Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 67.59
Liaison Susan Dorward
Submission Date Aug. 4, 2022

STARS v2.2

Raritan Valley Community College
AC-10: Support for Sustainability Research

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.00 / 4.00 Susan Dorward
Sustainability and Energy Coordinator
Facilities and Grounds
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Student sustainability research incentives 

Does the institution have an ongoing program to encourage students in multiple disciplines or academic programs to conduct sustainability research?:
Yes

A brief description of the student sustainability research program:
The Center for Environmental Studies offers paid internships to RVCC students and alumni of any major. Interns work closely with a faculty advisor to conduct research in a variety of environmental fields: Campus Sustainability, Coastal Conservation, Forest Ecology, Water Quality, Wildlife, and Rare Plant Research. In addition to working on the internship projects, interns also have opportunities to attend and present at local and regional conferences.

The incentive provided is pay of $15 per hour.

For positive outcomes, please see the recent newsletters highlighting student research:
Fall 2021 - rare plants, coastal ecology - https://sway.office.com/o4T1Rs45VYQlBURd?ref=Link&loc=play
Spring 2022 - water quality, deer - https://sway.office.com/q3vfAa60Fy7JU6tx?ref=Link

Faculty sustainability research incentives 

Does the institution have a program to encourage academic staff from multiple disciplines or academic programs to conduct sustainability research?:
Yes

A brief description of the faculty sustainability research program:
The faculty grant program described in AC-7 (incentives for developing courses) can be used for sustainability research. $1500 was awarded in 2022.

Recognition of interdisciplinary, transdisciplnary and multi-disciplinary research 

Has the institution published written policies and procedures that give positive recognition to interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary, and multidisciplinary research during faculty promotion and/or tenure decisions?:
No

A copy of the promotion or tenure guidelines or policies:
---

The promotion or tenure guidelines or policies:
---

Library support

Does the institution have ongoing library support for sustainability research and learning?:
Yes

A brief description of the institution’s library support for sustainability research:
In AY2021-22, the library conducted its CommUNITY Reads program using the anthology _Wild Branch: An Anthology of Nature, Environmental, and Place-based Writing_, which promoted sustainability literacy.

The library has developed three sustainability research guides:
-Eco Friendly/Environmental Campus Locations and Initiatives (https://library.raritanval.edu/environmentalcampuslocations)
-Energy & the Environment - ENVI 103 - Evaluating News (https://library.raritanval.edu/envi103news)
-Applied Research in Environmental Science - ENVI 201 - Kelly & Stander (https://library.raritanval.edu/envi201)

The library offers four electronic resources (databases) used for sustainability research:
-Environment Complete
-Gale In Context: Environmental Studies
-GreenFile
-ScienceDirect

Optional Fields 

Website URL where information about the institution’s support for sustainability research is available:
---

Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Information provided by Prof. Emilie Stander and librarian Megan Dempsey.

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.