Roosevelt University
AC-10: Support for Research

Roosevelt provides multiple pathways for undergraduate and graduate students to pursue sustainability research. Academic internships and independent study courses in Sustainability Studies (SUST) as well as the Biological, Chemical, and Physical Science (BCPS) departments allow students to conduct independent/guided research under the supervision of a faculty advisor. In the SUST program, some student research projects have focused on campus-based sustainability initiatives, including one on campus sustainability planning that led to the university’s development of its first Strategic Sustainability Plan in 2015 and, subsequently, the research for this initial STARS submission. The biannual SUST Student Symposium is a showcase for students to present the results of their research internships and fellowships. http://blogs.roosevelt.edu/mbryson/sustainability/internships/ Courses also provide opportunities for student research: undergrad students in SUST 330 Biodiversity, a course taught onsite at the Field Museum of Natural History, are paired with a scientist doing original and usually international research on a biological conservation topic. These students become apprentice researchers within the museum’s labs and frequently stay on as interns and, in a few cases, full-time researchers. Students have also done “action research” as part of SUST 350 Service and Sustainability in which they develop practical sustainability projects for potential adoption/implementation by community partners, such as the Chicago Lights Urban Farm. Field Museum Biodiversity Research: https://rusustain.wordpress.com/2015/03/08/fall-2015-course-preview-for-sust-330-biodiversity-at-the-field-museum/ Service & Sustainability “Action Research” Projects http://blogs.roosevelt.edu/mbryson/2013/05/30/action-research-at-the-chicago-lights-urban-farm/ Other research support for students: -- The Roosevelt Urban Sustainability Lab provides a physical and intellectual space and faculty mentorship/support/collaboration for students to design, develop, and implement campus- and community-based research projects fostering urban sustainability and environmental justice. RUSLab’s methods are interdisciplinary across the natural/social sciences and arts/humanities. Its first two projects in its initial year (2015) are this STARS submission report and the online Writing Urban Nature project. https://rusustain.wordpress.com/writing-urban-nature/ -- The Policy Research Collaborative, established in RU's College of Arts and Sciences in 2014, involves undergraduate and graduate students from many disciplines as researchers in analyzing data and creating policy designed to further social justice and sustainable development in Chicago’s urban and suburban communities. http://www.roosevelt.edu/CAS/CentersAndInstitutes/PRC/Projects.aspx -- The Honors Program’s Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program funds students each year to work as research assistants with faculty from every college on research projects in the faculty’s area of expertise, including sustainability. http://www.roosevelt.edu/Provost/Honors/UROP.aspx

Roosevelt supports faculty research in all disciplines through semester research/professional development semester leaves, summer research stipends (both awarded on a competitive basis), and grant writing workshops and support services from the Provost’s Office. More specifically about sustainability research: the recently launched Policy Research Collaborative provides grant writing support, research assistance, and community partnership opportunities for faculty working on sustainability, environmental/public policy, and/or social justice applied research projects. The new Roosevelt Urban Sustainability Lab is an interdisciplinary space in which faculty and students collaborate on conceiving, developing, and implementing campus- and community-based research studies and applied projects. Finally, the Provost’s Office provides technical assistance and grant seeking/writing workshops and support for sustainability research projects undertaken by RU faculty. Policy Research Collaborative: http://www.roosevelt.edu/CAS/CentersAndInstitutes/PRC.aspx

Interdisciplinary research is recognized explicitly in the college-based tenure and promotion standards and procedures published in the official Faculty Manual, a document periodically updated and ratified by the University Senate, Roosevelt’s main governing body. While the Faculty Manual outlines all guidelines and procedures regarding faculty tenure, reappointment, and promotion, the individual colleges within Roosevelt each maintain and approve (in their College Councils) discipline- and area-specific guidelines for faculty research. Guidelines in the College of Arts and Sciences as well as the College of Professional Studies explicitly mention that inter/trans/multidisciplinary research is valued and recognized in RU’s tenure and promotion process.

The Roosevelt University Library supports sustainability research and learning by working directly with Sustainability Studies and other department-based faculty to build the library's book and journal collection related to sustainability; acquire databases and online publications in the field; and acquire whatever documents are needed through interlibrary loan services for sustainability scholarship. Significantly, the library's reference and instructional staff collaborated with SUST faculty to develop an online Sustainability Library Research Guide (LibGuide) which is used by faculty and students alike, and is ideal for use in online/hybrid courses. Finally, the library supports onsite library research instructional sessions for sustainability courses on a regular basis.