Overall Rating Bronze - expired
Overall Score 38.93
Liaison Veronica Johnson
Submission Date May 10, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Southwestern University
AC-10: Support for Research

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.00 / 4.00 Laura Hobgood-Oster
professor
environmental studies
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution have an ongoing program to encourage students in multiple disciplines or academic programs to conduct research in sustainability? :
Yes

A brief description of the student research program, including the incentives provided and any positive outcomes during the previous three years:

There are funds available on an annual basis for faculty-student collaborative research.
The funds are administered by an Awards Committee and the offices of the Provost and the Dean.
Faculty have been successful every year in receiving these research grants.
The newly initiated Green Fund provides another opportunity for students and faculty to receive funding for sustainability research, with roughly $22,000 available each semester for all types of sustainability-related proposals.


Does the institution have a program to encourage faculty from multiple disciplines or academic programs to conduct research in sustainability topics?:
Yes

A brief description of the faculty research program, including the incentives provided and any positive outcomes during the previous three years:

The institution provides competitive internal grants for research in all areas, including sustainability and environmental studies.
SU also received two large grants, both of which provide support for research in sustainability (Mellon Foundation, Kendeda Foundation).

We've used both external and internal grants to fund research for students, staff, and faculty.


Has the institution published written policies and procedures that give positive recognition to interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary, and multidisciplinary research during faculty promotion and/or tenure decisions?:
Yes

A brief description of the institution’s support for interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary, and multidisciplinary research, including any positive outcomes during the previous three years:

One of the primary curricular programs at Southwestern, the "Paideia" program, is a completely and intentionally focused interdisciplinary requirement for all students.
Because of this not only are courses encouraged to be interdisciplinary as appropriate, but as faculty teacher-scholars, our work in and outside of the classroom is also intentionally interdisciplinary.


Does the institution have ongoing library support for sustainability research and learning?:
Yes

A brief description of the institution’s library support for sustainability research, including any positive outcomes during the previous three years:

As far as "sustainability literacy promotion" is concerned, the library strongly encourages students to print only when necessary. We recycle paper both in bins and for use in staff offices. As an anecdote, for years the Technical Services department never printed on paper that hadn't been printed on one side already. To my knowledge, this is still common practice in that department. We also have stickers above light switches that say "conserve" and we routinely turn off lights and set sleep timers for machines when they aren't in use.

E-learning Objects Focused on Sustainability
In addition to the InfoGuides created in the library listed above, the library has subscription databases available for scholarly and statistical research. (We also have many print items as well!)

While we have many many databases, here is a group with materials relevant to environmental articles and research:
Academic Search Complete, 1975+
Biological Abstracts, 1969+
BioOne, 2000+
Environment Index, 1950+
GreenFILE
LexisNexis Academic, Current
Medline, 1966+
PubMed (NLM), 1950+
ScienceDirect, 1995+
SciFinder, 1900+
TOXNET (NLM), Title and date coverage vary by database
WorldCat, 1000 BC to present


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:

In addition to academic and scholarly support of environmental studies and issues, the library staff actively recycles paper, plastic, and glass. We compost in our staff lounge as well as in the library's coffee bar. We collect used Keurig cups for composting and reuse for the SU Garden. Many staff and librarians have been, or are currently, members of various campus committees and groups that promote sustainability. Some of our staff even bike or walk to work.


In addition to academic and scholarly support of environmental studies and issues, the library staff actively recycles paper, plastic, and glass. We compost in our staff lounge as well as in the library's coffee bar. We collect used Keurig cups for composting and reuse for the SU Garden. Many staff and librarians have been, or are currently, members of various campus committees and groups that promote sustainability. Some of our staff even bike or walk to work.

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.