Michigan State University
AC-10: Support for Sustainability Research

MSU offers multiple sustainability-focused research support programs.

Sustainability Michigan Endowed Project (SMEP) provides funding through its SMEP Scholars Program. The Scholars Program seeks to develop the next generation of sustainability scholars at MSU through an intentional, interdisciplinary community of practice including the Scholars and SMEP Executive Committee faculty members. The program provides: a one-time allocation of $25,000 to support the student’s Ph.D. studies (e.g., tuition, research, or travel costs); professional development in sustainability studies; and access to discretionary funds for group trainings, trips, or other efforts that can be designed by the Scholars. The fifth cohort participated during the 2020-2021 school year. https://www.canr.msu.edu/smep/index

The Transdisciplinary Graduate Fellows Program (TGFP) is a key part of the mission of the MSU Center for Interdisciplinarity (C4I). C4I is a research center that works to advance interdisciplinary research and education at MSU while preparing the next generation of citizen leaders to address the most challenging questions of our time. The TGFP will provide teams of graduate students the opportunity to work with a community partner in the mid-Michigan area on a consequential problem while receiving training in transdisciplinary team research practice. The current partnership selected is the Capital Area Sustainability Partnership. The fellowship provides $5000 for participating students. https://c4i.msu.edu/tgfp-fellows/

The Environmental Science and Policy Program (ESPP) is an umbrella for environmental research and graduate education at Michigan State University, working together with colleges and departments in a collaborative manner to solve environmental problems. ESPP offers fellowships and awards to recruit top interdisciplinary students and support their education and research. This includes a $5000 recruiting fellowship and a $1500 summer fellowship. https://espp.msu.edu/research/student-funding.html

The College of Agriculture and Natural Resources established a new endowment, the Global Knowledge Partnership Fund in Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources to support MSU students, international scholars, and faculty members to enhance their engagement in international agricultural and natural resources programs globally. The fund aims to strengthen food systems and human and institutional capacities in agriculture and natural resources to ensure food and nutritional security while conserving natural resources and protecting the environment. The fund will support international collaborative research, education, training and outreach programs, student and faculty exchanges, technology transfer programs and joint publications, as well as our global scholars program. The fund will be used to provide scholarships, fellowships, research, and international travel grants, etc. to expand CANR collaborative programs and linkages. https://www.canr.msu.edu/global/global-knowledge-partnership-fund

The MSU Center for Interdisciplinarity (C4I) serves as an international hub for interdisciplinary research and research on interdisciplinarity. C4I provides support for researchers and others engaged in the difficult business of crossing disciplinary boundaries in search of complex responses to complex problems. It coordinates the “Toolbox workshop” which enables cross-disciplinary collaborators to engage in a structured dialogue about their research assumptions. This yields both self-awareness and mutual understanding, supplying cross-disciplinary research collaborators with the robust foundation needed for effective research and practice collaboration. The work of C4I has contributed to scholarly works related to sustainability including: Cardenas, E. (in press). The Role of Natural Aesthetics in Addressing Sustainability Challenges. Ann Arbor, MI: Maize Books and Hall, T. E., Piso, Z., Engebretson, J., O’Rourke, M.(2018). Evaluating a dialogue-based approach to teaching about values and policy in graduate transdisciplinary environmental science programs. PLoS ONE. 13(9): e0202948.

Another example of support for interdisciplinary research in sustainability is evidenced in the Environmental Science and Policy Program (ESPP). The ESPP program provides a unique opportunity for over 250 faculty from 40 different departments work together on research related to advancing science in the sustainable policies and environment. A hallmark of environmental work at MSU is unprecedented integration across fields - agriculture; natural and social sciences; communications; engineering; human, osteopathic and veterinary medicine; humanities; and law. https://espp.msu.edu/engagement/mission.html

In additional many colleges offer programs to encourage interdisciplinary research. For example, The College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, AgBioResearch and MSU Extension have collaborated to support faculty professional development through the Microgrants Initiative. The Microgrants (not exceeding $3,000) are designed to provide opportunities for faculty to improve professional skills and networks.

Possible uses (examples but not limited to these):
•Visit a colleague's lab to learn a new technique or establish collaborations.
•Attend an education/technical/professional development workshop.
•Undertake opportunities to promote diversity, equity and inclusion
•Host a leader in your field to visit MSU.
•Attend an international conference or national conference to expand work in a new direction.
•Meet with colleagues to plan a grant.
•Field visits for an industry in another part of the country/world.

In 2020, the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR) launched the “Global Scholars Program,” a unique effort to enhance engagement of early and mid-career faculty members in international programs. Each year, three or more global scholars will be selected to strengthen and expand their global linkages, networks and collaborative programs across three core missions of the college in diverse areas of research, education and outreach.

Units within MSU International Studies & Programs have made significant strides to promote opportunities for faculty to integrate sustainability into their work. For example, the Office for Education Abroad worked with the Office of Sustainability to host a workshop on Incorporating the UN Sustainable Development Goals into Education Abroad Programming. This workshop examined institutional initiatives related to these broader sustainability issues and considered the value of incorporating the SDGs into MSU education abroad programming. As a framework for program development, the SDGs offer meaningful opportunities for institutions to cultivate partnerships based on shared goals and faculty to implement curricular and co-curricular components that strengthen students’ understanding of global challenges.

https://c4i.msu.edu/research-examples/
https://c4i.msu.edu/about-the-center/c4i-affiliate-faculty/https://www.canr.msu.edu/facultystaff/faculty_development/canr-microgrants
https://www.canr.msu.edu/global/progress-report-2019-2020/global-scholars-program https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/canr-announces-2021-cohort-of-global-scholars
https://educationabroad.isp.msu.edu/faculty-and-program-directors/professional-development/

MSU’s Faculty Guide for Reappointment, Promotion and Tenure Review states that, “As a tenured faculty member, a professor must not only demonstrate disciplinary excellence, but also demonstrate commitment and effectiveness in larger institutional missions such as improving culture, inclusiveness, and equity both in the academy but also more broadly in society. Innovation brought to teaching and interdisciplinary team building that enables broader groups of people from the widest possible disciplinary or college perspective are also part of a move from individual work to being a university professor. Such a responsibility is even greater for those who earn promotion to full professor.” https://hr.msu.edu/ua/promotion/faculty-academic-staff/guide.html

In addition, colleges may also have their own guidelines encouraging interdisciplinary research as part of the promotion process. For example, the College of Social Science's Research and Scholarship Guidelines state: "Interdisciplinary and collaborative scholarship are valued by the College, and contributions to interdisciplinary efforts are therefore acknowledged in the RPT process according to the expectations defined by each unit." https://socialscience.msu.edu/_assets/pdfs/CSS%20Research%20and%20Scholarship%20Guidelines%205.1.2019.pdf. The College of Agriculture and Natural Resources also factors ""multidisciplinary integration of knowledge"" into its evaluation of faculty members. https://www.canr.msu.edu/facultystaff/faculty_development/demystifying-reappointment-tenure-and-promotion

Joint appointments are encouraged and common within the university. In addition, the university’s strategic plan explicitly encourages interdisciplinary research under the Innovation for Global Impact and Staff and Faculty Success themes. https://strategicplan.msu.edu/strategic-plan. Specific strategies include:
-- Adopt new promotion and tenure frameworks to better align with and support MSU’s commitment to publicly engaged participatory, transdisciplinary and intersectional research and excellence in teaching
--Support planning/collaboration around submission of large, transdisciplinary grants, including seed funding, to yield select transformative research initiatives over the next five years in priority areas (could include initiatives to promote equity in health, the environment, education and social, criminal, economic and climate justice)
--Strengthen campus-wide, interdisciplinary/transdisciplinary solutions to climate/environmental change

The Library offers extensive materials on the topic of sustainability, as well as electronic access and inter-library loan services with other library systems throughout the world. The Research Guide for Sustainability is maintained by Environmental Sciences Librarian, Eric Tans. https://libguides.lib.msu.edu/c.php?g=417261&p=2843539. The guide includes pages related to campus sustainability, sustainability, Earth Day, Environmental Building and Design, and Climate Change/Global Warming. In addition, MSU Libraries created the Environmental Justice and Sustaianble Purcashing resource guide in collaboration with the MSU Surplus Store and Recycling Center: https://libguides.lib.msu.edu/environmentaljustice. See also: http://magic.lib.msu.edu/search~/X?search=sustainability.