| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 60.97 |
| Liaison | Natalie Hayes |
| Submission Date | Aug. 6, 2020 |
Bentley University
AC-10: Support for Sustainability Research
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
3.00 / 4.00 |
Natalie
Hayes Associate Director of Sustainability Office of Sustainability |
Does the institution have an ongoing program to encourage students in multiple disciplines or academic programs to conduct sustainability research?:
A brief description of the student sustainability research program:
All Liberal Studies majors must complete a culminating project. Students in the Earth, Environment, and Global Sustainability major produce culminating research projects that demonstrate students' transdisciplinary insights, connections, and understandings as a result of their work within the concentration
The Valente Center for Arts and Sciences funds a Research fellowship program in which students apply for funding to work directly with faculty on research or propose their own research topic to work with a Faculty member for the semester. Students have the opportunity to co-author research publications and nearly every semester there is sustainability research done as part of this program. The Office of Sustainability specifically funds one Sustainability project per year.
The Natural and Applied Sciences department encourages students to apply for external grants to pursue independent research, along with hiring research assistants to work within their department.
Does the institution have a program to encourage academic staff from multiple disciplines or academic programs to conduct sustainability research?:
A brief description of the faculty sustainability research program:
Traditional grants and fellowships are given each year to faculty in any discipline and are open to sustainability-focused material. This fall, a Natural and Applied Sciences professor received a course release to develop a grant proposal for the NSF. With this grant, the professor is working with others to develop collaborative sustainability curriculum development that can be implemented in future higher education. Incentives for this study include developing sustainability teaching standards, potential journal publications, and university recognition in sustainable leadership and innovation. The Valente Center for Arts and Sciences seeks grant opportunities to encourage faculty research in sustainability.
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?:
A copy of the promotion or tenure guidelines or policies:
The promotion or tenure guidelines or policies:
Interdisciplinary research is highly valued and supported, although it is not an explicit policy. This is achieved through both a Research Council, which connects faculty of similar research topics together, and research mentors, which are senior faculty who have indicated they are willing to serve as research mentors, along with the specific areas in which they can contribute to projects.
In the Faculty Manual it states that one of the responsibilities of the Chair of the department is to: Encourage faculty to represent the department as members of the University community and to work cooperatively with faculty from other departments on joint and interdisciplinary projects" P. 55
Bentley Faculty Manual: http://d2f5upgbvkx8pz.cloudfront.net/sites/default/files/inline-files/Updated%20Faculty%20Manual%20-July%2026%2C%202018_2.pdf
Does the institution have ongoing library support for sustainability research and learning?:
A brief description of the institution’s library support for sustainability research:
The library provides a wide range of journals in sustainability science, environmental management and environmental science to support faculty and student research and learning in the field of sustainability. Some examples include the Environmental Studies & Policy Collection, GeoScience World, Science in Context, and ProQuest Science Journals.
The library created a research guide for sustainability research
https://libguides.bentley.edu/c.php?g=638804&p=4491031
Website URL where information about the institution’s support for sustainability research 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.