Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 54.15
Liaison Leslie North
Submission Date March 3, 2017
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Western Kentucky University
AC-10: Support for Research

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.00 / 4.00 Elizabeth McGrew
Graduate Research Assistant
Social Responsibility & Sustainable Communities
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Student Sustainability Research Incentives 

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:
WKU's Global Pathways to Sustainability Scholarship and the Project Grow Fellowships encourage student research related to and focused on sustainability. WKU's Sustainability Coordinator acts as an advisor for graduate level research theses and undergraduate honors capstone projects/research theses. WKU's President incentivises student research in sustainability through the President's Sustainability Award, which recognizes one student and one faculty member for outstanding research and efforts related to sustainability. Student research in sustainability has resulted in a variety of positive outcomes including a hugelculture program in China, a rainwater collection feasibility study for the main campus, expansion and improvement of the greenhouse gas emissions inventory, and numerous other examples.

Faculty Sustainability Research Incentives 

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:
WKU's President, Gary Ransdell, incentivises faculty research in sustainability through the President's Sustainability Award, which recognizes one student and one faculty member for outstanding research and efforts related to sustainability.

Recognition of Inter-, Trans- and Multi-Disciplinary Research 

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:
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Library Support

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:
WKU has a page titled "Education for Sustainability Links," which has compiled journals, governmental reports, organizations, and other resources that support sustainability research for students, faculty, and staff.

Optional Fields 

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
http://www.wku.edu/sustainability/news/index.php?view=article&articleid=2574

Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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