Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
AC-10: Support for Research

Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (URCA) encourages, supports, and enables students to participate in research and creative activities at the undergraduate level. Students who are URCA Associates work one-on-one with faculty mentors to lead their own research projects or creative activities. The student Associates are the principal investigators in their projects. Past URCA projects have focused on research in sustainability including: Agricultural Composting, Midwestern Green Roofs, Gender Identity in LGBTQ Community, Gender Barriers, Invasive Species, Water Pollution, Minority Oppression, Gendered Workspaces and Gender Expectations, Handmade Paper, and Herbicide Treatments. SIUE's 380-acre nature preserve is a dedicated location for student and faculty research, lab projects, and class assignments.

SIUE's academic success is related to the innovative scholarly, creative and research activity of its faculty who effectively combine the best practices of teaching, scholarship and research. SIUE is taking a leadership role as a model comprehensive master's institution with faculty members committed to a teacher-scholar model. The Office of Research and Projects offers research support services, including internal funding opportunities, to faculty and graduate student. There have been two Mississippi Projects at SIUE, which are faculty development workshops. The summer 2011 Mississippi Project I was titled: "Green Curriculum, Green Campus, Green Community." The summer 2012 Mississippi Project II was called: "Sustainability in the Curriculum and Classroom." The workshop explored how faculty can meaningfully integrate sustainability into the classroom. The workshops started by taking a close look at SIUE and the larger St. Louis region, but participants were also invited to engage in local/global comparisons. Members of the campus and local community facilitated and catalyzed discussions of a green curriculum and its integration and role in the broader community.Sustainability Research examples are discussed and encouraged. The Excellence in Undergraduate Education program at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville was established in 1986 for the purpose of funding innovative projects in undergraduate education. Since its initiation, the University has allocated nearly $10 Million to faculty, staff, and students through this program. The EUE program is administered through the Faculty Development Council of the Faculty Senate and the Office of the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.

The SURCI program seeks proposals for projects that foster and support interdisciplinary research groups at SIUE in developing their competitiveness for large-scale grants. Funding is available for research clusters targeting specific external funding programs that offer support for programmatic, infrastructure-building activities. Examples of targeted external funding opportunities include NSF Engineering Centers Program, NSF ADVANCE Program, NIH Roadmap Initiatives, the NEH Challenge, etc. Research clusters that build collaborations across departments, colleges, and schools, and with other institutions of strategic importance are critical to enhancing our competitiveness. These partnerships should emerge naturally from shared research interests and needs, and take into account funding opportunities, institutional history, academic priorities and SIUE’s unique strengths. This initiative offers competitive grant funding to encourage the development and success of such partnerships.

This guide will point you to resources for learning more about sustainability-related topics. Use the tabs above to find the following information: Databases & eResources: Databases, open access journals, and other eresources for locating articles and data Multimedia: Videos, maps, podcasts, and other multimedia resources Research Tips: Tips on evaluating websites, using information ethically, and more Get Involved!: Listings of campus, regional, and international opportunities for taking part in sustainability initiatives For Faculty: Resources and ideas on integrating sustainability into the curriculum SIUE Sustainability: Link out to SIUE's sustainability website The second row of tabs contain helpful resources centered on the specific topics listed.