University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
AC-10: Support for Research

UW-Stevens Point is a member of the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR). As a CUR member, the university's Office of Student Creative Activity and Research (OSCAR) provides OSCAR grants that follows CURs five strategic pillars: 1. Integrating and Building Undergraduate Research into Curriculum and Coursework 2. Assessment of the Impact of Undergraduate Research 3. Diversity and Inclusion in Undergraduate Research 4. Innovation and Collaboration in Undergraduate Research 5. Internationalization and Undergraduate Research. Numerous UW-Stevens Point students present at the (17th annual) UW System Symposium for Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity. The Symposium gives undergraduate students in all disciplines, from all University of Wisconsin institutions, an opportunity to present their scholarly work. Students participate through oral presentations, poster displays, gallery exhibits and artistic performances. Travel funds are available for students when held at another university. 2017 presentations included topics on a variety of sustainability issues. Annual abstract booklets are available online. https://www.uwsp.edu/oscar/Pages/symposium/default.aspx Individual colleges have student research programs as well: The College of Natural Resources (CNR) annual Research Symposium features approximately 100 undergraduate students who display and explain their research projects to peers, faculty, and visitors. Projects most likely include some type of environmental research and may incorporate other sustainability concepts as well. Presenters choose to be evaluated or not on their work and presentation, with highest honors being awarded to the upper quartile. A Symposium Booklet is prepared each year that lists all researchers and their projects. The past 6 years years booklets can be found here: https://www.uwsp.edu/cnr/StudentSymposium/Pages/default.aspx The CNR provides a list of faculty and staff research interests to students so they can partner with them. The Student Research Fund (SRF) provides graduate students in the College of Natural Resources with funds to support expenses for their Masters research. (https://www.uwsp.edu/cnr/graduateProgram/Pages/fundingResources.aspx). College of Natural Resources outreach and extension programs help fund student research, such as the Groundwater Model Project funds student research for student chapter of American Water Resources Assn. The Clive A. David Memorial Research Scholarship Award is offered in recognition of Dr. David who was a passionate supporter and mentor of undergraduate student research. The award recipient is honored in recognition of their excellence and commitment to undertaking undergraduate student research. College of Letters and Science Research Symposium promotes student and faculty collaboration across all departments and disciplines in the College of Letters and Science. Research is based on various sustainability concepts. Students showcase their research through poster and oral presentations during the annual event as a culmination of their research experience. Abstracts can be found here: http://www.uwsp.edu/cols/Pages/ResearchSymposium/default.aspx The College of Professional Studies offers an Ed.D in Educational Sustainability.The curriculum is intended to provide students the opportunity to actively engage in coursework, research and professional practice in the field of sustainability. Courses include Research I, Research Methods II and the Applied Residency Project course offers students applied research and place-based field study.

New for 2018: The Educational Sustainability Expertise Development grant program is designed to promote the development of scholarship and expertise in the area of educational sustainability, in ways that connect with the Educational Sustainability Doctoral Program and curriculum. Through this grant program, instructors who plan or are currently teaching, mentoring or serving students in the program may be compensated for scholarly work dedicated in the following categories: Research, Publications, Change agent projects, Scholarly presentations, Attendance and participation to external professional development workshops. Grant awards sizes vary depending on nature and range from $100 - $3000. The Office of Research and Sponsored programs provides funding and resources. Resources include training on Pivot, a searchable portal for public and private funding for research projects and information on the Grants Resource Center. Research funding opportunities for faculty and staff include University Personnel Development grants, college-specific grants, Center for Collaborative & Interactive Technologies grants and Center for Inclusive Teaching and Learning grants. College of Natural Resources (CNR) properties, including its 3 field stations and managed forests, can be used for both teaching and research projects. CNR programs sponsor sustainability related research. For example Center for Watershed Science and Education completes reports and publications for research projects. https://www.uwsp.edu/cnr-ap/watershed/Pages/Reports.aspx#Watershed ; Fisheries Analysis Center https://www.uwsp.edu/cnr-ap/fac/Pages/Research.aspx ; Center for Land Use Education https://www.uwsp.edu/cnr-ap/clue/Pages/default.aspx Wisconsin Center for Environmental Education Publications and Research https://www.uwsp.edu/cnr-ap/wcee/Pages/publications.aspx The Dept of Sociology and Social Work performs research through the Community Resource Center to help implement solutions to community problems. Current and past projects can be found here: https://www.uwsp.edu/cols-ap/CommunityResearchCenter/Pages/currentProjects.aspx

There isn’t specific acknowledgement of interdisciplinary research; the UWSP criteria for scholarship should have disciplinary and/or pedagogical value.

The library provides resources for faculty to perform research. https://www.uwsp.edu/library/Pages/facultyResources.aspx Resources include research databases (Sustainability Science Abstracts, Ecology and Natural Resources, Water Resources, Ethnic Studies), Trial Databases, collection development resources and tools. http://libraryguides.uwsp.edu/facresearch. Archives and Area Research Center of the library includes conservation & environmental collections. https://www.uwsp.edu/library/archives/Pages/collectionsIndexes.aspx One-on-one research consultation with a librarian is available to students and staff. Faculty & Staff Publications can be found on the library website: https://www.uwsp.edu/library/Pages/facultyPublications.aspx A bi-annual Symposium for Scholarly Research celebrates faculty/staff scholarly and creative works.