Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 65.64
Liaison Rob Andrejewski
Submission Date March 1, 2019
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

University of Richmond
AC-10: Support for Research

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.00 / 4.00 Rob Andrejewski
Director of Sustainability
Office for Sustainability
"---" 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 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 University offers course credit for student fellowships and research during the semester or over the summer with a professor. Credit is also offered for research completed abroad as well as at off-site facilities. The University also provides students with living expenses and a stipend for fellowships. Students enrolled in Environmental Studies, Geography and the Environment, Biology, and other departments often choose sustainability-related topics.

All University of Richmond students who are interested in an Arts & Sciences discipline, including sustainability-related fields, and who wish to conduct full-time research over the course of the summer can apply for a summer research fellowship through the School of Arts & Sciences. Fellowships are available for a minimum of 6 weeks and a maximum of 10 weeks.

Environmental Studies faculty are committed to mentoring undergraduate student research projects. There is a focus on communicating results, seeking publication in peer-reviewed journals, and making formal presentations at the School of Arts & Sciences’ annual Student Symposium, as well asat national and international conferences.

There is a faculty-reviewed poster session on sustainability topics at the annual Student Symposium. The top three posters receive awards.

The Office of Fellowships and Research supports students applying to the Udall Undergraduate Scholarship, which is dedicated to educating a new generation of Americans to preserve and protect their national heritage through scholarship, fellowship, and internship programs focused on environmental and Native American issues. The Udall Foundation is also committed to promoting the principles and practices of environmental conflict resolution.


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:

The University of Richmond has Faculty Learning Communities that create space for collaboration across disciplines. Each Faculty Learning Community (FLC) encourages cross-program, cross-department, and cross-school interdisciplinary engagement with projects that are germane to the institution’s mission and the greater good of the University, the City of Richmond, the nation, and the world. Each FLC cohort engages in collaborative year-long projects that reflect the breadth and depth of UR faculty and staff commitment to both producing and expanding the frontiers of knowledge and education for the common good.

There have been three sustainability FLC's, one each year since they bean in 2016: The Climate Change REMAP (2016-17) explored how the power of liberal education can be used to combat global climate change. This FLC was built upon five imperatives: respond, educate, mitigate, adapt and prevent (REMAP). The group developed a white paper. Environmental Stewardship in A Changing World (2017-18) responds directly to the University’s new vision of Environmental Stewardship by strategizing ways to incorporate this value more deeply through teaching and research. UR Sustainable - Fostering Environmentally Literate Faculty (2018-18) explores and discusses strategies to integrate sustainability into coursework, leaning outcomes, and scholarship across the university. Discussions support the development of a framework for sustainability literacy across the UR curriculum. Relationships built encourage interdisciplinary research and teaching opportunities.


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:

To encourage, recognize, and formalize contributions by faculty to academic programs in schools other than the one in which they hold their primary appointment, or between departments within a school, the University has developed guidelines by which the deans, President, and Provost of the University may confer secondary appointments upon those faculty for whom such appointments are recommended. All joint appointments are documented in memos of understanding, and include a specification of how the coordinators/chairs/deans of the interacting programs/departments/schools will contribute to the annual faculty evaluation process and/or the mid-course/tenure review.

http://asadmin.richmond.edu/chairs/program_coordinator-job_description.html


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:

The University Library has created a guide for sustainability-related materials. This guide showcases Boatwright Library's resources for research on sustainability and related topics

http://libguides.richmond.edu/sustainability


The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives 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.