| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 68.95 |
| Liaison | Daryl Pierson |
| Submission Date | June 30, 2016 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Portland State University
AC-10: Support for Research
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.00 / 4.00 |
Beth
Lloyd-Pool Program Administrator Institute for Sustainable Solutions |
Does the institution have a program to encourage student sustainability research that meets the criteria for this credit?:
A brief description of the institution’s program(s) to encourage student research in sustainability:
The Sustainability Scholars program offers competitive awards of $5,000 for four consecutive years to incoming freshmen in the University Honors College who are interested in pursuing undergraduate research with a focus on urban sustainability. Sustainability Scholars meet regularly as a group with their faculty mentor, Assistant Professor Olyssa Starry, to discuss, research, and implement ideas to make the Portland State campus more sustainable. They are encouraged to pursue sustainability-related internships, and agree to pursue a senior thesis on a sustainability-related topic.
The website URL where information about the student research program is available:
Does the institution have a program to encourage faculty sustainability research that meets the criteria for this credit?:
A brief description of the institution’s program(s) to encourage faculty research in sustainability:
The Institute for Sustainable Solutions is helping advance three research focal areas at PSU - Urban Sustainability, Ecosystem Services, Social Determinants of Health - with the goal of making our region more equitable, resource efficient, and economically vibrant. The Institute provides support for faculty research in sustainability by offering convening services, research grant proposal development support, administrative support, and matching and direct research funding as well as funding for student research positions, services, supplies, memberships and travel.
The website URL where information about the faculty research program is available:
Has the institution formally adopted policies and procedures that give positive recognition to interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary, and multidisciplinary research during faculty promotion and/or tenure decisions?:
A brief description or the text of the institution’s policy regarding interdisciplinary research:
PSU's promotion and tenure guidelines state:
"A significant factor in determining a faculty member's merit for promotion is the individual’s accomplishments in research and published contributions to knowledge in the appropriate field(s) and other professional or creative activities that are consistent with the faculty member’s responsibilities...It is strongly recommended that the following items be considered in evaluating research and other creative activities:
d. Contributions to the development of collaborative, interdisciplinary, or interinstitutional research programs are highly valued. Mechanisms for evaluating such contributions may be employed. Evaluating collaborative research might involve addressing both individual contributions (e.g., quality of work, completion of assigned responsibilities) and contributions to the successful participation of others (e.g., skills in teamwork, group problem solving).
f. Effective participation in disciplinary or interdisciplinary organizations’ activities should be evaluated in the context of their involvement of state-of-the-art knowledge and impact on peers and others. For example, this participation might include serving as editor of journals or other learned publications, serving on an editorial board, chairing a program committee for a regional, national, or international meeting, or providing scholarly leadership as an officer of a major professional organization.
Evaluation of teaching and curricular contributions should not be limited to classroom activities. It also should focus on a faculty member’s contributions to larger curricular goals (for example, the role of a course in laying foundations for other courses and its contribution to majors, or contributions to broad aspects of general education or interdisciplinary components of the curriculum).
Departments and individual faculty members can use the following guidelines when developing appropriate community outreach. Important community outreach can:
- use disciplinary or interdisciplinary expertise to help groups organizations in conceptualizing and solving problems.
In cases where a faculty member is involved in interdisciplinary teaching and/or research, evaluation must be solicited and provided by all appropriate academic departments."
The website URL where information about the treatment of interdisciplinary research is available:
Does the institution provide ongoing library support for sustainability research and learning that meets the criteria for this credit?:
A brief description of the institution's library support for sustainability research and learning:
The PSU library provides course and subject guides and has a sustainability history special collection for sustainability research and learning.
The website URL where information about the institution's library support for sustainability is available:
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.