New Jersey Institute of Technology
AC-5: Immersive Experience

From the vantage of environmental sustainability:
1. Program Name: Honors First-Year Seminar, Campus Biodiversity Survey,
Design Competition and Planting
Program Description: Each year for the past five years, 140-160 Dorman
Scholars learn about the importance of biodiversity, conduct a
biodiversity survey of campus, redesign a portion of campus to make it
more sustainable and more diverse, and plant last year's winning
design. The designs produced by the first-year scholars are assessed
first by the ADHC team (who lead the seminar sections) and select semi-
finalists whose proposals are assessed by a combination of faculty in
the Urban Ecology Lab, and members of the University Sustainability and
Facilities teams. Semifinalists present at a program in the Spring, and
a winning design is chosen and announced. That winning design provides
the planting program for next year's class. To date, we have initiated
gardens behind Honors Hall, on the north side of Eberhardt Hall, and on
the Campus Center Roof. We are presently designing a garden for the
greenspace next to the Summit St. Parking deck.

2. Program Name: Maneet Kaur & Sarabjit Singh ’02H, ’04 Honors Faculty
Fellow in Agriculture and Climate Change
Program Description: This faculty fellowship, currently held by Dr.
Maria Stanko, Biology, offers a course, Food for a Hot Planet, that
examines food production in the face of a changing climate. This course
is one of our service-learning courses. The fellowship provides funding
for the planting and maintenance of NJIT's Urban Food Forest designed
and implemented by students taking the course. The food forest was
initiated last Spring in front of Laurel Hall and provides an ongoing
laboratory for community food production in an urban environment.

From the vantage of sustainable communities:
1. Program Name: Newark Mayor's Scholars
Program Description: Founded in 2018, the program offers an additional
opportunity for residents of Newark to join the Albert Dorman Honors
College through a test optional path based on their academic excellence
and commitment to community. All Newark Mayor's Scholars participate in
the Dorman Honors College City Leadership and Civic Engagement Program.

2. Program Name: City Leadership and Civic Engagement Program
Program Description: The program connects scholars 60 hours of annual
service to an honors education focussed on global social, health, and
environmental challenges, with a particular interest in their local
expression. Scholars take honors service-learning courses and work with
community partners to design their own service program.

3. Program Name: Joan and Albert Dorman Community Education Fund
Program Description: The fund provides grants to scholars who are doing
educational work in the community. It recognizes the scholars most
engaged in strengthening our community through STEM+ education. It has
awarded scholars working to develop robotics clubs in the Newark school
system, to teach local middle-schoolers about STEM+ careers, and
scholars working with Newark Kids Code.