The Environmental Institute

Western Michigan University

The establishment of the Environmental Institute as an umbrella organization that joins the Environmental Research Center with the Environmental Studies Program will help make WMU a national leader in environmental research, education, and outreach. The Institute, through the Environmental Research Center, will provide new opportunities for interdisciplinary environmental research and grant activity among faculty in the natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, and applied sciences. It will also maintain and enhance undergraduate interdisciplinary environmental education, primarily through the Environmental Studies Program, by encouraging, involving, and mentoring graduate and undergraduate students in environmental research.

The Institute will coordinate existing and new environmental programs and curricula and facilitate interdisciplinary and cross-College collaboration and dialogue. It will coordinate environmental outreach activities and community support services seeking, where appropriate, the involvement and participation of relevant community, regional, state, national, and international groups and officials.

The impetus for this proposal comes from recognition that Western Michigan University already encompasses a wealth of expertise in areas related to the study of the environment. At the same time, there is recognition that environmental research and training often involve multidisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary approaches. An interdisciplinary environmental research institute will act as a focal point to stimulate innovative multidisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary work to address environmental problems by facilitating research collaborations among investigators, faculty, and students in several disciplines. The Institute will also allow groups of researchers to apply for larger and more complex grants. Currently there is no university Institute that can coordinate initiatives from the variety of departmental-level research institutes and centers involved in environmental research and provide leadership in seeking funding for such projects.

This is necessary because environmental research, by its nature, is interdisciplinary. Environmental problems typically involve basic research carried out at a macroscopic level including geographical, geophysical, and geological sciences, ecology and population biology, and, at a microscopic level, chemistry, and cell and molecular biology. New environmental technologies that stem from basic science research do not become solutions until they are transferred to the public sector through environmental policy. This most important aspect of environmental research involves work in the social sciences, humanities, and in business.

By offering a new model for linking interdisciplinary research, education, and outreach, the Institute will strengthen greatly the funding efforts of the Environmental Research Center and will facilitate and enrich the education and training programs of Environmental Studies Program. It will also help to focus, coordinate, and strengthen existing and potential outreach efforts.