| Overall Rating | Silver |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 53.65 |
| Liaison | Mike Harrington |
| Submission Date | Dec. 17, 2021 |
The New School
AC-10: Support for Sustainability Research
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.00 / 4.00 |
Does the institution have an ongoing program to encourage students in multiple disciplines or academic programs to conduct sustainability research?:
A brief description of the student sustainability research program:
The Tishman family generously funds scholarships for students at Parsons and other schools of the university who show interest in, and a commitment to, sustainable development, design, and construction. Every fall semester, approximately $50,000 is awarded to the top applicants.
Student awards are made on the basis of the following considerations:
- Academic standing
- Demonstrable focus on sustainability issues
- Demonstrable civic engagement/social justice work relating to sustainability
- Involvement in projects that support sustainability in the infrastructure and ecology of their communities
Does the institution have a program to encourage academic staff from multiple disciplines or academic programs to conduct sustainability research?:
A brief description of the faculty sustainability research program:
The Tishman Environment and Design Center supports innovative interdisciplinary research that advances the concept of climate citizenship with a core focus on social justice, climate change, and urban systems.
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?:
A copy of the promotion or tenure guidelines or policies:
The promotion or tenure guidelines or policies:
From Full-time Faculty handbook: "In addition, the university encourages interdisciplinary collaboration in instruction, research/scholarship, and service where appropriate. Therefore, it is expected that as part of the implementation process for this workload policy, the departments and other academic units will promote, recognize, and reward both
interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary collaboration and participation."
Does the institution have ongoing library support for sustainability research and learning?:
A brief description of the institution’s library support for sustainability research:
Our approach to collection management prioritizes access over ownership. Decisions are primarily driven by the expressed needs of new or existing programs, courses and curriculum, and student and faculty research. We prefer to acquire digital versions of content over physical for both access and sustainability reasons.
Members of The New School Community can request materials to support their sustainability research using the Request a Purchase form on the library website. Requests for materials are submitted by faculty in Course Reserves, and individuals may use the ‘More Access Options’ feature in our Books & More content discovery tool (catalog), as well as chat and Ask Us for assistance locating and acquiring resources. Our list of available databases is on our Databases A-Z page.
Specific databases that relate to sustainability research include:
Annual Review of the Environment and Resources
BioOne
High-impact bioscience research journals, featuring timely content on a wide-array of today’s most pressing topics, including global warming, stem cell research, ecological and biodiversity conservation
Building Green: a source for reliable content on sustainable design strategies, green building materials and more; includes GreenSpec, Environmental Building News
Material ConneXion: a tool to source advanced materials to enhance the performance, aesthetics and sustainability of projects.
Thomas: a product sourcing and supplier discovery platform that includes sustainable materials sources
Besides these specialized databases we have a wide range of databases in all fields of academic inquiry and practice that include information on sustainability practices, policies and research.
Books:
We have over four thousand online books on sustainability.
Journals:
We provide access to hundreds of online journals, including major titles such as Sustainability Science (Springer) and Environment, Development and Sustainability (Kluwer)
In addition, Subject Librarians are available for 1-on-1 Research Consultations and in-class library sessions. One or more Librarians may consult if research queries cross disciplines which is often the case with sustainability research.
The New School Libraries has mainly chosen the path of partnership and cooperation to maximize our patrons’ access to content and lessen our carbon footprint through resource sharing. We do this by participating in ILL for borrowing and lending, arranging visits to other METRO-member libraries for our patrons, and taking into consideration the holdings of other libraries in close proximity, e.g., NYU, Cooper Union, NYPL.
One of our most significant relationships/investments is our membership in PALCI (Pennsylvania Academic Library Consortium, Inc.). Through our engagement in PALCI, our patrons have access to E-ZBorrow--expedited Interlibrary Loan (ILL) of print monographs--from among 70 research libraries.
Website URL where information about the institution’s support for sustainability research is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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.