Center for Climate, Coastal, and Marine Studies

Guided by Fairfield University’s core mission and responsibility as an institution of higher education, as well as the Society of Jesus’ apostolic preference for care for our common home, the Fairfield Center for Climate, Coastal, and Marine Studies:

• Advances our knowledge of climate, coastal, and marine systems, broadly defined, and develops research-based answers to some of the most pressing questions in this field by fostering faculty and students conducting inter- and trans-disciplinary scholarship;

• Focuses faculty and student-faculty research in high-impact, timely areas of inquiry, with particular emphasis on areas that intersect with the University mission of social responsibility and justice;

• Supports the development of faculty and student scholars through collaborative and transformative research projects and/or creative accomplishments that are presented in peer-reviewed venues;

• Promotes the engagement of faculty and students with the community, through frequent and varied outreach events, to both share the results of their scholarship as well as to serve as a resource for local stakeholders.

To accomplish this mission, the Center affirms the following core values:

• Robust research: We support the robust, peer-reviewed faculty research programs at Fairfield and provide resources for faculty scholarship to flourish.

• Inter- and trans-disciplinarity: We embrace and support diverse perspectives and research methodologies to tackle complex questions regarding the climate, coast and ocean.

• Student formation: We seek to develop independent, career-ready student researchers, particularly in multi-disciplinary settings, through their sponsored scholarship and mentorship by faculty experts.

• Social responsibility and justice: We prioritize research that serves the common good and is high-impact for the greater Fairfield community.

• Jesuit grounding: We support the integration of the Ignatian values of critical thinking, discernment and continuous evaluation into Fairfield’s research culture.