Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 66.18
Liaison Phil Valko
Submission Date March 2, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Washington University in St. Louis
AC-10: Support for Research

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.00 / 4.00 Chad Henry
Operations Manager
International Center for Advanced Renewable Energy and Sustainability (I-CARES)
"---" 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:

The Environmental Studies Program, International Center for Energy, Environment and Sustainability, Office of Sustainability and Tyson Research Center have developed a collaborative internship model that includes research-focused summer internships, directed to student-led projects on energy, environment and sustainability. Together with the Office of Undergraduate Research and Career Center the programs ensure that the opportunities are available to all students.

Student participation in sustainability research is encouraged in multiple ways and through different paths. Additional support is available in internal pilot funding for faculty research projects to protect funding for student participation. Programs are devoted directly to students. Increasingly, large-scale projects are also looking for avenues to increase student participation in ways that align with curriculum and provide mentoring opportunities.

Ongoing programs are available within Washington University in St. Louis to encourage students in multiple disciplines or academic programs to conduct research in sustainability. The Office of Undergraduate Research helps fund students undertaking research project over the summer. One example program is the Washington University BioSURF Program which is designed to provide mentored, ten week summer research program in the biological sciences. Academic programs work with the Office of Undergraduate Research to ensure opportunities for research grants, fellowships, and internships are broadly available to the campus community.

Funding is also available through the Gephardt Institute to support their work at unpaid internships in the community over the summer: http://gephardtinstitute.wustl.edu/goldman-fellows/


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:

Washington University has an active internal funding program to encourage faculty from multiple disciplines or academic programs to conduct research in sustainability. The International Center for Advanced Renewable Energy and Sustainability (I-CARES) annually funds projects for up to $50,000 and 12 months to tenured and tenure-track faculty conducting research in energy, the environment, and sustainability (http://icares.wustl.edu/research/Pages/Proposals.aspx). To date 94 projects have been funded to over 116 university faculty to pursue projects ranging from sustainable fashion design to the design of new solar photovoltaic systems. The Tyson Research Center has sponsors seed grants to stimulate interdisciplinary field research (https://sustainability.wustl.edu/tyson-faculty-seed-grant-for-interdisciplinary-research/).

Other funding opportunities include: the McDonnell Academy Global Energy and Environment Partnership (MAGEEP), the Institute for Public Health, and the Consortium for Clean Coal Utilization.

The Bear Cub Fund (https://otm.wustl.edu/for-inventors/useful-resources/)and the Vice Chancellor for Research University Research Strategic Alliance program (https://source.wustl.edu/tag/university-research-strategic-alliance/) are focused on technology development and facilitating new interdisciplinary connections, respectively. These two funding sources are not specific to sustainability.


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?:
Yes

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

The Washington University in St. Louis Policy on Academic Freedom, Responsibility, and Tenure (https://wustl.edu/about/compliance-policies/academic-policies/tenure/) is the primary policy regarding responsibilities of faculty members and establishes expectations for teaching and research. In 2010 the Office of the Provost established a Policy on Joint Appointments to govern expectations and promotion expectations for faculty engaged in interdisciplinary research via formal joint appointments between academic departments (https://provost.wustl.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/policy_on_joint_appointments_final.pdf). Formal steps are taken to solicit faculty feedback on this issue. The faculty survey conducted by the university includes a question specifically on whether each respondent feels that “interdisciplinary research is recognized and rewarded by my department/unit.”

Each year the International Center for Energy, Environment and Sustainability funds faculty research projects. These projects are designed to be interdisciplinary pilot projects and can be focused in any area of energy, environment and sustainability. Thirty projects have been funded through this program the past three years. The Institute for Public Health, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, and the schools also provide funding to faculty.


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:

- The Washington University library system is supportive of, and engaged in, the broader sustainability efforts on campus. They have installed scanners throughout the University Libraries (all Libraries except Law, Medicine, and Social Work). These scanners allow patrons to scan Library materials and e-mail them to an address of their choosing or save the scanned images to a flash drive instead of using copiers. This service is provided at no charge and is available to students, faculty, staff, and Library visitors. The library also employs subject librarians. Within the broad umbrella of sustainability librarians are assigned to Architecture, Biology, Environmental Studies, Public Health, and Urban Studies. Other reference experts in additional fields also help students, faculty and staff find sustainability resources. For a full list of subject experts please visit - http://library.wustl.edu/research-instruction/subjectlibrarians/librariansbysub/. Research Guides are also available on a number of topics - http://libguides.wustl.edu/. The library is also a key resource in complying with open access policies for publications.


The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

Additional information on student research programs:
Office of Sustainability (post RFPs from a variety of internal and external funding sources): https://sustainability.wustl.edu/get-involved/staff-faculty/research/request-for-proposals/

Interdisciplinary Certificate of Accomplishment in Bioenergy and the Environment: http://parc.wustl.edu/outreach/certificate
Undergraduate Research: http://ur.wustl.edu/

Additional information on faculty research programs:
MAGEEP Funding: http://mageep.wustl.edu/FUNDINGOPPS/FundingOpportunities.aspx
CCCU Funding: http://cccu.wustl.edu/research-fund.php


Additional information on student research programs:
Office of Sustainability (post RFPs from a variety of internal and external funding sources): https://sustainability.wustl.edu/get-involved/staff-faculty/research/request-for-proposals/

Interdisciplinary Certificate of Accomplishment in Bioenergy and the Environment: http://parc.wustl.edu/outreach/certificate
Undergraduate Research: http://ur.wustl.edu/

Additional information on faculty research programs:
MAGEEP Funding: http://mageep.wustl.edu/FUNDINGOPPS/FundingOpportunities.aspx
CCCU Funding: http://cccu.wustl.edu/research-fund.php

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.