Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 53.15
Liaison Sara McIntyre
Submission Date Dec. 20, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Sewanee - The University of the South
AC-10: Support for Research

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.00 / 4.00 Nick Cookson
Sustainability Program Manager
Office of Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability
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Student Sustainability Research Incentives 

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:
Sewanee provides (via career & leadership) financial and academic credit opportunities for research and internships. These include research abroad, as well as internships across the US. One student completed an 8 week summer internship with a local non-profit (green|spaces Chattanooga) working with underprivileged neighborhoods and a program called Empower. Empower Chattanooga teaches residents of East Chattanooga, Highland Park, East Lake, and Alton Park low cost and no cost ways to reduce their utility bill. Empower views energy use and affordability of utilities as having a direct affect on quality of life in Chattanooga.

Faculty Sustainability Research Incentives 

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:
The academic use of the Domain takes many forms: experimentation, natural history study, monitoring, teaching exercises, and demonstration. ESS supports and administers both internal and external use of the Domain for these purposes by maintaining field monitoring equipment, implementing experimental manipulations, acquiring and managing data, and assisting with fund-raising for research projects. ESS is charged with maintains a database of all existing projects on the Domain and administers an approval process for reviewing new project requests. Current research on the Domain is concentrated in five critical areas of inquiry: biodiversity, forest dynamics, karst systems, land use, watershed science. Additionally, Sewanee has just started the Sewanee Headwaters Initiative that supports research across the Domain http://www.sewanee.edu/offices/oess/headwaters-initiative/

Recognition of Inter-, Trans- 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 brief description of the institution’s support for interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary, and multidisciplinary research, including any positive outcomes during the previous three years:
All newly created faculty positions must have a transdisciplinary component. For example a new hire would serve as a faculty member in Biology and Environmental Studies.

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, including any positive outcomes during the previous three years:
Research guide to environmental studies provided by DuPont Library on their website lists both environmentally-focused journals and databases that lets students search through collections of articles on environmental topics and sustainability. http://library.sewanee.edu/environment/articles

Optional Fields 

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