SOE Pathways

School of the Environment Pathways Overview

To further the goals of the school and its collaborators, we have created a suite of transparent pathways for members of our faculty community to formalize their engagement with the school, while simultaneously engaging in collaborative and supportive relationships with their home units. The “SOE Pathways” are designed to facilitate a range of intellectual associations and opportunities for faculty across the university who 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.

Engagement

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 in joining the School of the Environment?

Complete our form for more information or to let us know if you would like to become part of the School of the Environment.

Three SoE Pathways of Engagement:

Participants
Faculty in Residence
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.

Pathways Detail

Pathway 1: Participants

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.

Pathway 2: Faculty in Residence

Nature of the engagement: A temporary appointment in the SOE as a SOE Faculty in Residence (FiR). Appointments can range in duration from 1-3 years, and have the potential to be renewed. FiR appointments can be individualized or topical. For example, SOE may decide to incentivize a group of topical appointments around SOE challenge areas (e.g. climate change mitigation and adaptation, experiential learning, curriculum development, etc.). Individualized FiR appointments may also be proposed. In these cases appointments would be focused on an activity that aligns with the vision, values and goals of the SOE but is proposed by the Faculty applying for a residency instead of being previously identified by the SOE. Appointments will be constructed to provide focus on the types of contributions the School is looking for and that a faculty member would want to provide. The number and distribution of FiR appointments will be aligned with SOE needs, activities, and resources.
Benefits to Participant and home unit:
- The SOE FiR gains opportunities to design, or contribute to, projects focused on near term environmental/programmatic outcomes. Opportunities to engage with faculty and students outside their home units, opportunity to enhance their research and creative activity.
- Home units benefit through the opportunity to partner on support and growth of their faculty’s scholarship, opportunities to participate in, and test out new, curricular or programmatic approaches or structures, opportunities to explore novel strategies for developing new or aligning existing programming across units to enhance student opportunities and efficiency of delivery, etc.
Length of term: Fixed Terms of 1-3 years negotiable and renewable
Opportunities: SOE FiR would have full access to all of the opportunities presented by the SOE, have the opportunity to participate in the creation of SOE shared governance policies and structures, strategic planning and investment decisions.
Contributions: Varied depending on the nature of the individual seeking a residency. In general, contributions from FiRs would represent between 0 and 100% of the faculty members workload based on the nature of the appointment. Potential contributions are inclusive of scholarship, teaching, and service.
Relationship to existing home unit: Individual SOE FiR would retain membership and associated rights in their home unit. Efforts associated with the SOE appointment would count towards annual evaluation, P&T, etc. in the home unit. For example, the SOE Director would contribute to the annual and T&P review of Faculty with FiR appointments as per the nature of the residency and associated workload.
- SOE will strive to replace components of the FiR’s workload associated with the SOE to the home unit for the duration of the appointment as needed and appropriate. Our goal would be an equitable workload for the FiR and necessary support provided for the needs and goals of the home unit and the SOE.
- Annual and P&T review for SOE FiR will consist of a co-developed review process involving SOE leadership, SOE T&P committee, and the appropriate leadership structures of the home unit based on workload allocation for the duration of a school-level appointment.
How to initiate this type of association: Opportunities for topical residencies will be announced annually by the SOE and will be accompanied by a formal application process. To initiate a discussion about an individualized residency appointment an interested party should contact a member of the SOE leadership team (Kevin Feris: kevinferis@boisestate.edu; Emily Wakild: emilywakild@boisestate.edu; Alejandro Flores: lejoflores@boisestate.edu).

Pathway 3: SOE Associates

Nature of the engagement: Partial to full permanent School appointment. Can be pursued by individual faculty or whole groups.
Benefits to Participant and home unit:
- SOE Associate Faculty gain opportunities to help develop and define SOE challenge areas, design and/or contribute to implementation projects that address SOE challenge areas and that produce near and long-term environmental and programmatic outcomes, collaborate on the improvement and expansion of existing programs and design and implementation of novel SOE programs, engage with faculty and students outside their home units, enhance their research and creative activity, and opportunities to be recognized and rewarded by SOE policies and faculty support structures. Through shared values and intentional collaboration whole groups and individuals benefit through opportunities to explore novel strategies for aligning existing programming across units, to enhance student opportunities and success, efficiency of program delivery, and exploration of novel strategies for enhancing student support.
- Importantly, Associate Faculty may retain their appointment within their home unit, and therefore can be effective long-term connections between the SOE and their home units/programs.
- Alternatively, faculty or groups of faculty may pursue a full appointment in the SOE using this pathway.
- Home units benefit through the opportunity to partner on support and growth of their faculty’s scholarship, development of stakeholder relationships beneficial to the home unit and the SOE, partnership and shared celebration of successes associated with projects addressing SOE challenge areas, opportunities to participate in and test out new curricular or programmatic approaches or structures, opportunities to explore novel strategies for developing new or aligning existing programming across units to enhance student opportunities and efficiency of delivery, etc.
- It is noted that this relationship will require detailed discussion and intentional collaboration with home units. Additionally, while the full movement of faculty lines to the SOE is possible it is expected to be less frequent than other scenarios.
  Length of Term: Permanent with periodic review by SOE and the home unit.
Opportunities: Individuals with this type of engagement would have full access to all of the opportunities presented by the SOE, participate in creation of SOE shared governance policies and structures, strategic planning and investment decisions.
Contributions: Varied depending on the goals shared between the individual or group seeking an appointment and the SOE. In general, contributions from individuals/groups would represent between 0 and 100% of the individual or group workload. Potential contributions are inclusive of scholarship, teaching, and service.
Relationship to existing home unit: SOE Associates would retain membership and associated rights in their home unit based on the details of their appointment. Efforts associated with the SOE appointment would count towards annual evaluation, P&T, etc. SOE leadership would contribute to both of these processes based on the nature of the SOE appointment. SOE would strive to replace components of workload associated with the SOE to the home unit for the duration of the appointment as needed/appropriate. Our goal would be an equitable workload for the SOE Associate and necessary support for the needs and goals of the home unit and the SOE. Annual and P&T review for SOE Associates will consist of a co-developed review process involving SOE leadership, SOE T&P groups, and the appropriate leadership structures of the home unit based on workload allocation for the duration of a school-level appointment.
How to initiate this type of association:
- Contact a member of the SOE leadership team (Kevin Feris: kevinferis@boisestate.edu; Emily Wakild: emilywakild@boisestate.edu; Alejandro Flores: lejoflores@boisestate.edu).
- Additional members of the home unit leadership and college leadership will then be contacted as appropriate.