Boston College
AC-10: Support for Sustainability Research

In the spring of 2021, the Schiller Institute for Integrated Sciences and Society sponsored research projects conducted by students and student groups that grapple with race and environmental justice.
See: https://www.bc.edu/content/bc-web/centers/schiller-institute/programs/confronting-environmental-racism/schiller-student-challenge.html

The Schiller Institute for Integrated Sciences and Society fosters learning and research through the Schiller Institute Grants for Exploratory Collaborative Scholarship (SIGECS). This program supports collaborative research projects and creative activities in the Schiller Institute’s principal research focus areas of energy, the natural environment, and health.
See: https://www.bc.edu/content/bc-web/centers/schiller-institute/programs/schiller-institute-grants-main.html

Boston College’s new institute for integrated science creates a multi-disciplinary, collaborative research process to address critical societal issues in the areas of energy, health and the environment. The Schiller Institute fulfills one of BC's strategic directions: "Expand support for scholarship and research in keeping with Boston College’s mission to help address complex societal problems and contribute to the common good, with a particular focus on the sciences."

https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/schools/mcas/sites/schiller-institute.html

The Boston College Libraries support sustainability research in two ways: collection materials funding and assigned research librarian support. The library budget includes designated "Environmental Studies" funding to support purchasing of both monographs ($20,281 in FY 2021) and subscriptions ($36,429 in FY 2021) for the Environmental Studies Program. Since this academic program serves affiliated faculty across the academy, materials purchased in this way serve a wide array of disciplines and faculty researchers intersecting with environmental concerns. Also, two research librarians are assigned to Environmental Studies to provide support for faculty/student research, collection building and library instruction. Library instruction takes the form of classroom presentations, online instruction and development of online research guides. Additionally, outside of the formal library structure, the Libraries' "BC Greener Lib" group ( library staff with strong interest in environmental issues) provides educational opportunities for the wider campus including annual "green book" displays, film showings (including an annual "green" summer film fest), and periodic brownbag talks on environmental topics.