Northland College
AC-10: Support for Research

Northland College supports student research through individual grants obtained by faculty members, through the "Parsonage Fund" (providing between $40,000-$50,000 each year), and through its six sustainability centers. While all venues support and encourage research in sustainability, the six sustainability centers specifically focus on sustainability. Student outcomes include research into sustainable community development, transportation, food systems, social capital, diversity and inclusion, renewable energy, water pollution, and others (see URL below for current projects). During the past year, the Burke Center for Freshwater Innovation provided 29 student research positions into sustainability, the Center for Rural Communities provided 140-150 student sustainability research positions, the Hulings Rice Food Center provided 8 positions, the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute provided 39 positions, and the other centers also included student research focusing specifically on sustainability. Many of the projects led to students publishing academic papers as first authors. Please see the attached "Centers Research Outcomes".

Northland College operates six Sustainability Centers (Burke Center, Center for Rural Communities, Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute, Indigenous Cultures Center, Hulings Rice Food Center, Forest Lodge). These centers provide funding and resources for faculty and student research focusing on sustainability. The Centers not only stimulate a vibrant research program at the College, but also collaborates with local agencies, including: the Department of Natural Resources, the Northern Great Lakes Visitors Center, Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, Apostle Island National Park, Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission, University of Wisconsin Extension, Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council, Cable Natural History Museum, local farmers, and other community members. Please see attached document for details on research outcomes.

The College supports interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary research through its six Sustainability Centers and through the diverse relationships forged by the Centers with various agencies and individuals. Initiatives in sustainable agriculture, sustainable economic development, diversity and inclusion, social justice, gun violence, renewable energy, and so forth are active research programs that reach across multiple facets of sustainability.

The library regularly solicits recommendations from the faculty for research-supportive materials and dedicates many of its resources to topics dealing with sustainability. The library's collection-development policy articulates support for the curricular offerings of the College and--because roughly a quarter of Northland's curriculum focuses on sustainability--the library plays an active role in facilitating and strengthening faculty research in sustainability.