Overall Rating Silver
Overall Score 45.93
Liaison Gabrielle Jette
Submission Date April 13, 2022

STARS v2.2

The Catholic University of America
AC-10: Support for Sustainability Research

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.00 / 4.00
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution have an ongoing program to encourage students in multiple disciplines or academic programs to conduct sustainability research?:
Yes

A brief description of the student sustainability research program:
Sustainable Living Office: In Spring 2022 and upcoming semesters, students have the opportunity to join the Catholic University Sustainable Living Office, a three-credit independent study in the School of Architecture and Planning offered to students pursuing the Sustainability Minor as well as interdisciplinary students generally interested in campus sustainability. Through a guided, hands-on approach, students in the Sustainable Living Office engage the campus community in the university’s sustainability initiatives and help the community live sustainably on a daily basis. This independent study serves as a bridge between the Office of Campus Sustainability, other sustainability and environmental organizations on campus, and the student body, faculty, and staff. It expands upon existing sustainability initiatives and provides students with real world experience researching, designing, and implementing sustainability initiatives. Example student-led initiatives in Spring 2022 include: starting a food recovery initiative in campus dining facilities, planning and running a thrift store on campus, and introducing sustainability tours as part of the curriculum for courses in the engineering department, among others.

Does the institution have a program to encourage academic staff from multiple disciplines or academic programs to conduct sustainability research?:
No

A brief description of the faculty sustainability research program:
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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 copy of the promotion or tenure guidelines or policies:
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The promotion or tenure guidelines or policies:
The Faculty Handbook: Part II Appointments and Promotions includes details on Joint Appointments. University Faculty may hold appointments simultaneously in two or more Schools or in two or more Departments within the same School.
https://policies.catholic.edu/_media/docs/facultyhandbookii_2017_6-15-17c_1_.pdf

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:
The Universities Libraries provide research assistance, subject guides, and resources, including books, journals, and e-resources, for students, faculty, and staff.
The library subscribes to the following databases with access to scholarly articles on sustainability: Academic Search Complete; Building Green; Green FILE; ProQuest Research Library; Web of Science; ICE Virtual Library Journals; IEEE Xplore Digital Library; JSTOR; ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global; Sustainability, and Avery Index to Architectural Journals.
Research guides are provided for 14 interdisciplinary subjects, including Art/Architecture, Business/Economics, and Science/Engineering among others. These research guides relate directly to the courses offered as part of the Sustainability Minor in the School of Architecture and Planning.
The University Librarians have liaison librarians to assist individuals in the campus community with research consultations, both in-person and virtual. The liaison librarians develop our collections and acquire new items year-round.
The University Libraries is a member of the Washington Research Library Consortium (WRLC), a group of 9 academic libraries in the region. We share a union catalog and Catholic University students, staff, and faculty can borrow items from member libraries collections. Combined, the holdings of the WRLC member libraries exceed 13 million items.
Many Open Access resources are included in the Libraries online discovery catalog, SearchBox.

Website URL where information about the institution’s support for sustainability research 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.