Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 45.25
Liaison David Tedder
Submission Date Oct. 16, 2015
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

University of Kentucky
AC-10: Support for Research

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 4.00 Rebecca McCulley
Interim Director
Tracy Farmer Institute for Sustainability & the Environment
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

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Does the institution have a program to encourage student sustainability research that meets the criteria for this credit?:
No

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A brief description of the institution’s program(s) to encourage student research in sustainability:
The Institute for Sustainability & the Environment had a one-year program (2013-2014) that solicited student research ideas and funded two year-long efforts (each received $1500). These 'Solutions for Sustainability' student research projects are highlighted at the bottom of the website URL listed below. This has not become a sustained program - in part, because of the Sustainability Challenge Grants that are detailed below.

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The website URL where information about the student research program is available:
None
Does the institution have a program to encourage faculty sustainability research that meets the criteria for this credit?:
Yes

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A brief description of the institution’s program(s) to encourage faculty research in sustainability:
The UK Sustainability Challenge Grant Program was collaboratively designed to engage multidisciplinary teams from the University community in the creation and implementation of ideas that will promote sustainability by simultaneously advancing economic vitality, ecological integrity, and social equity, now and into the future. Project teams were encouraged to include multiple departments/units on campus and consist of faculty, staff, and students. Students and staff could lead proposals, as long as they had a sponsoring faculty member identified. The 2014 program (the inaugural year) dispensed $100,000 to seven projects. Project details can be found at the website URL provided. $200,000 has been procured to support the 2015 program.

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The website URL where information about the faculty research program is available:
None
Has the institution formally adopted policies and procedures that give positive recognition to interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary, and multidisciplinary research during faculty promotion and/or tenure decisions?:
No

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A brief description or the text of the institution’s policy regarding interdisciplinary research:
We have no such language in our regulations governing promotion and tenure; however, academic units have the prerogative to include this sort of information in their own statements of evidences used in evaluation of their respective faculty members.

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The website URL where information about the treatment of interdisciplinary research is available:
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Does the institution provide ongoing library support for sustainability research and learning that meets the criteria for this credit?:
Yes

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A brief description of the institution's library support for sustainability research and learning:
The University of Kentucky Libraries supports sustainability research and learning by providing an extensive collection including 3.5 million print books and journals, 1.1 million ebooks, and 80,000 ejournals. The majority of the sustainability collection is housed in the William T. Young Library which is one of twelve campus libraries available to University students and personnel. UK Libraries subscribes to approximately 450 databases including Agricola (National Agriculture Library), CAB Abstracts and Web of Science. UK Libraries is supported by an annual collections budget of approximately $10 million, including a $75 million library endowment.

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The website URL where information about the institution's library support for sustainability is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
I'm not sure that I've included the library information this report is looking for, but I worked with UK Librarian Valerie Perry to develop the above text.

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