University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh
AC-10: Support for Research

The Sustainability Office offers student internships year-round. Funding primarily comes from the Student Titan Employment Program (STEP). STEP is a university program that offers students quality educational experiences while providing faculty and staff members with assistance in areas that include research. STEP student research projects have included, greenhouse gas emissions inventories, air mileage, a history of tree management for the Tree Campus USA program, documenting campus sustainability features including mapping, waste management analysis, fair trade options, and sustainability teaching resources database. Students are welcome to join in on faculty, and undergraduate research at the Environmental Research and Innovation Center (ERIC) and the Animal Research Lab. The student lab techs are able to gain knowledge and experience working in the research labs as well as supported in doing their own research from specialists. The University Studies Program requires experiential learning for all students, which includes student research.

Polk Library's collection practices relies significantly on faculty selection of materials, and we have worked closely with both the Environmental Studies faculty and the campus sustainability people to add relevant materials. On top of that, from the funds that the library designates for general book purchases, we have added a significant number of titles that deal with sustainable building, sustainable communities, sustainability planning, etc. In addition to print books, we provide access to over 100,000 e-books via ebrary with several hundred titles dealing with sustainability in one way or another. In regards to journal content, we provide access to a handful of good titles, including Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability; Environment, Development and Sustainability; International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability; Sustainability; Ecological Economics; Environmental Ethics; Ecos; Environmental Education Research; and many others. We also provide access to several good databases, including Environment Complete, GreenFile, and Science Direct. We provide access to hundreds of streaming documentaries through Films on Demand, with 182 titles dealing with Ecosystems, 77 titles on Sustainability, and 111 titles on Social Justice. These films can be embedded into D2L for curriculum support and are heavily used by distance education programs on campus.