University of Wisconsin-Green Bay
ER-19: Interdisciplinary Research in Tenure and Promotion

In granting tenure at the UWGB, assessment shall be made of professional perfromance, contributions, and future potential of the individual. Such evaluations and judgments should be made in the context of the mission of the University with its emphases on problem oriented learning and research, innovation in the curriculum, excellence in teaching, and a liberal arts program as the foundation of its undergraduate programs. Tenure implies responsibilities and obligations of leadership for maintaining academic excellence in the University and of professional participation in activities outside the University.

Included in the review criteria is: "2. Evidence of involvement with other academic programs and interdisciplinary teaching."

"Scholarly Activity and Creative Accomplishment," and "University and Community Service," and "Programmatic and Other Institutional Considerations" are the other main area of review.

Research falls under Scholary Activity and because of the University's interdisciplinary structure itself, this is 'baked-in' to the systems.

For example, NAS is the Department of Natural and Applied Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. The department houses an interdisciplinary major and minor program of study in Environmental Science; disciplinary majors and minors in Biology, Chemistry, Geoscience, Mathematics; a discliplinary minor in Physics; and a pre-professional program of study in Engineering.

NAS currently has 30 faculty: four full professors, sixteen associate professors, four assistant professors, five lecturers, and one adjunct assistant professor. NAS also has 12 staff members, including academic and classified staff as well as research associates.

NAS faculty teach and engage in scholarship in both their disciplinary programs and the interdisciplinary program in Environmental Science. Many of the faculty make major contributions to the Environmental Science and Policy graduate program as well.

UW - Green Bay's academic structure is based on interdisciplinarity. The term interdisciplinarity reflects specifically on UW-Green Bay's motto: "Connecting Learning to Life." UW-Green Bay students will take courses that allow them to solve problems from multiple perspectives rather than from the perspective of a single subject or discipline, such as history, economics, biology, etc. For example, an environmental scientist cannot simply study environmental science textbooks and have adequate knowledge to work in the field. That individual would also need some background in political science as well as sociology.