Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 47.09
Liaison Tom Hartzell
Submission Date June 28, 2017
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Calvin University
AC-10: Support for Research

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.00 / 4.00 Becky Haney
Associate Professor
Economics
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Student Sustainability Research Incentives 

Does the institution have an ongoing program to encourage students in multiple disciplines or academic programs to conduct research in sustainability? :
Yes

A brief description of the student research program, including the incentives provided and any positive outcomes during the previous three years:
The Calvin Environmental Assessment Program (CEAP) is a collaborative effort of faculty across Calvin’s campus, mainly in the sciences, whose focus is the understanding of the campus and local ecosystem. The goal is to impact the college and local municipalities as well as individual behavior. Faculty dedicate a regular lab session or project to collecting data that contributes to an overall assessment of the environment of the campus and surrounding area. Students then present posters of their findings every semester. Calvin also funds summer undergraduate research programs through the Science division, which often includes sustainability related research. The Engineering department has secured funding for sustainability related research for students this summer. More information can be found here: http://www.calvin.edu/academic/science/summer/projectproposals2015.html

Faculty Sustainability Research Incentives 

Does the institution have a program to encourage faculty from multiple disciplines or academic programs to conduct research in sustainability topics?:
Yes

A brief description of the faculty research program, including the incentives provided and any positive outcomes during the previous three years:
The CEAP program outlined above also encourages faculty members to take part in sustainability related research.

Recognition of Inter-, Trans- and Multi-Disciplinary Research 

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?:
No

A brief description of the institution’s support for interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary, and multidisciplinary research, including any positive outcomes during the previous three years:
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Library Support

Does the institution have ongoing library support for sustainability research and learning?:
Yes

A brief description of the institution’s library support for sustainability research, including any positive outcomes during the previous three years:
Calvin facilitates peer-to-peer collaboration to support curriculum development around sustainability. Sustainability across the curriculum faculty development workshops were held in 2010 and 2012. There is currently a "Major Project" for Sustainability within the Provost's office that is a broad umbrella to support interdisciplinary collaboration around sustainability research and curriculum development. For example: As library resources were being culled, the Dean for Research advocated for the preservation of sustainability-related resources, such as Greenwire, to be kept.

Optional Fields 

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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