University of Vermont
AC-10: Support for Research

The University has multiple college-focused programs and an overarching fund to encourage students in multiple disciplines or academic programs to conduct research in sustainability. The Clean Energy Fund (CEF) is a student fee-based funding source open for all majors and student levels that started in 2008. Since then, the CEF has provided more than $1.3M funding for research projects on sustainable energy. The funding is used by students, faculty and staff on projects that will help advance UVM’s Climate Action Plan. Below is an example of student research that was funded in 2014. See http://www.uvm.edu/cleanenergyfund for more details. “Off-Campus Student Energy Conservation Challenge”: This research project involved partnerships with Burlington Electric Department and CEIVA Homeview and impacted over 1,000 students through energy use surveys. Graduate student Dan Fredman proposed a study to test the impact of behavioral interventions for energy conservation in off-campus residential housing. Approximately 700 student renters were recruited to participate in the experiment. Approximately 200 students received small “frames” displaying real-time feedback on energy conservation behavior and testing the utility of the SmartGrid in Vermont. Other examples of student research projects that have received CEF funding in the past include: Clean Energy Greenhouse for $67,425 by students in Community Development & Applied Economics Compost Power: Using Compost Power to Heat a Greenhouse for $27,496 by Residential Life Services See also http://www.uvm.edu/sites/default/files/Energizing%20Energy.pdf All undergraduate students enrolled in the Honors College are required to complete and defend an undergraduate research thesis. The Honors College thus serves as the hub for much of the undergraduate student research. One cross-major sustainability funding source offered through the Honors College is the Carl Reidel Scholarship fund, http://www.uvm.edu/ugresearch/?Page=reidel.html, which invites students from any discipline to apply for funding to address environmental challenges. See http://www.uvm.edu/ugresearch/?Page=funding.html. The CEMS/RSENR Energy-Climate Public Impact Research Fellowship provides funding to both engineering and environmental students. One example in 2016 was an Interdisciplinary Research Fellowship on Human Impacts in the Lake Champlain Ecosystem which paired students working on independent research in different disciplines,with each student serving as an assistant to their teammate, fostering deeper and broader connections across disciplines. For example, a student testing hypotheses about the influence of societal structures on the deposition of pharmaceutical contaminants in Lake Champlain might team with a student testing hypotheses about the impacts of by-products of common pharmaceuticals (e.g., toothpaste, birth control pills) on aquatic organisms, thus linking natural and social sciences through linked societal and ecological processes.(see http://www.uvm.edu/ugresearch/?Page=funding.html) and https://www.uvm.edu/~ecolab/?Page=REU.html&SM=REUsubmenu.html Examples of other positive outcomes in support of student research come from UVM’s Engaged Practices Innovation (EPI) Grants Program (http://www.uvm.edu/provost/epigrant/). One of the projects funded by an EPI Grant was a faculty development pilot program to enhance and improve STEM research mentoring. As noted in the final report, the assessment of that program demonstrated a positive impact on the participating faculty mentors which should, in turn, result in improved experiences for undergraduate students engaged in research. Another EPI Grant project, BioFabLab, tapped into the maker movement to engage undergraduate students in creative, collaborative projects to address identified research problems. The final report for this pilot project is not yet due, but it has already generated a grant proposal to the National Science Foundation to expand the program and disseminate the findings.

Provost Rosowsky’s Academic Excellence Goal #4 is to Increase interdisciplinary Teaching, Research and Scholarship. The elaboration of this goal, which can be found at http://www.uvm.edu/provost/ACADEMIC%20EXCELLENCE%20GOALS%20FOR%20THE%20UNIVERSITY%20OF%20VERMONT.pdf, states: Interdisciplinarity is at the core of our academic mission and has been the hallmark of both the UVM academic experience and our areas of research strength. Preserving and expanding opportunities for interdisciplinary activities is widely recognized as a key to our future success as a distinctive and impactful research university. While it is difficult to define robust goals, and even more difficult to benchmark interdisciplinarity, we have committed in a number of important ways to elevating the value and the visibility of interdisciplinary teaching and scholarship at UVM. These include (1) removing operational and philosophical barriers to the conduct of interdisciplinary and cross-unit teaching and research; (2) appointing a new Vice President for Research with responsibility for research, scholarship and creative works, as well as innovation, economic development, and entrepreneurship across the University; (3) appointing a new Dean of the Graduate College with specific responsibility for interdisciplinary graduate programs; and (4) the move to IBB [Incentive-Based Budgeting]..... The University maintains several programs to promote interdisciplinary research. The REACH Grants Program, sponsored by the Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) encourages cutting edge, innovative, interdisciplinary work and collaboration by providing seed money, exploratory funding, leveraging capability, and similar options to faculty members. As stated on the OVPR’s website, “The REACH Grant Program seeks to identify and promote promising research, scholarship and creative arts in all areas of the University and to encourage faculty members to envision ambitious, long-term projects that will have a substantial impact on their own profiles as researchers or creative artists as well as enhance the profile of UVM by the quality and significance of their achievements.” The Center for Research on Vermont has a variety of sustainability-related research projects at any given time. The center is "an interdisciplinary network of scholars and community members focusing in the study of Vermont.” Incentives offered by the Center include the following on the Center's website: "Community Research Fellows receive Center support, preference for student research assistance, and access to University resources in return for collaborating and connecting with students, faculty and staff." Finally, The Clean Energy Fund encourages faculty research from multiple programs to address sustainable energy goals and challenges by awarding funding to approved projects. Launched in 2007 as a student-led initiative, the fund has since invested about $1.3 million in more than 35 energy-related projects and programs at the University. The fund started when a group of students challenged UVM to increase investment in energy education and campus renewable energy projects. Interdisciplinary faculty-student-staff projects include a UVM Electric Vehicle Charging Station Feasibility Study and an Active Transportation Plan. See http://www.uvm.edu/sites/default/files/Energizing%20Energy.pdf.

As noted above, Provost Rosowsky’s Academic Excellence Goal #4 is to Increase interdisciplinary Teaching, Research and Scholarship. This establishes such scholarly work as an institutional priority to be recognized in annual performance reviews of faculty and reviews for of faculty for promotion and tenure. This is reflected in department and college Guidelines. For example, the Department of Biology’s RPT (Review for Promotion and Tenure) Guidelines state “The Department recognizes that many transformative discoveries occur at disciplinary boundaries and that these advances require collaborative research. In accordance with the University’s emphasis in transdisciplinary research the Department acknowledges individual contributions to collaborative projects to be valuable and significant.” The RPT Guidelines of the Rubenstein School for Environment and Natural Resources provide another example: “Because of RSENR’s commitment to graduate education and to interdisciplinary, integrative research, co-authorship is common. Where there is co-authorship, the candidate should explicitly outline his/her contribution to the published work.” An overarching effort that influenced the context for research incentives between 2009 and 2014 was a University-wide conversation — the Transdisciplinary Research Initiative, or TRI — to strategically advance UVM’s national role as a premier small research university. As a result of the TRI process, three Initiatives were identified in 2010: Complex Systems, Food Systems, and Neuroscience, Behavior and Health. As described on its website, in 2013-14 the TRI continued to “help map transdisciplinary strengths across campus and develop UVM's distinctive reputation for research and scholarship around the world. The TRI guides local efforts, including the creation of exciting and impactful new knowledge for Vermont and the nation, the advancement of economic development, and the engagement of our communities.” http://www.uvm.edu/~tri/ As part of that work, a series of new food systems programs was launched, making the University of Vermont the first university in the country to offer degrees in food systems at the BS, MS, and PhD levels. A manifestation of the institution’s long-time support for multidisciplinary research at the University of Vermont is the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics, described on its website as follows: “At the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics, we integrate natural and social sciences to understand the interactions between people and nature and to help build a sustainable future. We are a hub for transdisciplinary scholarship, based at the University of Vermont and comprising diverse faculty, students, and collaborators worldwide. Together we conduct research at the interface of ecological, social, and economic systems, develop creative, practical solutions to local and global environmental challenges, and provide future leaders with the tools and understanding necessary to navigate the transition to a sustainable society.” Four broad, interrelated themes provide centers of gravity for the Gund Institute’s research, training, and outreach: Nature’s Benefits, Ecological Economies; Healthy Landscapes andn Seascapes, and Climate Change. Key projects include: Natural Capital Project Health for Animals and Livelihood Improvement (HALI) Health & Ecosystems: Analysis of Linkages (HEAL) Vermont Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) Steady State Economy Working Group Vermont's Common Asset's Trust Agroecology and Rural Livelihoods Group (ARLG) Pro-Poor Climate Change Mitigation SeaPlan: Massachusetts Ocean Partnership The Gund Institute is poised to expand its reach and its funding base when it transforms into a university-wide Institute for Environment. The Institute for Environment is not yet a reality, but we can point to the planned institute as an example of a positive outcome from institutional support for Trans/Multi-disciplinary research in the areas of environment and sustainability. The webpage on the IoE describes how this evolved over the past three+ years. Here is the link: http://www.uvm.edu/provost/theinstitute/?Page=executivesummary.html The Institute for Environment proposal was approved by the Faculty Senate on 9/26/16. Provost David Rosowsky made clear in his Across the Green letter to the UVM community on 1/17/17 the commitment to support and incentivize trans-, inter- and multidisciplinary research when he provided an update about the Institute for Environment and the Food Systems Initiative. Another example of institutional support for interdisciplinary work is the Engaged Practices Innovation (EPI) Grants Program, sponsored by the Provost’s Office. (http://www.uvm.edu/provost/EPI%20Grant%20RFP%20083016.pdf). This competitive grant program, which is open to all faculty and staff, encourages creative, collaborative projects (curricular and co-curricular) to engage students in active learning. As can be seen in the RFP and the ranking rubric, applicants receive weighted points for interdisciplinarity. These pilot projects must be sustainable beyond the term of the grant, and they frequently serve the dual purpose of research on teaching and learning. One example is the Prof. Trish O’Kane’s Birding to Save the World project. This project, which supports Prof. Kane’s research agenda, combines engaging pedagogy and community outreach with tenets of social justice, sustainability and the natural environment. Birding to Save the World recently received national coverage by NBC news as a unique and exemplary project (see: http://www.nbcnews.com/feature/college-game-plan/can-college-course-birding-change-world-university-vermont-says-yes-n666266).

Sustainability research by students, faculty and staff campus-wide is supported by a Library faculty member with a co-appointment in Environmental Studies. The library has long supported interdisciplinary research through the work of Laurie Kutner, a Library Associate Professor in the Information and Instruction Services Department. Laurie is the research subject specialist for numerous disciplines and provides resources for interdisciplinary study, including anthropology, geology, and environmental studies and sciences. See http://library.uvm.edu/specialists/ and http://www.uvm.edu/envprog/people/laurie-kutner Sustainability-related research by students, faculty and staff has long been supported by Library Associate Professor, Laurie Kutner, who specializes in environmental information and is the library subject liaison to all areas in the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, the Environmental Program, Geography, Anthropology, and Global and Regional Studies. The library has a comprehensive subject liaison program, and as sustainability-related courses and research permeate the campus more widely, library faculty who are subject specialists in other areas support the needs of their departments and schools and consult with Laurie as needed regarding sustainability-related questions. The UVM Libraries has an excellent and very strong collection in environmental and sustainability-related areas to support the curriculum and faculty and student research interests. Recently, the parameters of the approval plan were expanded to even more aggressively collect in environmental areas. As sustainability and environmental information is inherently interdisciplinary, five call number ranges were targeted for this expanded collection effort. The UVM Libraries also has extensive electronic journal collections, including subscriptions to ScienceDirect (Elsevier journals), Wiley Online Library, Sage Journals Online, Springer journals, and more. Our research databases are extensive and are both broadly interdisciplinary and subject-based. For example, Academic Search Premier (EBSCO) is a broadly interdisciplinary database that is an excellent starting point for research and has capabilities to search across multiple databases simultaneously, such as Environment Complete and Social Sciences Full Text, for a very powerful search on sustainability-related topics. Additionally, we subscribe to the range of databases included in Environmental Sciences and Pollution Management (ProQuest) , GEOBASE, Sociological Abstracts, and discipline specific databases for virtually every discipline. We also subscribe to Web of Science, which is the research database of choice for many faculty at UVM. There is a long and strong history at UVM of the library working closely and collaboratively with faculty teaching sustainability and environmentally-related courses to incorporate information literacy skills, concepts and habits of mind both into their courses and progressively across curricula. For example, the Environmental Program at UVM which supports the Environmental Studies major, is currently engaged in curricular mapping of their established writing and information literacy learning outcomes to introductory, intermediate, and advanced-level courses across the curriculum as part of a university-wide initiative called WILD (Writing and Information Literacy in the Disciplines.) Library faculty member Laurie Kutner continues to work collaboratively with ENVS to design and refine these learning outcomes, and partner to teach students information literacy skills through formal class instruction as well as through a robust individual consultation service. For students writing undergraduate theses on sustainability and environmentally-related topics, if they are in the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, or Environmental Studies majors, they must take ENVS 201, Environmental Research Methods. As students take research to the next level, Professor Kutner, as research co-instructor for the course, meets multiple times during the semester for formal instruction sessions with students, as well as in individual consultations to focus on conducting comprehensive literature reviews on their topics. As part of the instruction for this course, as with all courses that Professor Kutner interfaces with, she creates electronic library research guides tailored to the needs of specific classes, including a number of sustainability-related courses that have been taught in past semesters. For an example of a class research guide, see the current guide for ENVS 201: http://researchguides.uvm.edu/envs201 Additionally, UVM librarians maintain library subject guides for all subjects: http://researchguides.uvm.edu/baileyhowe Professor Kutner also administers the ENVS Electronic Thesis collection at UVM, which highlights the excellent undergraduate research that our students interested in sustainability and environment undertake: http://scholarworks.uvm.edu/envstheses/ More broadly and across campus, UVM’s institutional repository, ScholarWorks, also hosts the Honor’s College electronic thesis collection of undergraduate theses: http://scholarworks.uvm.edu/hcoltheses/ Professor Kutner also works with student groups as requested to support research and information-related activities. A recent example of this is work she is currently doing with the new student-run environmental magazine called HeadWaters: http://uvmheadwaters.org/ Finally, as a member of the first cohort of the Sustainability Faculty Fellows Program, Professor Kutner continues to work with each new cohort of Sustainability Faculty Fellows during their initial workshop to highlight the multiple ways in which the library and librarians are available to support and interface with newly created sustainability-themed courses. She also is a member of the Faculty Senate Sustainability Curriculum Review Committee that supports the sustainability general education outcome at UVM. Examples of faculty-led research projects supported by the library’s sustainability resources can be found on the website of the Gund Institute http://www.uvm.edu/giee/?Page=research.html&SM=researchsubmenu.html