Research
Undergraduate research is central to Furman’s engaged learning philosophy, a commitment evidenced by our faculty’s enthusiasm for involving students in their own research interests. Faculty-student research has opened doors for Furman students to present their own work at conferences and see their work published.
The Shi Center’s Student Fellows Programs support students doing sustainable research, as well as other campus and community-based projects. These opportunities encourage students to engage sustainability in diverse ways and develop their academic credentials along with their personal character and sense of place and responsibility.
Sustainability research at Furman permeates through all disciplines. In the hard sciences, students and faculty conduct ongoing research and restoration projects such as monitoring lake health at Furman Lake and participating in intensive summer research around South Carolina at the River Basins Research initiative. Other majors have researched organic farming techniques and have done photojournalism projects documenting life in Greenville’s West Side to raise awareness about sustainable transportation, housing and economic development. Ongoing sustainability research initiatives include the River Basins Research Initiative, conservation culture research, and the lake restoration project, among others.
Furman's Shi Center for Sustainability has also supported faculty sustainability research through its Faculty Fellows program. Past fellows have built a fiber-dye garden on campus to support teaching and research in applied plant sciences; examined sustainability advocacy and rhetoric and applied their research to the university campus; and studied the links between economic development and water and sanitation infrastructure through an applied project in Guatemala.