Colorado College
AC-10: Support for Sustainability Research

The State of the Rockies Project, now in its sixteenth year, offers students a valuable opportunity to work alongside faculty and staff to conduct state-of-the-art research throughout the American Southwest. Each summer, State of the Rockies hires a group of Colorado College students to gather data for, compose, and publish the project's annual State of the Rockies Report. The State of the Rockies Project seeks to increase public understanding of vital issues affecting the Rocky Mountain West through research, reporting, and public engagement via educational and outreach initiatives. The 2019 State of the Rockies Report continues the organization's commitment to conservation issues with the research focus of, "Slowing the Water: Monument Creek Projectt Phase 2". This focus is part of a larger, two year investigation into western water issues. Geodesign, a new geospatial approach to natural science and information-based urban restoration, offers a possible means to contribute to Colorado Springs creek enhancement efforts and to reintegrate the Monument Creek reach into the CC campus. CC students, geology faculty, IT, State of the Rockies, and Innovation at CC staff employ this approach to identify locations for stream restoration efforts to help improve water quality and habitat and to reestablish a spatial relationship of this reach to campus.

Tess Powers, the Director of Faculty Research Support, has developed a resource guide to help faculty fund interdisciplinary sustainability research. While it does not constitute a college-wide program designed specifically to encourage faculty sustainability research, Ms. Powers is equipped to assist faculty in obtaining funding.

Tutt Library provides online research guides, known as LibGuides, for a variety of academic subjects. The Sustainability LibGuide offers recommendations for books, databases, and other resources related to sustainability. It also directs students to the Natural Sciences Liaison Librarian. In addition, the library has purchased several partial Ejournal packages useful for sustainability research and subscribes to and has available a number of journals, databases, ebook collections and print books relevant to sustainability and the environmental sciences.

The library spends $1.6 million on library materials (in all formats including electronic) and participates in consortial deals. We have access to EBSCO's Environment Complete database, to Docuseek film database, and many electronic journals that touch on Sustainability.

https://www.coloradocollege.edu/offices/dean/faculty/grants/external/working-with-the-director-of-faculty-research-support.html