Principia College
AC-10: Support for Research

Sustainability students complete an interdisciplinary final project (major: Capstone; minor: Sustainability Research Project). Co-curricular research is sponsored by the Sustainability Club. Tangible results are many, including green purchasing standards, a green roof and apiary, native garden landscapes, GHG and carbon sequestration studies used in campus energy planning, and so on. See also AC-9. A full list of recent Capstones is found here https://sites.google.com/principia.edu/principiasustainability/academics/high-expectations

The Center for Sustainability, which is embedded in the academic unit, is tasked by its charter to, inter alia: • Be a resource for faculty development [re sustainability concepts, content] • Support faculty and student research on sustainability The Sustainability degree program embraces courses from 17 other departments across all four academic divisions. The Sustainability major requires a second major. These and other embedded collaborations ensure a multidisciplinary approach to sustainability research, an approach strengthened by the foundational lens of the triple bottom line. Positive outcomes: New courses (and revising existing courses) designed to support SUS learning outcomes; multidisciplinary Capstone research; interdepartmental [SUS, BUAD, GLBS] collaboration in mentoring students to the global Map the System competition in 2019 (https://mapthesystem.web.ox.ac.uk/)

To be eligible for promotion in rank, faculty must maintain “a high level of scholarly competence”, including “Keep[ing] abreast of the state of her or his profession, support[ing] professional societies through membership and through participation in their activities, present[ing] papers at professional meetings, publish[ing] research, or giv[ing] some other evidence of professional achievement”. The explicit expectation is that members of the faculty “Demonstrate intellectual growth beyond the boundaries of a single discipline.” Principia College Faculty Handbook, March 2019

A staff librarian is attached to each academic Division. In the case of Math and Natural Sciences (home to the Center for Sustainability), the librarian routinely shares with faculty and researchers new titles that the library has purchased regarding revenant sustainability topics. As a result the positive outcomes have included: new courses, strengthening existing courses, supporting active research by faculty and students.