculty, some of whom do research, while others do not. To be consistent and accurate, we only counted responses on our questionnaire from those who are tenure or tenure-track faculty. The figure we reported here, 19.7%, is thus the percentage of tenure or tenure-track faculty who engage in sustainability-related research. We used the same method, counting only tenure or tenure-track faculty, when determining the number of departments on campus that do sustainability research.
We are still waiting to hear back from a few faculty members in order to get a richer description of their sustainability-related work, but the attached inventory is the list of the names we have accounted for to date.
The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.