James Madison University
AC-9: Research and Scholarship

Faculty were identified in Fall 2016 based on their online profile, information previously self-submitted, and/or published scholarly work. The list of faculty was reviewed by the Faculty Research Committee, which is made up of over 30 faculty. Additional faculty were identified for potential inclusion on the inventory. All faculty identified were contacted by an OESS staff member to confirm that their research met the AASHE STARS definition of sustainability research and that they would be listed. Some faculty were removed at their request. The inventory of faculty was reviewed by an ISNW Executive Council Member from the Academic Affairs Division. Just before submission of STARS, additional faculty were identified by the Office of Cross Disciplinary Studies and Diversity Engagement. The faculty were contacted by the OESS following the protocol above. The additional researchers confirmed were added (after external review), resulting in the percent of research-producing departments that are engaged in sustainability research increasing from the previous 60%- the figured noted in JMU's letter that accompanies this report. The revised inventory was sent to an ISNW Executive Council member and the Office of Research and Scholarship for internal review. Details of some faculty scholarship were obtained and highlighted on the campus sustainability office's website. In the Voices of Scholarship series, you can hear Dr. Dan Downey talk about the negative effects that acid rain can have on local natural resources and landmarks, as well as mitigation strategies. And Dr. Cheri Beverly discusses her lifelong commitment to developing culturally competent citizens and educators, with a focus on access to learning and information. The following are three examples of significant scholarly contributions to sustainability teaching and learning by five JMU faculty: Dr. Pete Bsumek was honored with the 2014 J. Robert Cox Award in Environmental Communication and Civic Engagement presented by the Environmental Communication Division of the National Communication Association. Criteria for the award include “commitment to environmental issues through organizational leadership, service and/or activism.” Dr. Bsumek was also honored with the 2014 Chistine L. Oravec Award from the Environmental Communication Division of the National Communication Association for the best environmental communication article or book chapter of the year. One of the eight textbooks that received 2016 Most Promising New Textbook Awards, which recognizes excellence in 1st edition textbooks and learning materials, from the Textbook and Academic Authors Association, was "Engineering Applications in Sustainable Design and Development" (Cengage Learning) by Dr. Bradley Striebig, Dr. Adebayo A. Ogundipe and Dr. Maria Papadakis, of JMU. Dr. Eric Pappas conducts an extensive research effort to enhance sustainability teaching and learning and is principal investigator for the 2012-2017: “Research into Instructional Content and Methodologies for Teaching Sustainability” from the National Science Foundation (Engineering Education) for $431,000. Co-PIs are Nagel, R., Benton, M., Pappas, J., and Frazier, H. The OESS includes contributions in external reporting and other recognitions. Student and faculty highlights can be submitted at any time to stewardship@jmu.edu.

The following additional faculty are not counted for this credit because they are in a department that does NOT meet the academic department equivalent as defined by JMU in under Institutional Characteristics: 1. Lucy Malenke, University Writing Center 2. Jared Featherstone University Writing Center 3. Benjamin Delp, Office of Research and Scholarship 4. Alleyn Harned, Virginia Clean Cities 5. Kristen Shuyler, Outreach and Partnerships 6. Steve Grande, Community Service Learning Responsible party for Faculty Research Committee review and total number of the institution’s faculty and/or staff that are engaged in research (headcount) : Ben Delp, Director of Research Development and Promotion, Office of Research and Scholarship Responsible party for confirming with faculty: Kim Hall, graduate assistant, OESS