Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 47.67
Liaison Tony Gillund
Submission Date May 9, 2017
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

The Ohio State University at Mansfield
AC-10: Support for Research

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.00 / 4.00 Norman Jones
Associate Dean
English
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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:

The Ohio State University is dedicated to advancing education, research, and innovation related to energy, the environment, and sustainability. To further those goals, the Office of Energy and Environment (OEE) offers student funding in three areas: Research, Scholarship, and Travel.

OEE also supports the Office of Student Life, Energy Management and Sustainability’s Student Sustainability Grants program sponsored by Coca-Cola.

In the 2014-2015 academic year, over 10 students/student groups were the recipients of either the funding from the Office of Energy and Environment or from the Coca-Cola Student Sustainability.

In addition to the funding opportunities listed above, the university has developed Discovery Themes to leverage Ohio State's strengths to address the technological, social, and environmental stresses that define today's global world. The Discovery Theme for Energy and Environment creates an unprecedented interdisciplinary collaboration of experts spanning the university and touching upon every specialization to fully address issues related to energy and environment. By working with experts within and beyond the university, Ohio State faculty and students will lead the way in developing scientific and policy responses to the global need for energy and the associated effects on the environment. http://discovery.osu.edu/about/theme-areas/energy-and-environment.

Sources:
http://oee.osu.edu/student-funding/
http://oee.osu.edu/ohio-state-2015-student-grants-for-energy,-the-environment-and-sustainability-announced.html
https://discovery.osu.edu/about/faq.html
• 2012 award: http://knowlton.osu.edu/news/2012/03/mcrp-student-wins-coca-cola-sustainability-grant
• 2014 awards: http://oee.osu.edu/autumn-2014-sustainability-grants-scholarship-research-and-coca-cola.html


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:

Ohio State gives positive recognition to excellent research, and we believe that that can be done both within and across disciplines. Thus, our policy is to give positive recognition to disciplinary, interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary, and multidisciplinary research that is excellent during promotion and tenure decisions. Collaborations across departments have increased over the past three years, especially in our Discovery Themes focus areas which include Brain Injury, Data Analytics, Foods for Health, Food and AgriCultural Transformation, Infectious Diseases, Materials & Manufacturing for Sustainability, and Sustainable and Resilient Economy. In addition, we are working to increase the recognition of a consistent contribution to a team by a researcher who has a unique niche that works better in a team project than individually. We are also supporting and promoting the value of outreach and engagement scholarship which requires team work.

The Ohio State University has an important role as a public, land-grant, research university to search for solutions to societal challenges. Among the greatest challenges that we face is the increasing pressure on planetary resources and ecosystem capacity. Our mission is to advance research, teaching, and engagement that will accelerate the development of more sustainable and resilient production and consumption systems by enhancing the value and reducing the adverse impacts of material and energy flows through the economy and society. We seek to advance the science of sustainability by developing more holistic approaches to sustainability and resilience assessment and applying these methods to foster innovations in sustainable technologies, policies, and governance.

The Sustainable and Resilient Economy (SRE) Seed Grants program supports this vision by creating Linkage (forging transdisciplinary connections among OSU faculty, staff, students and external partners) and Leverage (bringing new talents, expertise, and resources to our initiatives as a result of our collaborative work) to advance sustainability science.

Source: http://discovery.osu.edu/focus-areas/sustainable-economy/sustainable-economy-seed-grants.html


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:

The university has a faculty rule, approved by the Board of Trustees, which specifically calls out the importance of interdisciplinary research:

Ohio State gives positive recognition to excellent research, and we believe that that can be done both within and across disciplines. Thus, our policy is to give positive recognition to disciplinary, interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary, and multidisciplinary research that is excellent during promotion and tenure decisions. Collaborations across departments have increased over the past three years, especially in our Discovery Themes focus areas, which include Brain Injury, Data Analytics, Foods for Health, Food and AgriCultural Transformation, Infectious Diseases, Materials & Manufacturing for Sustainability, and Sustainable and Resilient Economy. In addition, we are working to increase the recognition of a consistent contribution to a team by a researcher who has a unique niche that works better in a team project than individually. We are also supporting and promoting the value of outreach and engagement scholarship, which requires team work.


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:

Beginning in October of 2014, The Ohio State University Open Access Fund was a successful pilot program that provided funding to Ohio State authors (faculty members, staff, and students) who wished to publish their work in peer-reviewed, Open Access journals that charge author fees. The Fund provided awards of up to $1000/article, which were distributed on a first-come, first-served basis for publications that meet the eligibility criteria.

Ongoing programming for all research including sustainability research:
• Knowledge Bank is an open repository where individuals have the ability to request embargo periods for 5 years. Limited supplemental data submission (case by case basis)
• Open Access Publishing Program started in the last five years and several new journals have been launched
https://library.osu.edu/projects-initiatives/knowledge-bank/open-access-publishing/
• Copyright Resources Services is a group that started working in 2012 and has expanded to include working on education around Open Access both in the libraries and in partnership with ODEE. https://library.osu.edu/projects-initiatives/copyright-resources-center/
• Data Management Plan Services started in 2014. Consultations around data management plan creation as well as long term storage options of data needed for publication are now available.
https://library.osu.edu/researchcommons/data-management/


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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