California State University, Long Beach
AC-9: Research and Scholarship

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The CSULB Office of Research and Sponsored Program’s (ORSP) Faculty Research Experience and Expertise (FREE) searchable electronic database was used to gather information about sustainability-related research, scholarly and creative activities (RSCA) of faculty at CSULB. This database is a centralized repository of all CSULB faculty RSCA activity and contains faculty names, department, contact information, and RSCA areas and interests. Using a list of sustainability-related keywords, Office of Sustainability student assistants and staff searched the FREE database to compile a list of faculty who may potentially be engaged in sustainability-related RSCA. After this initial list was compiled, it was reviewed to ensure that only faculty involved with research that addresses the concept of sustainability, either by furthering our understanding of the interdependence of ecological and social/economic systems or addressing a major sustainability challenge were included. Any questionable or incomplete results were followed up by directly visiting the faculty’s own departmental webpage to verify or complete any missing information about their RSCA. Next, the draft list of faculty and RSCA descriptions was shared with the Associate Deans of each college with a request that they review it for completeness and/or forward it to their department chairs to inquire if any additional faculty not identified during the database search should be added. Lastly, a follow-up email was sent to all faculty on the draft list to either inform them of their inclusion on the list or, when necessary, verify the sustainability components of their RSCA and/or to request information that could provide the rationale for justifying their inclusion in the inventory. Faculty Affairs provided the total number of tenure and tenure-track faculty to determine the total number of employees that conduct research on campus.

Reporting Period: AY 2020-21