Overall Rating Bronze
Overall Score 40.09
Liaison Allison Jenks
Submission Date March 5, 2021

STARS v2.2

New Mexico State University
AC-10: Support for Sustainability Research

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.00 / 4.00 Allison Jenks
Facilities Sustainability Manager
Facilities and Services
"---" 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 sustainability research?:
Yes

A brief description of the student sustainability research program:

Through Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences (ACES), there have been several large efforts to form partnerships for projects around sustainability of water in agriculture, reuse of produced water, managing for drought, and managing for the changing climate. Some of them have been sponsored by Water Resources Research Institute (WRRI) and Vice President for Research's (VPR's) office.

In Plant and Environmental Sciences (PES), most of the graduate students are involved in a plant or soils research project with an impact on the sustainability of New Mexico agricultural and ecological systems. Undergraduate and graduate students in agronomy and horticulture are researching better practices to growing food in the desert with a focus on making these practices more sustainable. In addition, undergraduate and graduate students in soils and environmental science are researching ecological disturbances in the desert in order to understand how climate change affects native areas. In PES, student organizations, like the Compost Club, Environmental Science Student Organization (ESSO), HortForum, and the Graduate Student Organization are also supporters of sustainability research which at times complements students’ research projects.

Additionally The Climate Center addresses education, along with encourage students to get involved in clubs which have an emphasize on sustainability within their mission. Other opportunities that The Climate Center takes part in is from summer internships, semester capstone projects, Alliance for Minority Participation funding, and WERC Environmental Design Contest.


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:

Four faculty in Plant and Environmental Sciences (PES) are advisors to student organizations that are involved in sustainability research programs. In addition, all thirty PES faculty and several research technicians are advising students with sustainability based research projects.

Agencies such as NSR and USDA fund research and projects that involve multiple disciplines or academic programs addressing sustainability.

Through Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences (ACES), there have been several large efforts to form partnerships for projects around sustainability of water in agriculture, reuse of produced water, managing for drought, and managing for the changing climate. Some of them have been sponsored by Water Resources Research Institute (WRRI) and Vice President for Research's (VPR's) office.


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 copy of the promotion or tenure guidelines or policies:
---

The promotion or tenure guidelines or policies:

NMSU’s P&T policy recognizes externally funded research. New Mexico State University research drives innovation, and the NNMSU Office of Research Integrity and Ethics is committed to the ideals embodied in the land grant mission of access, engagement, leadership, and service.

Interdisciplinary Research Grants
-- Purpose: To encourage interdisciplinary research activities in projects that have a high potential of receiving external competitive funding.
-- Eligibility: All faculty and research staff are eligible to apply; requires collaboration between faculty/staff from two or more disciplines. Investigators are limited to one proposal per cycle as principal investigators, but may be included in an unlimited number of submissions as co-principal investigators.
-- Award Details: Proposed budgets may be between $25,000 and $40,000. Funding will be provided for one year.
-- Proposals will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
• Technical merit of the proposed research
• Potential impact of the proposed research on the university's research programs and national visibility
• Potential for future funding and sustainability of research agenda
• Student involvement
• Qualifications of the investigators
• If applicable, performance on previous IRG funding.
-- Grantee Responsibilities: Recipients of funding must submit technical and financial reports to the OVPR each six months. The final report should include an abstract of the completed work suitable for inclusion in a brochure. Recipients are also expected to make a presentation after six months and at the end of the grant period.

NMSU ACES (Agriculture Consumer and Environmental Sciences) college has matching funds for research from ACES as well as donor scholarships. Department funds pay for the upkeep of our research farms (Leyendecker and Fabian Garcia).

Positive outcomes in the last three years are the following: Water Science and Management program was created; our students are commonly now entering into interdisciplinary degrees (green in the curriculum encourages this); we now have a minor in sustainability in agriculture, business, and anthropology; our 2-acre organic farms provides food and accepts compostable food with our Hotel Retail Tourism Management (HRTM) department.


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:

NMSU library system has built collections in water and desert topics in particular since a great number of research and education is done in the areas relating to our Chihuahuan desert. They have particular sections all throughout the library as opposed to collections in one central place that relates to sustainability. They subscribe to many databases that are in reference to climate change, wildlife and ecology studies, water, and environmental topics.


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.