| Overall Rating | Silver |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 59.21 |
| Liaison | Elaine Durr |
| Submission Date | Feb. 11, 2022 |
Elon University
AC-10: Support for Sustainability Research
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
3.00 / 4.00 |
Elaine
Durr Senior Director of Sustainability Office of Sustainability |
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 Sustainability Research Scholars program offers grants to students from all disciplines who are or will be engaged in independent, faculty-mentored undergraduate research related to sustainability. A maximum of two grants of $1,000 each in a year are awarded to students.
https://www.elon.edu/u/fa/sustainability/get-involved/student-opportunities/sustainability-research-scholars/
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:
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 Elon Teacher-Scholar Statement is a core part of the Faculty Handbook and is a required part of every promotion and tenure portfolio. The below excerpt from the Statement regarding professional activity and scholarship recognizes interdisciplinary understanding and integrating knowledge within or across disciplines.
"At Elon, professional activity is broadly defined as any activity involving the serious practice of disciplinary expertise. Scholarship is essential to an intellectually vibrant and enriching community, and so it represents the most fundamental form of professional activity. Other forms of professional activity include service to the profession, developing new research skills, taking special courses, attending workshops related to one's discipline, attending workshops on teaching pedagogy, and attending conferences, performances, or exhibits. As they mature professionally, faculty may serve as consultants and accept leadership roles in disciplinary organizations.
Scholarship is a creative process of inquiry and exploration that adds to the knowledge or appreciation of disciplinary or interdisciplinary understanding. It is the serious exercise of what is being taught in the education of students -- clear goal setting, adequate preparation, intense inquiry, and critical reflection. Elon University encourages and recognizes a broad array of scholarly endeavors just as it has adopted a broad view of faculty engagement with students. Scholarship adds significantly to our understanding by: 1) discovering or uncovering new knowledge or insights, 2) generating new theories and techniques that guide discovery, 3) integrating knowledge within or across disciplines, 4) applying knowledge responsibly to solve problems, and 5) developing pedagogical innovations that facilitate the dissemination of knowledge."
Part of the formal charge of the Provost to the Promotion & Tenure Committee every year is a memo that specifically speaks to the value of the range of scholarly activity as defined by Ernest Boyer (1990, 1996). One of the five types of scholarly activity identified in the memo is: the scholarship of integration consists of making connections across disciplines and advancing knowledge through synthesis.
In addition, the Faculty Handbook references 'integrating knowledge across disciplines' as an indication of effective teaching. Because the Elon Teacher-Scholar Statement links teaching and scholarship, this is also a reference to the value of interdisciplinary research.
Elon Teacher-Scholar Statement: https://elon.smartcatalogiq.com/2020-2021/Faculty-Handbook/Definitions-and-Policy-Statements/Policy-Statements/The-Elon-Teacher-Scholar
Faculty Handbook:
https://elon.smartcatalogiq.com/2020-2021/Faculty-Handbook/Promotion/Promotion-to-Associate-Professor/For-Tenure-Track-faculty/Digital-portfolio-for-Promotion-to-Associate-Professor-Tenure-Track
https://elon.smartcatalogiq.com/2020-2021/Faculty-Handbook/Evaluation-System/Criteria-for-Evaluation
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 Carol Grotnes Belk Library provides the following support:
-A sustainability research guide: http://elon.libguides.com/sustainability
-A collection that is increasingly digital, with de-selected materials donated to reuse organizations
-Promotion support for the Student Sustainability Projects Database
-Sustainability and conservation titles are highlighted each year for the week of Earth Day
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.