Colleges and universities across the country employ a variety of strategies to foster and sustain interdisciplinary research and education but one strategy - developing an interdisciplinary website - stands out as a powerful centralizing mechanism for interdisciplinary activities across a campus. Wayne State University recently launched its own website devoted solely to Interdisciplinary Research and Education, www.research.wayne.edu/idre.

Wayne State’s website for Interdisciplinary Research and Education (IDRE) has four major goals: to provide tools for Wayne State faculty that support their interdisciplinary research and education efforts; to spotlight interdisciplinary activities at the University; to serve as an information clearinghouse among University parties as well as the external community; and to present informative articles about interdisciplinarity.

The website offers greater visibility for existing programs, projects, and other interdisciplinary activities. It will also enhance their legitimacy by publicizing successes, and support existing, emerging, and future efforts with information on funding opportunities, literatures, and other local, national, and international resources.

The website’s seven sections provide specific tools and information to support interdisciplinary activities across campus. Home welcomes visitors to the site, links to the 2004 report on Facilitating Interdisciplinary Research from the National Academy of Sciences, and presents reprints of important publications. Interdisciplinary Research @WSU provides news and other information about forming ID research groups, the Faculty Commons Meetings, and an earlier 1993 internal report on the status of interdisciplinarity at Wayne State. Interdisciplinary Education is still under construction, but at present has a preamble on current imperatives for ID education and a link to information on training grants. Funding Opportunities includes links to both internal and external opportunities as well as the SPIN computer database of public and private funding opportunities. The Conference Clearing House provides a checklist for conference planning, news about upcoming events, and a place to post calls for abstracts and proposals. Tools for Researchers has an assortment of links facilitating searches for equipment, the COS-Community of Scholars database, project evaluation services, a database of faculty research interests, and a mechanism for locating research collaborators. More Links leads to campus-based electronic research newsletters and a WSU Fact Sheet.

Phase one of the IDRE website project, which emphasizes research, is the culmination of a yearlong effort to increase awareness of and support for interdisciplinary activities on campus. Phase two of the website project will develop the sub link on interdisciplinary education.

The IDRE website development team includes Nancy Christ, Director for Research Program Development in the Office of the Vice President for Research; Julie Thompson Klein, Professor of Humanities in the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies; Gloria Heppner, Associate Vice President for Research; and Toyin Akinmusuru, Senior Systems Integrator.

For additional information about the website, or to provide information about interdisciplinary activities and interests at Wayne State, contact Nancy Christ at nchrist@med.wayne.edu.