| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 67.18 |
| Liaison | Weston Dripps |
| Submission Date | Aug. 19, 2024 |
Amherst College
AC-6: Sustainability Research
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
8.02 / 10.00 |
Weston
Dripps Director of Sustainability Sustainability |
Total number of academic departments engaged in research:
Number of academic departments engaged in sustainability research:
Annotated list or inventory of the institution’s sustainability research by department:
Description of the process used to identify the institution’s sustainability research:
The Office of Sustainability used the SDG keyword screening methodology described in credit AC 1.2 to conduct an initial review of all faculty’s research interest statements published on their faculty webpage. The tool allowed us to readily identify faculty who are working across multiple SDGs and conducting sustainability related research. For each faculty identified, a manual read was conducted to ensure their research fit the criteria for inclusion. For those departments not tagged by the tool, an additional manual read was conducted of faculty in those departments to ensure the tool didn’t miss any faculty that should have been included.
Percentage of academic departments engaged in sustainability research:
Points earned for indicator AC 6.1:
Does the institution provide incentives for academic staff to conduct sustainability research?:
Description of the sustainability research incentives for academic staff:
Does the institution provide incentives for students to conduct sustainability research?:
Description of the sustainability research incentives for students:
Opportunities through the Office of Sustainability
Sustainability Student Fellows (academic year and summer research program)
The Sustainability Student Fellows Program is one of the Office of Sustainability's flagship student programs and engages students in real world, campus and community sustainability fellowships, with offerings during the summer and the academic year. The office supported 14 fellows during the 2023 - 2024 academic year and 9 fellows during the summer. Academic year fellows are paid to work 6 hours a week on their research projects; summer fellows are paid to work 40 hours a week for 8 weeks during the summer on their projects. Fellows conduct research across a wide variety of campus and community sustainability issues including food systems, transportation, waste, and carbon emissions among other topics.
Opportunities through the ENST department
ENST Funding for Students
Funds for Research and Engagement in Environmental Studies (FREES)
Due to a generous donation from an Environmental Studies alum, funding opportunities are available to support students in the department as they engage with environmental issues.
Potential funding is available for (1) current seniors working towards honors theses, (2) juniors (rising seniors) interested in conducting independent research that could evolve into an honors thesis, or (3) in-semester, interterm, or summer research projects or internships. Funds also may be requested to foster connections and community around environmental issues at Amherst and beyond. Proposals seeking to make connections with alumni of the college are encouraged (e.g., interterm or summer internships with alumni).
Past FREES funding recipients | Funding for Students | Amherst College
Points earned for indicator AC 6.2:
Notes about the information provided for this credit:
Additional documentation for this credit:
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.