University of the Pacific
AC-10: Support for Sustainability Research

The University supports research on topics and issues relevant to society. Sustainability is among these topics. Internal grant mechanisms to support faculty/student research include: Scholastic/Artistic Activities Grants and Eberhardt Research Fellowships administered by the Faculty Research Committee; SEED grants administered by the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs; and travel and research grants, and summer undergraduate research fellowships by the Office of Undergraduate Research. https://www.pacific.edu/academics/research-scholarship/undergraduate-research

The University supports research on topics and issues relevant to society. Sustainability is among these topics. Internal grant mechanisms to support faculty/student research include: intramural Scholastic/Artistic Activities Grants (SAAGs) and Eberhardt Research Fellowships administered by the Faculty Research Committee; SEED grants administered by the Office of Research and Pacific Fund Grants administered by each academic unit. In 2022 the University started a program to fund interdisciplinary research proposals that involve faculty from at two different disciplines and that address the following themes: sustainability, diversity and inequities, climate, or pandemics. These intramural grants are also much larger than the SAAGs and require the faculty to apply for extramural grants after the two-year intramural grant funding period.

In promotion and tenure decisions, all research is given preferential consideration. The Faculty Handbook 7.5.4.a Evaluation Criteria Defined, outlines general criteria and specifies that each unit provide clear guidelines. Many units, including but not limited to Business, School of International Studies and School of Health Sciences encourage work across fields.

The University Libraries hosts multiple online and hardcopy resources to support sustainability research and learning including a Sustainability Resources and Initiatives subject guide (https://libguides.lib.pacific.edu/sustain/home) and the university’s digital repository, Scholarly Commons (https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/). The Resource page links to journals, databases, books and audio resources pertaining to sustainability, and Scholarly Commons provides a platform for learning about faculty research and finding faculty experts in sustainability and other fields of study. The library’s Holt-Atherton Special Collections and Archives (go.pacific.edu/archives) curates the largest collection of naturalist John Muir's original writings that are made available for research online, in the interactive Muir Experience museum, as well as through staff presentations and publications. Collectively these offer opportunities to become familiar with John Muir's work and better understand its impact and relevance today.