Research and Creative Scholarship

Goal: As a doctoral university with high research activity (R2) , and growing recognition of our highcaliber research and creative scholarship, we advance our institution by having a diverse portfolio of research and creative scholarship that engages students, benefits the planet, expands the frontiers of knowledge and elevates the human condition.

Objectives

Objective 1: Increase the engagement of all students in research and creative scholarship to help them gain knowledge, experience and practical skills that will serve their futures as lifelong learners and global citizens.

Objective 2: Increase research and creative scholarship activity by cultivating a supportive environment that ensures faculty, staff and students have equitable access to resources needed to participate in state-of-the-art inquiry, analysis and creativity.

Key metrics

1. Annual research expenditures

2. Creative performances or exhibitions, publications, and presentations directed and curated by faculty, and undergraduate and graduate students

Objective 3: Strengthen community-engaged, public impact research and creative scholarship by leveraging existing partnerships and developing new ones with industries, businesses and nonprofit organizations in southwest Michigan and beyond.

Objective 4: Create and celebrate the compelling narrative about our research and creative achievements and expertise by improving and better coordinating communication with all stakeholders.

12Carnegie Classification High Research (R2): “Institutions that awarded at least 20 research/scholarship doctoral degrees and had at least $5 million in total research expenditures during the update year (as reported through the National Science Foundation (NSF) Higher Education Research and Development Survey (HERD).” Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. Retrieved from https://carnegieclassifications.acenet.edu/ classification_descriptions/basic.php

Sustainability

Goal: We integrate sustainability into all aspects of university functions and invest in this commitment at the highest level of institutional decision-making.

Objectives

Objective 1: Build a campus-wide culture of prioritizing sustainability that is consistently communicated by University leadership.

Objective 2: Every member of our WMU community develops climate change literacy— understanding systemic sustainability challenges, inequities and practices—via curricular, co-curricular and employment experiences.

Key metrics

1. Carbon emissions

Objective 3: Achieve carbon neutrality in alignment with the timeline set forth by the state of Michigan.

Objective 4: Invest in continuous improvement of facilities, infrastructure and practices to achieve a more sustainable campus and healthier community.

13Carbon Neutrality: “a state in which the GHG emissions released to the atmosphere by a stakeholder (individual, organization, company, country, etc.) have been reduced or avoided and the remaining ones are compensated with carbon credits. To achieve carbon neutrality, carbon credits from projects that reduce, avoid, or temporarily capture GHGs are accepted. Note that carbon neutrality is possible at stakeholder level, not at global/planetary level, where use of carbon credits (offsetting/compensation) is not possible.” United Nations Climate Change. Retrieved from https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/ resource/CNN%20Guidelines.pdf

Well-being

Goal: We safeguard the overall health of our community by embedding well-being into all aspects of WMU’s culture, administration, operations and academics by utilizing the social determinants of health and eight dimensions of wellness—physical, emotional, spiritual, intellectual, social, environmental, financial and occupational.

Objectives

Objective 1: Make systemic changes in the written and unwritten rules and processes throughout the institution to better empower all people at WMU to flourish and thrive, especially historically marginalized communities.

Objective 2: Scan the built environments at WMU and enhance the spaces where we learn, work, live and connect so they are more inclusive and conducive to holistic health, safety and accessibility for diverse communities.

Objective 3: Adopt the Okanagan International Charter for Health Promoting Universities and Colleges and mobilize an institution-wide, multidisciplinary coalition of students, faculty, staff and alumni to take collective action for a culture of well-being.

Key metrics

1. Increase in sense of well-being and safety among faculty, staff, and students as measured through the American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment (ACHA-NCHA) and National Faculty and Staff Health Assessment (ACHA-NFSHA).

Objective 4: Provide effective, equitable opportunities for students, faculty and staff to build the personal capacity, health information fluency and life-enhancing skills they need to thrive in all aspects of the WMU Well-being Wheel , including social, financial, spiritual, environmental, physical, emotional, intellectual and occupational wellness.

Objective 5: Create or re-orient WMU services to provide equitable access to and distribution of resources for prevention, support and treatment.

14Social Determinants of Health: “Social determinants of health (SDOH) are the conditions in the environments where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks.” Healthy People 2030, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Retrieved from https://health.gov/healthypeople/priority-areas/socialdeterminants-health.

15Okanagan Charter for Health Promoting Universities and Colleges: “The charter has two calls to action for higher education institutions: (a) Embed health into all aspects of campus culture, across the administration, operations and academic mandates. (b) Lead health promotion action and collaboration locally and globally.” Okanagan Charter: An International Charter for Health Promoting Universities and Colleges (2015).

16WMU Well-being Wheel: The WMU Well-being Wheel is composed of eight internal dimensions (social, financial, spiritual, environmental, physical, emotional, intellectual, and occupational) and six external influences (equity, community/cultural norms, public/organizational policy, living/working environment, sustainability and socioeconomic conditions/access). Retrieved from https://wmich.edu/wellness/wheel.