Williams College
AC-10: Support for Sustainability Research
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.00 / 4.00 |
Tanja
Srebotnjak Director Zilkha Center for Environmental Initiatives |
Does the institution have an ongoing program to encourage students in multiple disciplines or academic programs to conduct sustainability research?:
A brief description of the student sustainability research program:
Each summer the Center for Environmental Studies offers funding to support student projects including scholarly research, career-related internships, and creative endeavors. All Williams students are eligible to apply for CES funding, regardless of major, concentration, or year(graduating seniors are not eligible). All proposals must demonstrate an environmental component, although our interpretation of “environmental” is broad.
The Zilkha Center also offers practical and research-informed academic year and summer internships on a broad range of sustainability topics (e.g., zero waste, sustainable food, communications, energy and resources). All students are invited to apply, DEI criteria inform hiring, and typically no prior experience is needed in order to allow everyone to explore sustainability as a paradigm, a discipline, and a course of action.
A new internship program with leading EU environmental think tank Ecologic Institute in Berlin, Germany is launching this summer and student selection is under way. Students will live and work in Berlin for 10-12 weeks and participate in the day-to-day operations, applied research and policy analyses conducted by the institute.
Does the institution have a program to encourage academic staff from multiple disciplines or academic programs to conduct sustainability research?:
A brief description of the faculty sustainability research program:
The 2021 Strategic Plan recognizes sustainability as a cross-cutting theme and advises the college to, inter alia,:
- Actively consider sustainability and environmental studies in hiring decisions;
- Support curricular development in areas such as climate science, environmental justice, agriculture and food systems, and sustainability in the arts and architecture;
A new faculty hire in sustainable design and architecture is nearly complete.
Faculty also has access to internal research support funds, and receives a $3000 annual research allocation, that can be used to advance sustainability research (and other topics/areas).
The Strategic Plan is also leading to new investments in:
- Supporting and rewarding faculty innovation in teaching across their careers;
- Increasing support for research and scholarship, and helping faculty better identify and access outside funding sources;
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?:
A copy of the promotion or tenure guidelines or policies:
The promotion or tenure guidelines or policies:
Excerpts from the Faculty Handbook (2021/22):
Section II-H: Evaluation Committees
The Dean of the Faculty will appoint the members and chair of the evaluation committee in consultation with faculty members in the hiring unit(s) and those in related scholarly and curricular areas. If the hired faculty member does interdisciplinary work, the Dean of the Faculty will strive to appoint at least one member of the evaluation committee who also does interdisciplinary work in related fields.
Section II-I: Faculty Affiliation to Departments or Programs Williams
College recognizes the growth in the interdisciplinary training and interests of its faculty. As a result, the following language is designed to clarify the affiliation between a faculty member and a unit other than their home unit, in cases where a joint appointment is not made. This clarification is designed to help the faculty member, the home unit, and the affiliated unit understand their respective responsibilities and define expectations so that interdisciplinary interactions can be freely and productively pursued.
Section V-O: Oakley Center for the Humanities and Social Sciences:
The Oakley Center for Humanities and the Social Sciences organizes and supports semester-long or year-long faculty seminars, arranges conferences, and sponsors visiting speakers of special interest to groups of faculty members engaged in interdisciplinary research.
Does the institution have ongoing library support for sustainability research and learning?:
A brief description of the institution’s library support for sustainability research:
The library supports the Environmental Studies curriculum and provides considerable resources about sustainability. Subscriptions include:
Environment Abstracts
Sustainability Science Abstracts
Applied Science and Technology Abstracts
The Williams College Library also subscribes to many other abstract services for the social sciences that provide access to policy studies about sustainability, energy, pollution, and environmental topics.
The book collection continues to grow and contains hundreds of books about various aspects of sustainability. The Williams College Library is also a federal depository library and collect U.S. government documents about a wide range of issues including the environment and sustainability. The library also belong to two library resource sharing consortia, NExpress and the Boston Library Consortium which, together with traditional interlibrary loan, greatly expand access to research material.
Just as importantly, the Williams College Library provides in-person and remote research assistance to students, faculty and staff. Its information literacy efforts include working with CES and other faculty to better prepare students to do research and evaluate sources.
Website URL where information about the institution’s support for sustainability research 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.