University of St. Thomas
AC-10: Support for Sustainability Research

The Sustainability Scholars Grant program, initiated in the spring of 2017, supports undergraduate students from any discipline who wish to complete a major research project focused on sustainability. Awardees are undergraduate students at the University of St. Thomas who are interested in spending an entire summer or semester working with a St. Thomas faculty mentor on a significant research project or creative activity. These grants are designed to give students the time and resources they need for meaningful reflection and in-depth inquiry into a sustainability-related problem, issue, or solution of interest both to them and their mentors.

The goal of this program is to support research collaborations that address long-term environmental sustainability and stewardship by examining the interconnections between human and environmental well-being, broadly defined to include ecological, social, economic, and justice lenses. Every discipline can play a role in the long-term viability of the human-environment relationship.

Incentives include a paid hourly position of 100, 200, or 400 hours for the student for the term of their grant, a one-time stipend of $750 for mentors, presentation opportunities, and opportunities for additional travel funding to conduct or present research.

The University of St. Thomas College of Arts and Sciences' "Research in Action" program supports collaborative, interdisciplinary research projects led by College of Arts and Sciences faculty. This program particularly welcomes research projects that address a grand challenge, broadly defined, and that allow students to grapple with and work toward solutions for important problems of our time. These research projects involve faculty from multiple disciplines in a substantive way, include significant student involvement and interdisciplinary research elements, and lead to tangible outcomes. Grants are awarded through a competitive proposal process, and multiple grants of up to $40,000 may be awarded each year, dependent on applications received and funds available.
More information at: https://cas.stthomas.edu/experience/community-research-partnerships/index.html

The Center for Faculty Development sponsors an internal grant that facilitates transdisciplinary efficacy among faculty, the Faculty Partnership Grant. This grant is intended to help faculty increase their knowledge of areas outside their own disciplines or outside their specialty within a discipline. Faculty partner with other faculty as tutor and tutored. The intent is to encourage individual exploration by faculty in ways that will have a significant impact on their professional development in teaching or research.

Interdisciplinary research is accepted as valid engagement and can be used to support an application for Tenure and Promotion to Assistant and Full Professor. Tenure Application Instructions from Faculty Handbook: "In a university as diverse as St. Thomas, the expressions of the intellect will occur in a variety of ways and formats. While recognizing and accepting that diversity, the faculty of St. Thomas expects its colleagues to provide documentation of their achievements as teacher/scholars from peers in the discipline. Faculty must maintain a record of professional engagement, as enumerated below that is appropriate to the nature of the discipline, the level of their program, and the level of support. A continuing scholarly activity agenda (both disciplinary and interdisciplinary) can be manifested in a variety of ways" (pp. 4-10 to 4-11).

Promotion Application for Associate and Full Professor uses same wording (pp. 5-5 to 5-6).

The library has a library liaison assigned to work with the Office of Sustainability Initiatives and sustainability classes. The liaison provides in-depth research consultations to students, faculty, and staff; teaches classes on library use and research methods; and purchases journals, books, and electronic resources. https://library.stthomas.edu/research/librarians/index.html

There is a library research guide which pulls together recommended library resources for sustainability research: https://libguides.stthomas.edu/sustainability.

The library hosts events and exhibits with a sustainability theme (e.g., poster exhibits with the Sustainable Communities Partnership featuring student research projects with community and campus partners).

Websites for further reference are included where applicable within fields.