Overall Rating Reporter
Overall Score
Liaison Megan Curtis-Murphy
Submission Date May 28, 2021
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Northeastern University
AC-10: Support for Research

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete Reporter Casey Shetterly
Special Projects - Sustainability
Facilities
"---" 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:

Sustainability is one of Northeastern University's three strategic and programmatic pillars. A significant portion of faculty research is in this area, as is also reflected in the number of new faculty hires in relevant fields. Thus, many of University's faculty-mentored undergraduate research awards support student research in the area of sustainability.


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:

Sustainability is one of Northeastern University's three main strategic and programmatic pillars. A substantial portion of faculty research is in this area, as are a significant number of the new faculty hires. Seminars and workshops on research in sustainability are sponsored each year by the university, the colleges and research institutes. The university is home to numerous research centers and institutes, focused on various facets of sustainability that cross colleges. These include centers focused on renewable energy, marine science, environmental health research, and global resilience. Among the newest of these is the Coastal Sustainability Institute, which focuses on three grand challenges: 1) Global Change Science and Modeling Across the Land-Sea Interface, 2) Security and Sustainability of Coastal Resources, and 3) Environmental Sensing and Big Data.


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:

The University has encouraged multidisciplinary research through its numerous mission and goal statements and the alignment of strategic plans in each of the colleges. The interdisciplinary research and collaborations are frequent subject of accolades and news stories on campus. There is expectation among faculty that the global issues of today require complex exploration of multiple disciplines in order to transform toward a more equitable world providing opportunity for more people.


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:

Formal and informal workshops and classes are held throughout the calendar year in order to assist students of all disciplines and expertise to increase their efficiency through software or learning of new applications as well best standards and practices in research. In the last three years, 184 different programs were held that directly support sustainability research skills. These range from Geographic Information Systems, to EndNote, to Citizen Science. More formal programs are often coordinated directly with programs and professors.


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