Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 68.35
Liaison Jessica Bast
Submission Date Aug. 9, 2022

STARS v2.2

North Carolina State University
AC-10: Support for Sustainability Research

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.00 / 4.00 Jessica Bast
Sustainability Program Coordinator
University Sustainability Office
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Student sustainability research incentives 

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:
The Office of Undergraduate Research works to support and promote discovery, inquiry and creativity-based opportunities through mentored research experiences. In 2015 a sustainability award was added as a part of the Undergraduate Research Symposium.

Faculty sustainability research incentives 

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:
NC State research is transforming the world. As a land-grant university with annual research expenditures of $380 million, NC State’s current research is innovating in sustainability-related areas, including energy, transportation, materials, human health, economic solutions and policy. Plus, the university’s research-based Centennial Campus hosts more than 130 companies and 1,800 employees working alongside NC State faculty, staff, post-docs and students.

The Chancellor’s Faculty Excellence Program is bringing some of the best and brightest minds to join NC State University’s interdisciplinary efforts to solve some of the globe’s most significant problems. Guided by a strong strategic plan and an aggressive vision, the cluster hiring program is adding 77 new faculty members in 20 select fields to add more breadth and depth to NC State’s already-strong efforts. Faculty clusters are listed here, https://workthatmatters.ncsu.edu/

Additionally, NC State is home to many sustainability-related research centers and partners such as:

Advanced Transportation Energy Center (ATEC)
Biomanufacturing Training and Education Center (BTEC)
Future Renewable Electric Energy Delivery and Management Systems Center (FREEDM)
Institute for Emerging Issues: Environment
Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology
Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Center for Environmental and Resource Economic Policy
Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS)
Center for Marine Sciences and Technology
Center for Turfgrass Environmental Research and Education
Poole College of Management Sustainability Initiative
North Carolina Sea Grant College Program
State Climate Office of North Carolina
Southeast Climate Science Center
Southeast Regional Climate Hub
Water Resources Research Institute
Energy Council
NC Clean Energy Technology Center
Sustainable Cities Research Consortium

Recognition of interdisciplinary, transdisciplnary and multi-disciplinary research 

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:
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The promotion or tenure guidelines or policies:
Society’s biggest problems don’t fit neatly into traditional academic boundaries. To answer ongoing and emerging questions, the world's top universities are exploring innovative ways to enhance interdisciplinary collaboration. NC State is a global leader in this exciting and challenging effort.

The Chancellor’s Faculty Excellence Program, launched in 2011, is recruiting some of the best and brightest minds to join NC State’s community of world-leading faculty at the forefront of this initiative. Guided by a strong strategic plan and an aggressive vision, new thematic clusters are adding over 75 new faculty members in 20 select fields to enhance the breadth and depth of NC State’s solution-driven research and innovation.

The current 20 clusters have been selected on several important criteria:

Ability to achieve national eminence in proposed topic
Alignment with university strategic priorities
Demonstration of real interdisciplinarity
Potential to build on an existing university strength (or strength of the existing assets)
Opportunity for faculty to engage in both research and teaching of proposed topic
Ability to attract funding
Commitment to share resources and physical infrastructure
Inclusion of multiple colleges
Demonstration of a balanced hiring plan with clear leadership
Potential to attract diverse faculty

The following policy specifically addresses faculty promotion and tenure- POL 05.20.01 - Appointment, Reappointment, Promotion and Permanent Tenure, https://policies.ncsu.edu/policy/pol-05-20-01

Library support

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:
The University's Library provides an online sustainability research guide that helps NC State affiliates to get familiar with finding information to support sustainability research, identify resources specific to sustainability, and learn about library services that support the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. This online guide can be found here: https://www.lib.ncsu.edu/guides/sustainability

Optional Fields 

Website URL where information about the institution’s support for sustainability research is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
https://sustainability.ncsu.edu/curriculum-research/; https://undergradresearch.dasa.ncsu.edu/opportunities/2021-summer-research-programs-at-nc-state/

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.