The Engaged University: Providing a Platform for Research That Transforms Society

Authors

Ali Whitmer, Georgetown UniversityFollow
Laura Ogden, Department of Global and Sociocultural Studies, Florida International UniversityFollow
John Lawton, Chairman, Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution
Pat Sturner, Woods Institute for the Environment, Stanford University
Peter M. Groffman, Department of Geography and Environment, Boston UniversityFollow
Laura Schnieder, Department of Geography, Rutgers University
David Hart, Senator George J Mitchell Center for Environmental and Watershed Research, University of Maine
Benjamin Halpern, National Center for Ecological Analysis and SynthesisFollow
William Schlesinger, Department of Geography and Environment, Boston University
Steve Raciti, Department of Geography and Environment, Boston University
Sonia Ortega, National Science Foundation
Lindsey Rustad, USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station
Steward TA Pickett, Department of Geography and Environment, Boston UniversityFollow
Mary Killilea, Department of Biology, New York University

Abstract

Despite a growing recognition that the solutions to current environmental problems will be developed through collaborations between scientists and stakeholders, substantial challenges stifle such cooperation and slow the transfer of knowledge. Challenges occur at several levels, including individual, disciplinary, and institutional. All of these have implications for scholars working at academic and research institutions. Fortunately, creative ideas and tested models exist that provide opportunities for conversation and serious consideration about how such institutions can facilitate the dialogue between scientists and society

Comments

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation through the Florida Coastal Everglades Long-Term Ecological Research program under Cooperative Agreements #DBI-0620409 and #DEB-9910514. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in the material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Recommended Citation

Whitmer, A.C., L.A. Ogden, J. Lawton, P. Sturner, P.M. Groffman, L. Schneider, D. Hart, B.S. Halpern, W. Schlesinger, S. Raciti, N. Bettez, S. Ortega, L. Rustad, S.T.A. Pickett, M. Killelea. 2010. The engaged university: providing a platform for research that transforms society. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 8(6): 314-321.