Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 69.51
Liaison Kelsey Beal
Submission Date Oct. 31, 2019
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)
AC-10: Support for Research

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.00 / 4.00 Deborah Ferguson
Assistant Director
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

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 IU Grand Challenges are tackling economic, social, and environmental problems that negatively impact our state and the world. We define Grand Challenges as major, focused, and large-scale problems facing humanity that can be solved only by teams of dedicated researchers working across disciplines in collaboration with community partners. IU is pioneering the approach of pairing faculty and students from all disciplines in partnership with community and business leaders. The university is funding these comprehensive research initiatives with an overall investment of $300 million, including base funding for many new faculty lines. IU has three Grand Challenges initiatives in progress: Precision Health, Prepared for Environmental Change, and Responding to the Addictions Crisis. IU's Grand Challenges investments are large, focused, and measured by their impact—impact on individuals, communities, the economy, and the quality of life in Indiana and beyond. http://ovpr.indiana.edu/grand-challenges1/grand-challenges/

Greening IUPUI grants are awarded one time per year to fund student, faculty and staff led initiatives that advance our campus sustainability principles. IUPUI dedicates a total of $50,000 annually to fund these projects. Proposals should focus on one or more of the following areas: Planning & Administration (Strategic initiatives, diversity, affordability, innovation) Academic (Courses, research, other educational pursuits) Campus Engagement (student engagement programs, events) Public Engagement (volunteer opportunities, campus-community partnerships) Operations (Grounds, energy, waste, water, purchasing, transportation, buildings) Health & Wellness (Food, health, equity, and human sustainability). Some of the student proposals funded over the past 3 years are: Install Campus Hand Dryers in Residence Halls; Green Greek Movement; Who Needs Soil, an assessment of an aquaponics system installation; Dual Flush Handle retrofit; CKIUPUI Food Rescue Community Commitment; JagJungle, an assessment of a Green Wall installation; IUPUI Energy Challenge; IUPUI Recycle Ride

The IUPUI Welcoming Campus Innovator Initiative is tied to IUPUI’s strategic goals outlined in Our Commitment to Indiana and Beyond: IUPUI Strategic Plan, especially our efforts to support student success, faculty and staff development, and community engagement. Support implementation of recommendations emerging from the Welcoming Campus Initiative, specifically related to these overarching themes and highlights some of the current projects:
Communicating Who We Are:
• Tunnel of Oppression
• White Racial Literacy Project
Creating a Vibrant and Inclusive Student Experience:
• Advancing Queer Student Education and Social Success Mentoring Program (AQSESS)
• Pathways to Community Inclusivity through Dialogue
• Welcome 365 with Hospitality Intelligence
• Social-Belonging Intervention to Support Student Success
• Social Justice Achievers Ambassador and Mentoring Project
Designing an Accessible, Inspiring Urban Campus:
• Discovering and Making Public Art at IUPUI
• Sustainability in the IUPUI Experience
• Restoring Greenways, Connecting Communities
Engaging and Integrating with the Community:
• RHYME Refugee Youth Summit
• Dynamic Diversity - Promoting Emerging Leaders
• Advancing Inclusion, Equity, and Compassion: A Public Health Corps Welcoming Campus Program
• Freedom School
Investing in Faculty and Staff
• Department Workshops for Gender Equity and Inclusion
• Reducing Social Class Barriers to Career Development Success
• Creating Campus Change: A Professional Development Series for LGBTQ+ Graduate/Professional Students, Staff & Faculty
• IUPUI, The Next Fifty Years: Promoting Equity Mindedness through Curricular Transformation and Faculty Development
More information about the IUPUI Welcoming Campus Initiative can be found at: https://chancellor.iupui.edu/initiatives-celebrations/welcoming-campus/index.html

The IUPUI Center for Research and Learning (CRL) offers mentored research opportunities in all academic disciplines to undergraduate students and provide the following benefits to students: Real-life research experience - Student research stipends for most CRL programs - Project supply funds - Opportunities to present research posters at local conferences and symposia - Honing of public-presentation skills - Establishing an academic/professional network - Learning to work in teams - Opportunity to publish in the IU Journal of Undergraduate Research. CRL serves students through three primary program areas; Undergraduate Research Programs, Diversity Research Programs, and Summer Research Programs. CRL Programs include: CRL RISE to the IUPUI Challenge; CTSI; Diversity Scholars Intensive Research Experience (DSIRE); Diversity Scholars Research Program (DSRP); Diversity Summer Program; Fast Track Program; Multidisciplinary UG Research Institute (MURI); UG Research Opportunity Program (UROP). These programs offer students the opportunity to carry out innovative research, scholarship and creative activity with faculty mentors through internally and externally funded programs. CRL programs expose and engage students in research experiences, providing effective pathways for lifelong active learning, scholarship, and professional development.

The IUPUI Office of Community Engagement provides financial support for research projects through; Community-engaged research grants, Service Learning Scholarships and Research Fellowships https://engage.iupui.edu/research/funding-opportunities/index.html

The IUPUI Center for Research and Learning helps undergraduate students get started in research programs. Graduate students can find support for their research ideas through the IUPUI Graduate Office. https://www.iupui.edu/research/index.html


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 IU Research Office provides several funding opportunities:
https://research.iu.edu/funding-proposals/funding/opportunities/index.html
The IU Grand Challenges are tackling economic, social, and environmental problems that negatively impact our state and the world. We define Grand Challenges as major, focused, and large-scale problems facing humanity that can be solved only by teams of dedicated researchers working across disciplines in collaboration with community partners. IU is pioneering the approach of pairing faculty and students from all disciplines in partnership with community and business leaders. The university is funding these comprehensive research initiatives with an overall investment of $300 million, including base funding for many new faculty lines. IU has three Grand Challenges initiatives in progress: Precision Health, Prepared for Environmental Change, and Responding to the Addictions Crisis. IU's Grand Challenges investments are large, focused, and measured by their impact—impact on individuals, communities, the economy, and the quality of life in Indiana and beyond. http://ovpr.indiana.edu/grand-challenges1/grand-challenges/
Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute Indiana CTSI is dedicated to leveraging and strengthening the state’s life sciences community to achieve better health for people in Indiana. The Indiana CTSI provides valuable research expertise, financial support and infrastructure such as lab equipment and technology. The Indiana CTSI epitomizes a culture of collaboration among the state’s premier research universities and robust public-private partnerships. The institute also nurtures important connections with the region’s leading biomedical research and business organizations, with full support from the state government. This enables the Indiana CTSI partners with the state’s life sciences community to bring together a wide variety of strategic voices and resources and to disseminate our successes across Indiana. At Indiana CTSI we support translational research through funding for pilot studies, career development and training, and fellowships and mentoring. In addition, we are preparing future generations of translational scientists by providing funding and programs for high school students, undergraduates, and medical students. https://indianactsi.org/

New Frontiers in the Arts and Humanities Supports the initial stages of path-breaking, transformative scholarly investigation or creative activity in Arts and Humanities.

IUPUI Arts and Humanities Internal (IAHI) Grant Supports campus-wide attainment of excellence in research and creative activity in the arts and humanities.

Funding Opportunities for Research Commercialization and Economic Success (FORCES) Projects that facilitate the commercialization of university-owned intellectual property, address important national and global needs, and support the economic development of Indiana and the nation.

Greening IUPUI grants are awarded one time per year to projects that advance our campus sustainability principles. IUPUI dedicates a total of $50,000 annually to fund these projects. Proposals should focus on one or more of the following areas: Planning & Administration (Strategic initiatives, diversity, affordability, innovation) Academic (Courses, research, other educational pursuits) Campus Engagement (student engagement programs, events) Public Engagement (volunteer opportunities, campus-community partnerships) Operations (Grounds, energy, waste, water, purchasing, transportation, buildings) Health & Wellness (Food, health, equity, and human sustainability)

The IUPUI Welcoming Campus Innovator Initiative is tied to IUPUI’s strategic goals outlined in Our Commitment to Indiana and Beyond: IUPUI Strategic Plan, especially our efforts to support student success, faculty and staff development, and community engagement. Support implementation of recommendations emerging from the Welcoming Campus Initiative, specifically related to these overarching themes and highlights some of the current projects:
Communicating Who We Are:
• Tunnel of Oppression
• White Racial Literacy Project
Creating a Vibrant and Inclusive Student Experience:
• Advancing Queer Student Education and Social Success Mentoring Program (AQSESS)
• Pathways to Community Inclusivity through Dialogue
• Welcome 365 with Hospitality Intelligence
• Social-Belonging Intervention to Support Student Success
• Social Justice Achievers Ambassador and Mentoring Project
Designing an Accessible, Inspiring Urban Campus:
• Discovering and Making Public Art at IUPUI
• Sustainability in the IUPUI Experience
• Restoring Greenways, Connecting Communities
Engaging and Integrating with the Community:
• RHYME Refugee Youth Summit
• Dynamic Diversity - Promoting Emerging Leaders
• Advancing Inclusion, Equity, and Compassion: A Public Health Corps Welcoming Campus Program
• Freedom School
Investing in Faculty and Staff
• Department Workshops for Gender Equity and Inclusion
• Reducing Social Class Barriers to Career Development Success
• Creating Campus Change: A Professional Development Series for LGBTQ+ Graduate/Professional Students, Staff & Faculty
• IUPUI, The Next Fifty Years: Promoting Equity Mindedness through Curricular Transformation and Faculty Development

More information about the IUPUI Welcoming Campus Initiative can be found at: https://chancellor.iupui.edu/initiatives-celebrations/welcoming-campus/index.html

The School of Science provides Sustainability research opportunities through:
a) The Center for Earth and Environmental Science (CEES) studies how pollution affects water systems, and how water resources affect human health. The Center's extensive research program examines current and emerging threats to central Indiana's water resources. Current Projects include; Algal Toxicology, Fluvial Erosion Hazards, Edge of Field, Watershed Monitoring
b) The Center for Urban Health The central theme of the Center for Urban Health is Environment, Community, and Health. The goal is to enhance health and sustainability for urban populations, with an eye toward both environmental legacies and emerging threats. The Center for Urban Health will promote discovery by building research collaborations, providing seed funds for new research areas, funding graduate fellowships, and sponsoring educational activities such as public lectures and a Visiting Scholars Program. Recent Projects include; 360 Dust Analysis at IUPUI offers free test of household dust contaminants, Using NASA Data and Models to Improve Heat Watch Warning for Decision Support, Impact of Demographic Characteristics on Attitudes about Clean Air Policies

The O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs and the Public Policy Institute offer graduate and undergraduate students many opportunities in sustainability related research. The Public Policy Institute delivers unbiased research and data-driven, objective, expert analysis to help public, private, and nonprofit sectors make important decisions that directly impact quality of life in Indiana and throughout the nation. Research areas covered include Criminal Justice, Economic Development, Housing and Community Development, Land use and Environment, Public Safety, and Tax and Finance. Recent Projects include; Mapping unsheltered homelessness in Indianapolis, Indiana Traffic Safety, RHYME Mentoring Program: Building Community Partnerships to Serve Refugee Youth in Indianapolis, Estimated Costs of Homelessness in Indianapolis, Financial Needs for Stormwater Infrastructure and Programming in Indiana

The IUPUI Arts & Humanities Institute (IAHI) showcases and promotes the major intellectual and scholarly contributions that IUPUI faculty members from across the disciplines are making in the arts and humanities, serving individual faculty members, groups, and interdisciplinary teams through grant programs, workshops, symposia, and research collaborations. Recent Projects include; Rivers of the Anthropocene, The Cultural Ecologies Project

The IU Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health is addressing many of today’s pressing health issues. With over $8 million in annual research funding, our faculty, postdoctoral fellows and students are addressing HIV/AIDS, cancer, health disparities, water and air quality, global health, health informatics, the health information exchange, and chronic disease, among other issues. Advances in these areas help to improve the lives of people in Indiana and beyond. The Centers include; Center for Health Policy, Center for Public Health Practice, Community Health Engagement and Equity Research, and the Public Health Training Center.

The Purdue School of Engineering and Technology provides sustainability research opportunities through:
a) The Richard G. Lugar Center for Renewable Energy (LCRE) was established in 2007 to address the societal needs for clean, affordable, renewable energy sources while improving the nation's energy security and helping to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change.
b) The Transportation Active Safety Institute (TASI) is a collaborative University, Industry, and Government consortium to facilitate research, development, evaluation and assessment of transportation active safety systems.

The IUPUI Polis Center works with partners to define, measure, and actively improve community health, well-being, and resiliency. We have experience in community health and development, religion, government, social services, information management, and arts and culture. Recent Projects include; The Indiana Data Partnership, SAVI Community Information System
https://polis.iupui.edu/about/

A complete list of IU Research Centers and Institutes can be found at: https://research.iu.edu/about/centers-institutes/index.html


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?:
Yes

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

Tenure guidelines state (excerpt from the IUSM Tenure Guidelines):
Excellence in Research. A candidate seeking to establish excellence in research as the basis for promotion to associate professor and for tenure will normally be expected to have developed an independent and focused research program supported by external research funding and beginning to produce significant publications or other scholarly output. The School of Medicine is also supportive of productive collaborative research and recognizes that biomedical science increasingly requires integrated projects in which faculty from different disciplines and with different expertise work as a team. Thus, an individual may also achieve excellence in research through contributions that have helped shape collaborative projects, provided the candidate can show evidence of an emerging national reputation for excellence based on his or her unique intellectual contribution to those projects and the scholarship they generate. The candidate will have played critical role(s) as a member of collaborative, externally-funded research team(s). In both cases, the candidate would be expected to have produced or significantly contributed to publications (or other scholarly output) and demonstrated emerging excellence regionally and nationally. For promotion to professor, maturation of a research program and/or playing a greater leadership role on research team(s) with a continued record of research excellence is required. The candidate's accomplishments and contribution to the field in rank, individually, or in the context of a collaborative research team, would be recognized nationally and internationally. In the candidate's dossier, the 3-5 most significant papers in rank should be included. However, the review process will assess the candidate's overall productivity and scholarly contributions in rank based on the curriculum vitae and, importantly, letters solicited from objective colleagues and collaborators or their research team members (see Section 3). Excellence in research is typically achieved by a focused research program in which successive achievements build upon each other to enrich the overall theme. The creativity stemming from such a thematic focus could foster further integrated interdisciplinary research or stimulate new areas of application to the clinical realm. A collection of unrelated projects, publications or other forms of scholarly output does not substitute for an overall research theme. The emergence of a theme is especially important in judging younger faculty who may not have an extensive research portfolio when they present for promotion to associate professor or for tenure. For faculty seeking promotion to professor, a focused body of achievement is anticipated although it is acknowledged that interests and composition of the research team(s) may change over time. https://faculty.medicine.iu.edu/pt/excellence-in-research-scholarly-requirements/
Purdue School of Engineering tenure requirements include, “Evidence of research activities involving students, interdisciplinary research, and collaboration with faculty and students in other departments may also demonstrate noteworthy research accomplishments.”
All IUPUI schools include interdisciplinary research as a promotion and tenure requirement.
The IU Grand Challenges program is indicative of the interdisciplinary commitment for IU Research:
• Scale: This is the largest investment in any research program—in fact, in any academic program—in IU's 200-year history. It involves hundreds of faculty from dozens of schools on six of IU's campuses.
• Impact: IU's Grand Challenges investments are large, focused, and measured by their impact—impact on indivdiuals, communities, the economy, and the quality of life in Indiana and beyond.
• Collaboration: By definition, grand challenges cannot be solved alone. IU's Grand Challenges initiatives involve meaningful partnerships with industry, government, other universities, and community organizations.
• Commitment: Each Grand Challenge initiative reflects a commitment to focusing IU’s resources—financial and otherwise—in new and strategic ways to increase efficiency, drive multi-disciplinary innovation, and apply new solutions to vexing problems facing Hoosiers.
https://grandchallenges.iu.edu/


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:

The IU Libraries provide assistance to all IU researchers working with data in all stages of the research life cycle, including support for data management and preservation. Available services include GIS (Geographical Information Systems) Services, Science Data Management, and Statistical Data Services. https://libraries.indiana.edu/ and all IUPUI campus libraries can be found at http://ulib.iupui.edu/
Online tools are provided to search by all subject matter, such as sustainability and any related categories. University Library supports remote research needs by providing online access to academic research sources. It also fosters learning within its walls, providing technology-rich and purposefully-designed informal and formal learning spaces. Research Support at the Center for Digital Scholarship includes workshops, consultations, how-to guides, and referrals to other support services to help researchers manage, share, and archive their data. The IUPUI University Library also provides a Subject Librarian in the topic of Sustainability, Justin Kani, jkani@iupui.edu (317) 278-3525
http://www.ulib.iupui.edu/digitalscholarship/datasupport

A full list of all IUPUI campus libraries and resources can be found at: https://www.iupui.edu/academics/libraries.html

Also available to all IU researchers is the Center for Evaluation, Policy, & Research (CEPR) which conducts rigorous, high-quality, and nonpartisan evaluation, policy analyses, and research that address real-world problems within and across multiple sectors (e.g., health and medicine, business and industry, workforce development, criminal justice, human and social services, government, science, technology, engineering, mathematics and computer science [STEM+C], international development, and education.) https://cepr.indiana.edu/about-cepr/our-goals/index.html


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