| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 70.62 |
| Liaison | Darcy Coughlan |
| Submission Date | Dec. 22, 2022 |
Coastal Carolina University
AC-10: Support for Sustainability Research
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.00 / 4.00 |
Darcy
Coughlan Associate Director Sustain Coastal |
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:
The United Nations Georgetown RISE Youth Corps initiative is a high impact, transformative learning program centered on giving students real life skills and experiences in Georgetown County with an integrated teaching/learning component that links county goals to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The Youth Corps is intended to contribute to our industry and public institutions, and also to inspire a new generation of professionals in our county to live, work, and play here. Students will work on a project or internship in the county as designated by county leaders, public and private, for a pre-specified amount of credits that fit within their curriculum. This would be combined with a class led by CCU instructor(s) with special lectures from county leaders on sustainable development and coastal resilience.
https://www.coastal.edu/georgetownrise/ourwork/
Dyer Fellows: The Edgar Dyer Institute for Leadership and Public Policy brings together a group of Coastal Carolina students from all colleges and degree programs to participate in the Dyer Fellowship Program. Dyer Fellows receive a monthly stipend and their expenses paid for a spring trip to Washington, D.C. They also meet regularly with a dedicated faculty adviser to guide their research throughout the semester. Many of the Dyer Fellows conduct sustainability research. For example, Lily Howie is from Fayetteville, N.C., and earned a master’s degree in coastal marine and wetland studies in 2020. She is pursuing a Ph.D. in coastal and marine systems science. Howie earned a bachelor’s degree in geology from East Carolina University, assisting with paleoclimate research on North Carolina’s barrier island systems, and is now studying the effects of modern climate change and flooding on resource-poor communities in South Carolina. Her research will examine the need for climate education in South Carolina and help develop educational resources that can be put to use both in public outreach and in South Carolina’s schools. By tailoring resources on climate science, sea level rise, and flood mitigation to the South Carolina Academic Standards for Science, her work aims to create and distribute educational resources that are accessible and user-friendly for both K-12 students and the general public. Upon completion of her dissertation, she plans to pursue a research career in public outreach and climate policy.
https://www.coastal.edu/dyer/dyerfellows/
Other opportunities: At Coastal Carolina University, undergraduate students have the opportunity for research by using the Undergrad Research Program (UGR). When working with this program, students get the opportunity to work with a CCU faculty mentor in a related field that they are researching in. One example is Professor Monica Gray, from the Physics and Engineering Department mentored Devonta Stanley on her research of “Water Quality monitoring for Salinity and Enterococcus in Surfside Beach.” Research in collaboration with students is a great way for students to develop one-on-one connections with distinguished faculty in their field. It also allows them to expand knowledge and understanding of a chosen field outside of the classroom and builds community with peers, faculty, and organizations on and off campus.
CCU students also have access to the National Estuarine Research Reserve, in the North Inlet–Winyah Bay area of Georgetown County. Marine Science, Sustainability & Coastal Resilience, and other majors use the research reserve to study fish and crustaceans within the marsh-estuarine ecosystem. The study will focus on these marine animals and how they move within and between other systems and how they are economically important to area fisheries.
Students also have the opportunity to conduct research with faculty by being a mentor to students in their undergrad research.
https://www.coastal.edu/research/
https://www.coastal.edu/research/undergraduate/
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:
In Spring 2022, the President's Council for Sustainability and Coastal Resilience (PCSCR) announced a new institutional grant program calling for innovative proposals to advance sustainability-related initiatives and expand learning opportunities for Coastal Carolina University students as well as campus and community stakeholders. This inaugural call for the Sustainability Grant program is organized to fund projects that generally fall into one of three categories:
1. Course Development: Significant changes or improvements to incorporate sustainability into an existing academic course or a newly developed course;
2. Research: New or ongoing scholarly research and creative production to encourage students, staff, and faculty in multiple disciplines to focus their work on a major sustainability challenge; and
3. Co-Curricular Programming: Projects, programs, and initiatives that advance sustainability on campus and in the greater community.
Of the Sustainability Grant projects awarded during this inaugural call, 3 of the eight projects funded focused on sustainability research: Battery Metal Data for Electric Vehicle Industry Research; Coastal Sustainability Solutions Lab (CSSL); and Sustainable Community Development in Action. This Sustainability Grant program is open to faculty, staff, and students.
For a list of 2021-22 awardees: https://www.coastal.edu/president/presidentscouncilforsustainabilityandcoastalresilience/2021-2022sustainabilitygrantawardees/
For more information about the Sustainability Grant program at CCU: https://www.coastal.edu/president/presidentscouncilforsustainabilityandcoastalresilience/sustainabilitygrant/
https://www.coastal.edu/ccustories/news/news-article/index.php?id=5399
Additionally, Coastal Carolina University is surrounded by many sustainability related research opportunities.
The Office of Sponsored Programs and Research Services (OSPRS) serves as the stewards of the University's research portfolio, responsible for ensuring that all funding proposals and grant awards comply with university, state, federal, and sponsor regulations, policies, and procedures. In addition, as the office responsible for the ethical and regulatory oversight of human research protection, the OSPRS administers, supports and guides the work of the Institutional Review Board (IRB).
As a part of the Office of Research, the OSPRS team provides comprehensive services to faculty, staff, and graduate students to identify, pursue, and manage external funding for research, instructional projects, training, and public services opportunities.
https://www.coastal.edu/osprs/
There are also faculty development opportunities, including the Professional Enhancement Grant, which is an internally funded faculty support program that began in the 1995-96 year (under the name of Academic Enhancement Grants) with funds made available by the Horry County Higher Education Commission and the Coastal Educational Foundation.
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:
The HTC Honors College Faculty Manual (p. 27)
3.9 Faculty Search and Hiring Process
The HTC Honors College complies in all respects with the requirements and best practices of hiring as stipulated by our Office of Human Resources. Guidelines can be found on the Office of Human Resources website. The HTC Honors College is committed to building a community that values equity and inclusion as key elements to academic excellence. We seek faculty with a desire to provide support, mentorship, and direction to prepare students to work within diverse communities. One of our aspirations is to develop social change agents with the knowledge, skills, and experience to compassionately engage with their future employers, peers, and those they serve from diverse backgrounds. Faculty actively engage in collaborative work and service within the college and across the University to advance future-thinking curricular and cocurricular approaches that strengthen our goals for inclusion and excellence.
(p.30-31) Scholarship and Creative Activities
The HTC Honors College follows the teacher-scholar model for scholarly and creative works and therefore expects faculty to be actively engaged in scholarship and professional activities outside the classroom. Because of the interdisciplinary nature of the HTC Honors College faculty, however, the range of such activities can vary greatly depending on the faculty member’s interests and particular field of expertise. Furthermore, publications and other activities can vary significantly regarding complexity, cost, publisher, and time taken to complete. The HTC Honors College faculty can therefore seek out more defined and specific
guidelines for what constitutes scholarship and quality of scholarship (reviews, peer review process, etc.) within their particular academic fields and use those to supplement this document, if they feel it is useful. Broadly, the HTC Honors College values peer-reviewed publications, or their equivalent, over non-peer-reviewed publications.
In general, scholarship and creative activities include:
Peer-Reviewed Publications
- Full length monograph
- Editor of full-length work
- Article in a peer-reviewed journal
- Chapter in an edited volume
- Editor of journal or special edition
- Textbook and textbook supplements
Publications
- Critical essay in a popular magazine or reputable online venue
- Documented forthcoming publication of any of the above
- Digital projects or other works of public scholarship
Conference participation and public lectures:
- Conference paper at regional, national, or international conference
- Chair or organizer of panel or roundtable
- Organizer of conference (program organizer, executive board member, etc.)
- Speaker at college-sponsored lecture series or event
- Speaker at local, regional, statewide, national, or international organization (including high schools)
Scholarly contributions:
- Service on an editorial board for peer-reviewed journal
- Reviewer of books, films or other artifacts
- Reviewer of scholarly articles for peer-reviewed journal
- Reviewer of proposals for regional and national conferences
Honors, Awards, Public Service:
- Recipient of fellowship or grant
- Recipient of a teaching award or research award
- Acceptance to institute with competitive application
- Professional consultation with company or private entity
- Expert contribution to mass media artifact
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 Kimbel library at Coastal Carolina University provides different types of support for sustainability research such as a service called Interlibrary Loan which provides requested materials such as books and journal articles that Kimbel Library does not own and receives from other libraries. Research guides in relevant sustainability departments such as Conservation Ecology and related data bases within it. JSTOR: Sustainability database is a collection of academic and policy research on environmental stresses and their impact on society. One database is called GreenFile which provides coverage on the relationships between the environment and humans. BioOne database has bioscience research journals. Other databases include Environment Complete, Natural Science Collection and Science Direct. The expert librarian is Eric Resnis.
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.