Washington and Lee University
AC-10: Support for Sustainability Research

1. The A. Paul Knight Internship Program in Conservation is open to all W&L first-year, sophomore, and junior students in any major. It includes housing and stipend.

2. The Environmental Studies Summer Grant program provides funds to support W&L Environmental Studies Majors and Minors who wish to pursue either an unpaid internship or research project over the summer or a paid internship for which travel and housing are not provided, and need assistance with funding to be able to take on the internship or project. While these grants are for majors and minors in Environmental Studies, the high percentage of students at W&L who pursue a double major and or a major or double major with a minor, combined with the design of the Environmental Studies major to provide options between tracks with distinct areas of focus on Biology, Economics, Climate Change, Humanities and Commerce respectively, creates a practical reality in which students with a major or minor in Environmental Studies are often majors and/or miners in other departments as well.

3. The Bryant S. Kendrick Memorial Outdoors Fund provides non-graduating W&L students with funding and support for an extramural experience of self-examination and reflection through exploration of the natural world. Recipients record their experiences in an artful way to share with the W&L community. Previous Kendrick recipients have explored landscapes of personal significance near and far, and have brought their discoveries back to campus.

The University Sustainability Committee is pleased to offer grant support for faculty members seeking resources beyond those available from department or program funds to introduce or augment sustainability content in classes, research, or programming.

Requests appropriate for a USC Sustainability Integration Grant might include funding to attend a workshop through the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), research support to facilitate a new line of academic inquiry or course development, or funds to host a relevant guest speaker. Projects will be centered in environmental sustainability, or at the intersection of environmental sustainability with social and/or economic sustainability.

Please see page 15-16 of the Faculty Handbook, attached and linked here https://my.wlu.edu/provosts-office/administrative-resources/faculty-handbook.

Institutional endorsement of interdisciplinary programs, support for which is a feature in W&L's strategic plan, can be found here:https://my.wlu.edu/the-college/interdisciplinary-programs

Through research-oriented materials acquisition and teaching activities, the University Library supports the formal curriculum and research of the Environmental Studies program, as well as the activities of W&L’s Sustainability initiatives. W&L has area-specific librarians dedicated to areas such as STEM, environmental studies, and economics. The Library has a generous annual book budget that allows the purchase nearly every item requested by faculty, staff, or students. The journals budget is also robust. The library is also a partner with the Office of Sustainability, including providing space for exhibits/displays/events.

Information about support for and tenure and promotion guidelines related to interdisciplinary research was provided by Associate Provost for Academic Development and Operations, Paul Youngman.