Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 52.43
Liaison Wesley Enterline
Submission Date Nov. 13, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

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

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.00 / 4.00 Jonah Ralston
Faculty Sustainability Fellow
Political Science
"---" 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:

SUMMER UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM IN COMMUNITY-BASED RESEARCH (SURF-CBR)
https://www.uww.edu/urp/grants/surf/surf-cbr
The UW-Whitewater School of Graduate Studies and Continuing Education, in partnership with the Undergraduate Research Program, awards up to four Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships in Community Based Research (SURF-CBR) of $3,500 each to support community-based research in the state of Wisconsin. In addition, up to $500 funding for supplies, services, and travel expenses may be available. Mentors of selected research fellows receive a summer stipend of $2,500. These grants are designed to give students the time and resources needed for meaningful reflection and in-depth inquiry into a problem or issue in collaboration with a faculty mentor and community organization that addresses a documented public need. Community-based research is defined as "a partnership of students, faculty, and community members who collaboratively engage in research with the purpose of solving a pressing community problem or effecting social change." All academic fields are eligible.

WiscAMP PROGRAM
http://wiscamp.engr.wisc.edu/about-wiscamp.php
WiscAMP will address retention and persistence of underrepresented minorities in STEM disciplines by expanding and improving on successful models already in place and fostering and sustaining an alliance among partner institutions.


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 School of Graduate Studies and Continuing Education supports pilot initiatives that establish or enhance UW-Whitewater relationships with community partners in Southeastern Wisconsin for the purpose of addressing critical regional needs. Investigators may request up to $5,000 per project. Proposals are evaluated in terms of the degree to which the proposal: 1) clearly identifies a regional need to address and collaborates with a community partner to establish a year-long plan to address the issue 2) stands to feasibly accomplish the project's stated objectives 3) has the capacity for long-term impact for the community partner, the clients it serves, for the region, and for UW-W students; and 4) is a pilot with potential to establish a sustainable relationship with a community partner within the region. Special consideration is given to proposals that identify plans for publication of project results and that involve faculty from different academic departments.

LEARN CENTER - COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH NETWORK
https://www.uww.edu/learn/supporting/collresnet
The goal of the Collaborative Research Network is to help faculty make connections with other faculty from across campus, exploring the many ideas that unite our disciplines, and sharing their work with the growing number of interdisciplinary outlets. Faculty development research suggests that the most productive scholars collaborate extensively—maintaining multiple research projects simultaneously.


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?:
No

A brief description of the institution’s support for interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary, and multidisciplinary research, including any positive outcomes during the previous three years:
---

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:

Andersen Library supports sustainability research and learning in a variety of ways, which include providing resources, instructional services for classes, and promotion of campus events as well as ongoing learning.

The Library’s blog includes entries about campus events and lectures on related topics. The blog entries also offer examples of resources, including government information, that are available to learn more. Examples are the blog entries for Earth Week 2017 (http://blogs.uww.edu/library/archives/19513), and “Religion and Environmental Studies Intersect“ (on the 2015 Diversity Forum, http://blogs.uww.edu/library/archives/16772), and “Growing a local food system” (for a Contemporary Issues lecture, April 2017, http://blogs.uww.edu/library/archives/19489).

The librarians create guides and/or meet with classes at the request of course faculty, and the extent of their involvement varies depending on what instructors prefer. Among the LibGuides (online library guides) that result from a keyword search for sustainability are Management 364: Sustainable Management and Geography 252: Global Environmental Challenges. Both classes met with a librarian for library instruction sessions. The Business Librarian was especially involved with the 364 class; beyond creating the research guide and providing one research instruction day in early September, she also met with the class again around midterms (Oct) to be on hand for help on a work day, and then at the end of November she watched and helped evaluate the students’ presentations.

All of the reference librarians have helped students/faculty who are doing research in this area as part of the reference service. It’s a cross-disciplinary subject, so even English 102 students research/write about sustainability topics.

We have many library resources relating to sustainability (books, ebooks, government documents, streaming videos, etc.). Departments have allocations from the Library’s acquisitions budget that can be used to purchase books/media. The Library’s databases include Environment Complete, GREENFile, and JSTOR Sustainability, the three most targeted products, but in addition there are all the other science/business products that are useful for sustainability research and are indexed in Research@UWW.


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.