Sustainability

• URI Sustainability
  210 Flagg Road
  Kingston, RI 02881-2021
  Phone: 401-874-4358
  Email: sustainability@etal.uri.edu
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Sustainability Research

As the state of Rhode Island's flagship research institution, sustainability is a topic of great interest to the dozens of faculty here who are helping to solve the most critical environmental issues for the New England region, and for the world. The University of Rhode Island is a Land, Sea, and Urban Grant institution, meaning that the University is granted land by the government which it can use to conduct research and educate future researchers, is involved with the NOAA in marine conservation research, and researches fundamental urban processes affecting human settlements with help from community members. As an institution conducting work that is greatly involved with the environment, it is logical that we begin to involve ourselves in our own sustainability research. This page will highlight the efforts that the University has already conducted and will begin to conduct in order to start a strong sustainability research program. There is still a long way to go, but progress is being made.

Increasing Environmental Literacy

In order to increase the amount of research we conduct on campus, students must be given the skills required to conduct such research early on. The University of Rhode Island has extensive and successful environmental science programs already in place, specifically, curriculum in the natural sciences, environmental and natural resource economics, oceanography, ocean engineering and marine affairs. A good majority of graduate programs fall into these categories, but undergraduate programs cover a wide variety of educational focus which does not always cover sustainability. 

One of the main challenges of increasing sustainability research is preparing undergraduate students, who are not involved in any of the traditional science programs, and faculty to concentrate on sustainability issues, mainly through interdisciplinary cooperation. Generating more interest in sustainability is a big part of increasing research as well, and the programs being put in motion today are aimed at accomplishing this. Steps towards complete cooperation between curriculums have been taken already; the University has created a sustainability minor, introduced the Grand Challenges program which focuses on bringing real global issues into undergraduate classrooms, and introduced new graduate programs like the Blue MBA that prepare graduate students to develop business models with sustainability in mind.

There is also a leadership workshop held by the campus called Infusing Sustainability into the Curriculum that informs faculty and staff of ways to enhance their teaching and engage students with issues of global importance. Modeled after Emory University’s Piedmont Project, the workshop provides an innovative approach that has been intellectually stimulating and collegial for the faculty. More information about the workshop can be found here.

Increasing Research Opportunities

Perhaps one of the biggest challenges in the move to increase sustainability research on campus is defining and identifying these kinds of research opportunities for the students and staff who want to study the links between the local campus community and global sustainability issues. The University receives $90 million in grants each year, which shows that URI has the potential to be one of the top academic research institutions in the country. By turning our focus to sustainability research, we can attract new researchers and promote future research to both students and staff. Currently, there are initiatives in place that can help to fulfill this goal; the Office of The Vice President for Research and Economic Development has supported start-up grants for new research initiatives in the past, and the URI Transportation Center provides an opportunity at the graduate and undergraduate levels alike to further research on sustainable transportation.

URI Sustainability Researchers

The list below contains a list of URI staff known to be conducting sustainability research. Note that this is not an exhaustive list of all faculty at URI who are conducting research. We are working with the Research Office to produce a more accurate inventory. Any faculty currently conducting research or thinking about starting research should contact the Sustainability Office.

2/20/2013

Sustainability Search

URI's Dr. Marion Gold talks with Master Gardener Rudi Hempe about the URI American Chestnut Research Orchard.

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