- Nature of the engagement: Engagement with the School as a Participant can be permanent or at the behest/request of the individual interested party. This is the “lightest” level of engagement and would primarily consist of being included in the invite list for School opportunities, events, seminars, notifications, etc.
- Benefits to Participant and home unit: Participant and home unit stay abreast of SOE activities and opportunities. These opportunities may include notification of events, coordinating across programs and with the SOE for curriculum development, course staffing, and exploration of new directions based on home unit strategic goals and vision. Opportunities to contribute to near term programmatic or project outcomes. Opportunities to engage with faculty and students outside their home units.
- Length of term: Permanent with opportunity to opt-in or opt-out at any time. Additionally, SOE will contact participants annually to inquire if they want to remain engaged as a participant.
- Opportunities: School Participants would have access to all of the opportunities presented by the SOE, but would not participate in shared governance, strategic planning and investment decisions.
- Contributions: Participant contributions to the School would primarily consist of participating in School organized events and providing feedback on various actions and attributes of the School when requested. Other potential contributions are welcome but not required.
- Relationship to existing home unit: Participants in the SOE would retain full membership and all associated rights in their home unit.
- How to initiate this type of association: The SOE webpage contains a form interested parties can fill out to become SOE Participants.
SOE Pathways
SOE Pathways Overview
To further the goals of the school and its collaborators, we have created a suite of inclusive and transparent pathways for members of our faculty community to formalize their engagement with the school, while simultaneously engaging in collaborative and equitable relationships with their home units. The “SOE Pathways” are designed to facilitate a range of intellectual associations and opportunities for faculty across the university that are interested in environmental topics. These pathways are intended to provide benefits for individuals, departments and our broader university and external communities—including opportunities to participate in interdisciplinary, collaborative and co-developed solutions that address important modern day environmental challenges.
The SOE Pathways support a variety of forms and levels of engagement. For example, some individuals may only be interested in a “light” level of engagement with the SOE (e.g. individuals or groups that just want to remain apprised of what the SOE is up to, or may want to attend SOE panels or other events, etc.). In other cases individuals or groups may want to fully engage with the school (e.g. dedicate a portion, or all, of their workload to SOE endeavors). In these cases individuals or whole groups may gain access to all of the opportunities the SOE can provide as well as fully participate in, and contribute to, realizing the vision and goals of the SOE.
Importantly, the SOE is supportive of individuals being members of the SOE and their home units.
Interested to join the School of the Environment?
Complete this form for more information or to let us know you would like to become part of the School of the Environment.
Three SOE Pathways of Engagement: Participants, Faculty in Residence and Associates
The three SOE Pathways describe ways in which individual faculty or whole groups/programs can become formally associated with the SOE. Importantly, all of these opportunities are intended to be discussed, negotiated, and entered into, in partnership with the leadership in a faculty member’s home unit. We recognize that this is a new administrative structure, and it is normal and expected for collaborators to have questions about how this would work and under what conditions. To facilitate these conversations each pathway is characterized with a general statement describing the nature of the engagement, potential benefits to the participant and home unit, a description of the opportunities and contributions that would be available to, and expected from, the appointment, as well as a brief description of the resulting relationship to the home unit. Additionally, this is a new process that the SOE expects to evolve over time.