California State University, Sacramento
AC-10: Support for Sustainability Research

The sustainability department has ongoing efforts to support students of multiple disciplines to be able to conduct sustainability research both on and off campus. Beyond financial assistance, the department helps to both encourage students to conduct research and to provide opportunities for those interested to participate.

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This year, in partnership with the Chancellor's Office, Sac State was able to include ten faculty members in the Teaching Climate Change and Resilience faculty learning community. This faculty learning community serves as a first step in achieving the goals set by the Sac State and the Chancellor's Office. As CSU's sustainability policy states, "The CSU will seek to further integrate sustainability and climate literacy into the academic curriculum working within the normal campus consultative process. Activities can include but will not be limited to supporting multi-disciplinary course development, utilizing the campus as a living laboratory model, connecting sustainability with social justice, strengthening community partnerships, and creating appropriate learning outcomes."

The sustainability department works to encourage staff to integrate sustainability topics into the current curriculum as well as create new curriculum with a focus on sustainability. This is accomplished via course buyouts and stipends, working with faculty to design more sustainability focused curriculum and research opportunities.

Basis of Evaluation

A. "Personnel recommendations or decisions relating to retention, tenure, promotion, or termination based upon work performance, or any other personnel action shall be based on the Personnel Action File. For the purposes of this section, course assignments shall not be considered personnel actions. However, course assignments shall not be punitive in nature.

Should the President make a personnel decision on any basis not directly related to the professional qualifications, work performance, or personal attributes of the individual faculty member in question, those reasons shall be reduced to writing and entered into the Personnel Action File and shall be immediately provided the faculty member." (M.O.U. 11.9)

B. Prior to completion of the substantive evaluation of a candidate at each level of review all material serving as the basis of the evaluation at that level shall appear in the Working Personnel Action File.

C. Evaluative statements and recommendations adopted at all levels of review shall in each case of periodic evaluation and performance review be based on the entire contents of the Working Personnel Action File in that case. The conclusion about performance under each criterion of evaluation (e.g., Teaching Performance, Scholarly or Creative Activity, etc.) recorded in the evaluative statement required to accompany each recommendation shall be based on a preponderance of the evidence in the file relative to that criterion."

Sacramento State University Library is dedicated to supporting sustainability research through comprehensive resources and services that promote awareness and action. Through Sac State Scholars, our institutional repository, we prioritize accessibility, Open Access (OA), Open Data, and the deposit of Open Educational Resources (OERs). In alignment with our institutional values, we support waiving Article Processing Charges (APCs) through transformative agreements with publishers and have a small Open Access fund for researchers publishing in gold standard OA journals. We work to ensure that all researchers and learners have equitable access to vital information.

Our commitment to accessibility is reflected in the provision of adaptive technologies and services, guaranteeing equal access for differently abled individuals. Through instructional programs, we engage with environmental ethics and injustice, facilitating critical discussions on topics such as environmental justice, climate change ethics, climate migration, and sustainable development. We also offer specialized instruction in green chemistry, empowering students and faculty to develop environmentally friendly solutions to chemical challenges.

The library facilitates information literacy for sustainability research by aiding students through online resources such as library research guides. These guides encompass database research, course materials for sustainability classes, citation assistance, learning objects, and statistical resources. Our collection includes multiple research guides tailored specifically to sustainability-related topics. By integrating accessibility, OA, OERs, discussions on environmental ethics, green chemistry instruction, and support for renewables, we strive to cultivate a culture of sustainability and environmental stewardship within our institution and beyond.