Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 67.61
Liaison Ian Johnson
Submission Date May 4, 2023

STARS v2.2

Colorado College
AC-10: Support for Sustainability Research

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.00 / 4.00 Ian Johnson
Sustainability Director
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Student sustainability research incentives 

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

A brief description of the student sustainability research program:
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.

Faculty sustainability research incentives 

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

A brief description of the faculty sustainability research program:
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.

Recognition of interdisciplinary, transdisciplnary 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 copy of the promotion or tenure guidelines or policies:
The promotion or tenure guidelines or policies:
---

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:
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 also has department-specific librarians and research specialist. This year the library has a Environmental specific academic librarian, McKinnley Sielaff, to support students and faculty in the research process.

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.

Optional Fields 

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

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.