Skidmore College
AC-9: Research and Scholarship

To create the research inventory, we relied on faculty and staff to self-identify as conducting sustainability research. We sent an email to all applicable faculty and staff reminding them that, as articulated in both Skidmore's Campus Sustainability Plan and our institutional strategic plan Creating Pathways to Excellence, our definition of sustainability includes not only our human impact on the natural world but also the interconnections among the environment, the economy, and society. Faculty voluntarily responded to this email with their department/program affiliation and a brief description of their research interest(s). It should be noted that developing a comprehensive list of faculty is currently challenging, and our responses in this section are, without question, a significant underrepresentation of the faculty and staff who are doing sustainability research. Because of the lack of clear tracking, we have inevitably overestimated the number of faculty and staff who are actively engaged in research and underestimated the number of faculty and staff who are conducting sustainability research. Skidmore is currently in the process of developing and implementing a database to better track faculty research interests and efforts. In order to create stronger networks around sustainability, we are also launching a series of lunch discussions for faculty and staff interested in teaching and/or conducting research at the intersections of: sustainability and justice, sustainability and business, sustainability and art, sustainability and food, and sustainability and science. Through these efforts, we will not only gain a more accurate picture of who is currently engaging in sustainability research but also broaden engagement by strengthening networks.