A Framing Document for Furthering Environmental and Sustainability Education at Ohio State University

 

Background. Sustainability science is a transdisciplinary science that focuses on understanding the complex dynamics that arise from interactions between human and environmental systems. It draws from multiple disciplines of the natural, social, medical and engineering sciences, and humanities, as well as from the professions and the knowledge of practice. It’s grounded in environmental areas of study, including environmental and earth sciences, environmental engineering and planning, environmental public health, environmental social sciences, environmental humanities, and environmental policy and decision making. Central questions include: How are long-term trends in environment and development reshaping our society? How can science and technology be more effectively harnessed to address sustainability goals? What factors determine the limits of resilience and sources of vulnerability in human-environment systems? What incentive structures can most effectively lead to more sustainable communities at local, regional, national and global scales?1 Key competencies essential for academic programs to build the knowledge and capacity of students to address sustainability challenges include:2

• Systems thinking: comprehending how systems are connected, and internal system dynamics

• Futures thinking: envisioning how the past and present inform and influence the future

• Values thinking: understanding the effects our values have on our decisions

• Strategic thinking: developing strategies to achieve a vision

• Interpersonal competence: communicating, negotiating, collaborating, leading, fostering empathy

Rationale. Solutions to the challenges of climate change, increasing land and ecosystem degradation, resource exploitation and development, and other environmental problems rely on science and technology innovations as well as human culture, decision making, institutions, policies and practices. Transdisciplinary approaches that combine scientific and experimental forms of knowledge of human and environmental systems are needed to advance sustainability science, solution-focused applications, and new policies and practices beyond the academy. This shift relies on citizen engagement and workforce training that provides a range of educational opportunities, from technical training in science and technology fields to new skills grounded in systems approaches to a holistic understanding of sustainability and human-environment interactions and systems.

Ohio State is a 21st century land grant institution with a mission to educate students through a comprehensive array of programs, prepare students to be leaders in business and public life, and foster a culture of citizenship and service. Interdisciplinary learning programs that support a range of learning—from educating the next generation of citizens broadly in environmental and sustainability issues to providing in-depth training to address local, state, regional and global sustainability challenges—are essential for Ohio State to fulfill this mission. This requires a different approach to

 

1 This description draws heavily from Clark, William C. 2007. Sustainability science: A room of its own. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 104 (6): 1737-1738

2 Wiek, A, Withycombe, L, Redman, CL. 2011. Key competencies in sustainability: a reference framework for

academic program development. Sustainability Science, 6(2), 203-218; Barth, M, Godemann, J, Rieckman, M, Stoltenberg, U. 2007. Developing key competencies for sustainable development in higher education. Interntl J. of Sustainability in Higher Education, 8(4), 416-430.

curriculum development—one that is not limited to a single discipline, single degree paradigm, department or college.

 

Goals and Strategy. Ohio State’s sustainability goals for teaching and learning are to (1) deliver a curriculum that provides Ohio State students at all stages of instruction — from General Education to professional and technical programs — with opportunities to understand sustainability holistically, framed by the environment, science, technology, society, the economy, history, culture, and politics; and, (2) address the complexities of sustainability through a variety of learning formats, strategies, and occasions. Ohio State has a strong basis on which to bring together a comprehensive sustainability curriculum, including existing undergraduate and graduate programs that focus on human-environment systems and environmental programs across multiple disciplines and colleges that provide a strong foundation (see Appendix A and Table 1).

A critical next step in advancing environmental and sustainability education at Ohio State is a comprehensive framework that defines a university-wide structure for delivering sustainability education that will result in:

• Better coordination and communication of existing educational content and programs related to sustainability, including those that focus on human-environment systems and foundational academic programs in environmental areas of study, and articulation of how they contribute to overall sustainability teaching and learning goals.
• Exploration of potential for new sustainability science learning modules, courses and programs designed to augment existing programs by integrating knowledge from multiple disciplines on human-environment systems. For example, a set of sustainability science courses that can be customized to fit a student’s major or minor and provide a focus on a core application area, e.g., food, water, air, land, climate, energy and communities.
• Identification of curricular gaps in key sustainability areas. For example, Ohio State offers many courses in core sustainability areas, e.g., energy science and technology, resiliency planning, and environmental humanities, but does not have academic programs in these areas.
• Improved coordination and expansion of co-curricular offerings related to sustainability. For example, coordinating information about existing student learning programs and expanding experiential learning focused on campus ecosystem services, project-based courses, campus food systems, and partnerships with Smart Columbus.

Towards this end, we propose an inclusive, campus-wide process to further develop this framework guided by leaders and faculty from the Office of Academic Affairs (OAA), colleges and academic units, and interdisciplinary, cross-college programs, including the Sustainable and Resilient Economy (SRE) and Initiative for Food and AgriCultural Transformation (InFACT) Discovery Theme programs, and centers or institutes with an interest in sustainability. This process will be facilitated by SRE and the Office of Energy and Environment (OEE).

Figure 1 presents a conceptual framework for organizing sustainability education at Ohio State. The foundation is comprised of four broad areas of inquiry: physical and natural sciences; social sciences, business, law and policy; engineering and planning; and humanities and arts. These knowledge domains provide the foundation for sustainability education and their overlaps provide the basis for interdisciplinary education and training. While curricular programs commonly have a core focus in one of the four knowledge domains, sustainability science requires some level of integration of this core

knowledge with knowledge from other domains. While variants of this approach shape some existing curricula at Ohio State, this framework also can be used to guide other existing curricula and the development of new content areas and co-curricular programs.

 

Implementation. We propose a campus-wide engagement of faculty from multiple colleges and academic units via an interdisciplinary faculty working group to develop a comprehensive framework that defines a structure for delivering sustainability education with the outcomes described above. We believe there are substantial gains to be had from better coordination and communication of existing programs to deliver a comprehensive set of environmental and sustainability programs. In addition, there is a need to assess the potential for strategic opportunities to build new programs in key interdisciplinary areas that can complement these programs. Towards this end, we propose the following work plan:

• Engage employers from the private and public sectors to provide feedback regarding workforce development and training needs in the areas of environmental, sustainability, and resilience management, strategy, planning, policy, etc. including applications to energy, water, food, air and other natural resources and ecosystem services.
• Review existing program and professional development offerings in the areas of environment, sustainability and resilience campus-wide (at Ohio State) and at other Universities (external to Ohio State).
• Benchmark Ohio State relative to peer institutions to identify exemplar programs and strategic opportunities.
• Develop structure and a set of recommendations for implementing a comprehensive framework for delivering sustainability education to undergraduate students, including:
  • Expand on this document to articulate a conceptual framework for sustainability education at Ohio State that identifies foundational disciplines, existing and potential interdisciplinary areas of study, and core application areas (e.g., energy, food, water, air, land, climate, communities).
  • Operationalize the framework by identifying the academic programs that exist at Ohio State, their relationship to each other, their contributions to an overall sustainability education program, and key curricular gaps.
  • Articulate specific strategies for better coordination and communication of existing programs, including description of a central portal for students to learn about the multiple possible programs of study and to be tracked into a specific program of study and support services that need to be coordinated and made available to students to meet their educational and professional development goals.
  • Describe the structure of a cross-college sustainability science curriculum that would augment and enhance existing programs of study and that is focused on human-environment interactions, including human dependence and impacts on earth and environmental systems; the role of technology, policy, economy, society, culture, and institutions; implications for the sustainability, resilience, and well-being of local communities, nations, and global society. Suggest topics for courses to be included, the ways in which knowledge will be integrated from across multiple disciplines, mechanisms and incentives for faculty to develop interdisciplinary or team-taught courses, the ways in which students may customize the program to fit their major or minor, and the options for focusing on core application areas.
  • Develop ideas for how a sustainability theme would be structured as part of the GE curriculum revision (conditional on approval of sustainability as a GE theme).
  • Identify whether there are strategic opportunities for developing new degree programs in key interdisciplinary areas of study, e.g., energy science, resiliency planning, environmental humanities. Provide an initial assessment of the feasibility of developing these programs, including potential academic units that would participate and their interest in collaboration.
  • Provide guidance regarding co-curricular sustainability learning programs, including student engagement in sustainability initiatives on campus, campus as a living lab, community service projects, internships, education abroad programs, and other experiential learning opportunities. Describe mechanisms and incentives for project-based learning, including capstone courses, and other impactful learning activities related to sustainability.
• Work with OEE, Facilities, Operations and Development (FOD), and the President & Provost’s Council on Sustainability to expand engagement of students and faculty in campus initiatives and using campus as a test bed.
• Work with student services from multiple colleges to expand professional development opportunities for students in environment, sustainability and resilience related fields, including internships, networking events, campus visits by industry professionals, etc.
• Develop a set of recommendations for expanding interdisciplinary graduate education programs, including Environmental Sciences Graduate Program (ESGP) specializations, developing new interdisciplinary graduate specializations, and exploring opportunities for new interdisciplinary certificate and masters programs focused on specific dimensions of sustainability science or resilience.
• Develop possible certificate programs or educational opportunities for non-degree seeking professionals.
• Identify sources of external support for specific learning programs and initiatives.
  

  List of Contributing Faculty

  Mike Bisesi, Ph.D., REHS, CIH, Senior Associate Dean, Academic Affairs; Professor and Chair (Interim), Department of Environmental Health Sciences, College of Public Health; SRE Faculty Advisory Board

  Nicholas Breyfogle, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of History, Arts and Sciences College; SRE Faculty Advisory Board

   

  David R. Cole, Ph.D., Professor, Ohio Research Scholar; Interim Director: OSU Subsurface Energy Resource Center (SERC); Director Designee: Utica Shale Energy and Environment Laboratory; Director, Subsurface Energy Materials Characterization and Analysis Laboratory (SEMCAL), School of Earth Sciences, Arts and Sciences College; SRE Faculty Advisory Board

  Katrina Cornish, Ph.D., FNAI, FAAAS, Endowed Chair and Ohio Research Scholar, Bioemergent Materials, Department of Horticulture and Crop Science, Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, College of Food, Agriculture and Environmental Sciences; SRE Faculty Advisory Board

  Keely Croxton, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Logistics, Department of Marketing & Logistics, Fisher College of Business; SRE Faculty Advisory Board

  Robert T. Greenbaum, Ph.D., Professor and Associate Dean for Curriculum, John Glenn College of Public Affairs; SRE Faculty Advisory Board

  Tim Haab, Ph.D., Professor and Chair, Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics. College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences; SRE Faculty Advisory Board

  Greg Hitzhusen, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, School of Environment and Natural Resources, College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences; Lead Instructor, Environment, Economy, Development and Sustainability (EEDS) Capstone

  Casey Hoy, Ph.D., Faculty Director, Initiative for Food and AgriCultural Transformation (InFACT) Discovery Theme; Kellogg Endowed Chair in Agricultural Ecosystems Management and Professor of Entomology, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center

  Elena Irwin, Ph.D., SRE Faculty Director; Professor, Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics Department, College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences

  Harvey J. Miller, Ph.D., Bob and Mary Reusche Chair in Geographic Information Science, Professor, Department of Geography; Director, Center for Urban and Regional Analysis (CURA), Arts and Sciences College; SRE Faculty Advisory Board

  Jeff Sharp, Ph.D., Director and Professor of Rural Sociology, School of Environment and Natural Resources, College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences

  Linda Weavers, Ph.D., P.E., BCEE; John C. Geupel Endowed Professor, Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geodetic Engineering, College of Engineering, SRE Faculty Advisory Board

  Robyn Wilson, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Risk Analysis and Decision Science, School of Environment and Natural Resources, College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences; SRE Faculty Advisory Board

  Figure 1: Conceptual Framework for Interdisciplinary Environmental (Env), and Sustainability (Sustain) Education

   

  12/10/17

  Appendix A: Current Situation

  Ohio State has a strong basis on which to further sustainability teaching and learning. Specifically:

   

• At an undergraduate level, several academic units administer degree programs with a strong focus on humans and the environment, including the School of Environment and Natural Resources (SENR) and Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics (AEDE) in the College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences; Earth Sciences, History, Anthropology and Geography in the Arts and Sciences College; City and Regional Planning and Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering in the College of Engineering; and the College of Public Health (see Table 1). Many of these programs include interdisciplinary coursework as part of their core curriculum.
• Several academic programs are structured as cross-unit programs, for example:
  • Environment, Economy, Development and Sustainability (EEDS) undergraduate major is jointly offered by SENR and AEDE and includes core courses from the Fisher College of Business
  • The Humanitarian Engineering undergraduate minor in Engineering includes coursework on human dimensions from other colleges
  • A sustainable agriculture major that spans CFAES, several allied colleges, and other Ohio colleges and universities including Central State, is under development with support of a USDA Higher Education Challenge Grant led by the Agroecosystems Management Program
  • At a graduate level, the Environmental Sciences Graduate Program (ESGP) is a multi-college program that provides an interdisciplinary curriculum across physical sciences and engineering, biological sciences, and social sciences with disciplinary depth in established specializations
• A variety of co-curricular programs exist to support student interest in environment and sustainability, including Green Engineering, Humanitarian Engineering, Scholars programs in Environment and Natural Resources, and residential programs. These include the SUSTAINS Learning Community that provide opportunities to be engaged with faculty on research projects, project- based learning experiences, and community engagement and the STEP program which provides support to second year students to engage in in-depth interactive learning with faculty and peers.
• University-wide support and leadership in key areas of sustainability science, including food and food security (InFACT); materials and manufacturing (M&MS, IMR); energy (OEE); climate (Byrd Polar); water (GWI, Water Resources Center, Ohio Sea Grant); mobility (CAR, CURA); human-natural systems, sustainability assessment, resilience (SRE); and pilot areas as part of the Humanities and the Arts Discovery Theme: Environmental Humanities, Humane Technologies, and Science and Technology Studies.

These and other initiatives, such as those outlined by the Environmental Sciences Advisory Committee (Appendix B), have demonstrated the existing strengths and strong potential for furthering interdisciplinary learning and cross-unit collaboration at OSU. Nonetheless, substantial barriers to integrating knowledge across different domains and units remain. Students and faculty are often deeply engaged within their own disciplines and programs, and do not have clear incentives or opportunities to explore other disciplines or courses offered in other units. In fact, students, faculty, and staff are often unaware of the existing courses and learning opportunities that Ohio State offers in environment, sustainability, and resilience studies. In addition, a financial incentive that rewards academic units based on the number of students enrolled in their own courses acts as a direct disincentive to team teaching or partnering across academic units. Finally, the variety of opportunities that students have for engagement in environment and sustainability are largely uncoordinated, often under-supported, and sometimes duplicative. For example, there are over a hundred student organizations that focus on some aspect of environment or sustainability.

 

Table 1: A Preliminary List of Existing Ohio State Majors and Minors Related to Environment and Sustainability

Name	Major/ Minor	College	School/ Department	Curriculum Sheet
Anthropology	Major	Arts and Sciences	Anthropology	https://anthropology.osu.edu/undergrad/major-bs
Earth Sciences	Major	Arts and Sciences	Earth Sciences	https://earthsciences.osu.edu/majors#Geological Sciences Subprogram
Earth Sciences	Minor	Arts and Sciences	Earth Sciences	https://artsandsciences.osu.edu/sites/artsandsciences.osu.edu/files/minorsheet-earth-sciences-7.2015_0.pdf
Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology	Major	Arts and Sciences	EEOB	https://eeob.osu.edu/undergrad/ee/ee-major-bs
Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology	Minor	Arts and Sciences	EEOB	https://eeob.osu.edu/undergrad/ee/ee-minor
Atmospheric Sciences	Major	Arts and Sciences	Geography	https://asp.osu.edu/sites/asp.osu.edu/files/BS%20Atmospheric%20Sciences_0_0.pdf
Environment and Society	Major	Arts and Sciences	Geography	https://geography.osu.edu/undergrad/majors/environment
Geography – multiple tracks	Major	Arts and Sciences	Geography	https://geography.osu.edu/sites/geography.osu.edu/files/BS%20Geographic%20Information%20Science%20%28NEW%20GIS%29_4.pdf
Atmospheric Sciences	Minor	Arts and Sciences	Geography	https://artsandsciences.osu.edu/sites/artsandsciences.osu.edu/files/atmospheric-sciences-minor.pdf
Geographic Information Science	Minor	Arts and Sciences	Geography	https://artsandsciences.osu.edu/sites/artsandsciences.osu.edu/files/gis-minor.pdf
Environment, Health, Technology, and Science	Major	Arts and Sciences	History	https://history.osu.edu/undergrad/major
Environment, Health, Technology, and Science	Minor	Arts and Sciences	History	https://history.osu.edu/undergrad/minor/ehts
Agribusiness and Applied Economics	Major	CFAES	AEDE	https://aede.osu.edu/sites/aede/files/imce/files/Undergrad/Agribusiness%20and%20Applied%20Economics%20major.pdf
Agribusiness and Applied Economics	Minor	CFAES	AEDE	https://aede.osu.edu/sites/aede/files/imce/files/Undergrad/Agribusiness%20minor.pdf\
Environmental Economics	Minor	CFAES	AEDE	https://students.cfaes.ohio-state.edu/sites/ap/files/site-library/site-documents/minors/Environmental%20Economics%20minor%20AU%2014%20rev.Oct2015%282%29.pdf
Food Business Management	Major	CFAES	FST	https://fst.osu.edu/sites/fst/files/imce/images/Food%20Business%20Management%20New%20Logo%20October%202014%20%281%29.pdf
Food Science and Technology	Major	CFAES	FST	https://fst.osu.edu/sites/fst/files/imce/images/Food%20Science%20Au%2017.pdf

 

Sustainable Plant Systems	Major	CFAES	HCS	https://hcs.osu.edu/sites/hcs/files/imce/images/SPS-Plant%20Biosciences%20Autumn%202017.pdf
Plant Pathology	Major	CFAES	Plant Pathology	https://students.cfaes.ohio-state.edu/sites/ap/files/site-library/site-documents/Major_Sheets/Plant%20Path%20New%20Logo%20Summer%202015%20October%202014%20%284%29.pdf
Plant Pathology	Minor	CFAES	Plant Pathology	https://students.cfaes.ohio-state.edu/sites/ap/files/site-library/site-documents/minors/Plant%20Pathology%20Minor%20AU%2014%20%283%29.pdf
Plant Health Management	Major	CFAES	Plant Pathology/ Entomology	https://students.cfaes.ohio-state.edu/sites/ap/files/site-library/site-documents/Major_Sheets/Plant%20Health%20Management%20Summer%202015%20final%20October%202014%20%283%29.pdf
Environmental Policy and Decision Making	Major	CFAES	SENR	https://senr.osu.edu/sites/senr/files/imce/images/New%20EPDM_4.pdf
Environmental Science	Major	CFAES	SENR	https://senr.osu.edu/sites/senr/files/imce/images/ES2_1.pdf
Forestry, Fisheries, Wildlife	Major	CFAES	SENR	https://senr.osu.edu/sites/senr/files/imce/images/FFW_au16_1.pdf
Natural Resource Management	Major	CFAES	SENR	https://senr.osu.edu/sites/senr/files/imce/images/Curric%20Road%20Map%20NRM%20-%20NRAM_4.pdf
Environmental Science	Minor	CFAES	SENR	https://senr.osu.edu/sites/senr/files/imce/images/ENVSCI_minor_1.pdf
Forestry, Fisheries, Wildlife	Minor	CFAES	SENR	https://senr.osu.edu/sites/senr/files/imce/images/FFW%20minor_0.pdf
Rural Sociology	Minor	CFAES	SENR	https://senr.osu.edu/sites/senr/files/imce/images/RURAL%20SOC%20minor_0.pdf
Society and Environmental Issues	Minor	CFAES	SENR	https://senr.osu.edu/sites/senr/files/imce/images/SOCENV_minor.pdf
Soil Science	Minor	CFAES	SENR	https://senr.osu.edu/sites/senr/files/imce/images/Soil_Sci_minor_1.pdf
Sustainable Agriculture	Minor	CFAES	SENR	https://senr.osu.edu/sites/senr/files/imce/images/SUSTAGR_minor_0.pdf
Environment, Economy, Development, Sustainability	Major	CFAES	SENR/AEDE	Major: https://senr.osu.edu/sites/senr/files/imce/images/EEDS_13.pdf
Environment, Economy, Development, Sustainability	Minor	CFAES	SENR/AEDE	Minor: https://senr.osu.edu/sites/senr/files/imce/images/eeds_minor_3.pdf
Agricultural Systems Management	Major	CFAES/ Engineering	FABE	https://students.cfaes.ohio-state.edu/sites/ap/files/site-library/site-documents/Major_Sheets/Agricultural%20Systems%20Management%20%28eff%20SU%2013%29%20Feb%202017.pdf

 

Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering (Ag. Eng. Spec.)	Major	CFAES/ Engineering	FABE	https://fabe.osu.edu/sites/fabe/files/imce/files/CurrSheets/FABE%20AG%20Curriculum%20Sheet%202017-2018.pdf
Humanitarian Engineering	Minor	Engineering	–	https://engineering.osu.edu/sites/engineering.osu.edu/files/uploads/he_minor.pdf
Civil Engineering	Major	Engineering	CEGE	https://ceg.osu.edu/sites/ceg.osu.edu/files/uploads/2015-16_civ_eng._curriculum_flowchart_guide_update_6.pdf
Surveying and Mapping	Minor	Engineering	CEGE	https://ceg.osu.edu/sites/ceg.osu.edu/files/uploads/surveying_and_mapping_minor_program_2015_0.pdf
Environmental Engineering	Minor	Engineering	CEGE	https://ceg.osu.edu/sites/ceg.osu.edu/files/uploads/environmental_engineering_minor_program_2015_0.pdf
Environmental Engineering	Major	Engineering	CEGE	https://ceg.osu.edu/sites/ceg.osu.edu/files/uploads/2015-16_env_eng._curriculum_flowchart_guide_update_4.pdf
City and Regional Planning	Major	Engineering	Knowlton School	http://knowlton.osu.edu/sites/default/files/pdf/AU17_BSCRP.pdf
Landscape Architecture	Major	Engineering	Knowlton School	http://knowlton.osu.edu/landscape-architecture
City and Regional Planning	Minor	Engineering	Knowlton School	http://knowlton.osu.edu/sites/default/files/pdf/City%20and%20Regional%20Planning%20Minor_approved%20ASC %202015.pdf
Science, Engineering, and Policy	Minor	John Glenn College of Public Affairs	Glenn College	http://glenn.osu.edu/undergraduate/sepp/
Public Health	Major	Public Health	–	https://cph.osu.edu/sites/default/files/students/docs/17-18%20BSPH%20EPH%20curriculum%20%26%20four%20year%20plan%20guide.pdf
Global Public Health	Minor	Public Health	–	https://cph.osu.edu/sites/default/files/students/docs/Undergraduate%20Minor%20in%20Global%20Public%20Health.pdf

Appendix B: Excerpt from the 2009 Ohio State Environmental Sciences (ES) Advisory Committee Recommendations

In consultation with the Report of the Task Force on Environmental Sciences from September 2009, the ES Advisory Committee has developed recommendations to greatly improve the integration and growth of ES activities across campus. These recommendations will be beneficial to both ES faculty and their TIU departments. Target timeline to accomplish items are listed in parentheses.

 

Statement of Purpose. To engage in high-quality interdisciplinary educational and research efforts in environmental sciences by:

• Creating a clearly defined structure for education and research that has ES as its primary mission.
• Raising the profile of research and graduate programs in ES at OSU.
• Connecting faculty, students, and researchers engaged in research, teaching, and /or outreach related to ES.
• Reducing barriers to performing interdisciplinary ES research, teaching and/or outreach.
• Recruiting and retaining talented graduate students in ES.

Recommended changes to administrative structure

1. Establish Environmental Sciences Network (Years 1-3 )
   1. Become the central portal and “storefront” for ES research and education.
   2. Develop research clusters focused on high priority and emerging issues in environmental science.
   3. Facilitate the pursuit of collaborative, interdisciplinary research and training grants.
   4. Develop interdisciplinary, team-taught courses.
   5. Offer cross-college seminars.
   6. Coordinate outreach and service-learning activities.
   7. Create central website portal for environmental sciences.
      1. Provide information for future students (e.g., links to graduate programs that offer training in environmental sciences, links to faculty webpages, information on application process).
      2. Highlight important news, activities, and opportunities.
      3. Advertise courses and seminars.
      4. House discussion groups/forums/blogs where research clusters can explore potential collaborative activities.
      5. Distribute periodic electronic newsletters highlighting ES news, activities, and opportunities.
2. Reduce barriers to participation in interdisciplinary ES activities (Year 3)
   1. Restructure the faculty and chair evaluation/reward system to encourage participation in interdisciplinary ES activities.
   2. Create MOU of “ground rules” for interdisciplinary environmental science participation in departments and colleges. MOU should contain information on advising, co-advising, teaching outside the department, co-teaching inside or outside the department, large collaborative grants, multi-author publications, and participation in centers and/or the ES Network.
      1. Large collaborative grants and multi-author publications: Reduce penalties by giving greater value to co-PI status and co-author status on grants and publications.
      2. Co-advising: Allow both faculty advisors to count these students as advisees for P&T and salary increases.
      3. Co-teaching: Return revenue to TIUs proportional to number of faculty involved in each course, incentivize faculty to co-teach by recognizing the increased effort of co-teaching (i.e., it is not automatically 50% effort for each instructor).
      4. Service in interdisciplinary committee work: Place increased value on service in IGPs or other interdisciplinary committees.
   3. Change POA and APT documents of units to describe expectations for interdisciplinary research, instruction, and service and rewards for these efforts (i.e., P&T and salary increases).
3. Modify the structure of the Environmental Science Graduate Program ESGP (Year 1)
   1. Collaboratively develop dual major PhD with TIUs that participate in ESGP.
   2. Promote cross-cutting specialization tracks within ESGP that are consistent with priority research clusters. The ESGP GSC approved this concept last academic year.
   3. Revise the graduate student accounting mechanism to allow participating TIUs to receive full credit for ESGP graduates advised by their faculty. In many cases, fully counting of students in both IGP and a faculty member’s TIU will reduce barriers and possibly incentivize TIUs to participate.