Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 70.33
Liaison Neha Sood
Submission Date March 3, 2022

STARS v2.2

Rochester Institute of Technology
EN-10: Community Partnerships

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.00 / 3.00 Neha Sood
Director of Sustainability
Office of the President
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

1st Partnership 

Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability :
Indigenous Arts & Sciences Coalition at Ganondagan

Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? :
Yes

Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe?:
Multi-year or ongoing

Which of the following best describes the partnership?:
Sustainability-focused

Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners? :
Yes

A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability:
As a result of the commitment to preserve Indigenous Knowledge, RIT, Ganondagan State Historic Site and Friends of Ganondagan have signed a Memorandum of Understanding forming the Indigenous Arts and Sciences Coalition.

Through this relationship RIT is able to conduct field research at Ganondagan. Future Steward Scholars have the opportunity to become involved with research projects related to controlling invasive plant species and restoring native grass seed.

https://www.rit.edu/diversity/futurestewards

2nd Partnership

Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (2nd partnership):
Seneca Park Zoo

Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? (2nd partnership):
Yes

Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe? (2nd partnership):
Multi-year or ongoing

Which of the following best describes the partnership’s sustainability focus? (2nd partnership):
Sustainability-focused

Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners? (2nd partnership):
No

A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (2nd partnership):
A strategic partnership between RIT and the Seneca Park Zoo Society was established in 2017, which continues to this day: https://www.rit.edu/news/rit-seneca-park-zoo-society-sign-partnership

The collaboration ensures that various departments and programs at RIT can collaborate with the Seneca Park Zoo for educational and research programs. A full list of projects is available here: https://www.rit.edu/sites/rit.edu/files/2019-06/ZooNooz_june2019_rit%5B1%5D.pdf

3rd Partnership 

Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (3rd partnership):
FoodLink

Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? (3rd partnership):
Yes

Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe? (3rd partnership):
Multi-year or ongoing

Which of the following best describes the partnership? (3rd partnership):
Sustainability-focused

Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners? (3rd partnership):
Not Sure

A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (3rd partnership):
https://www.rit.edu/news/rit-and-foodlink-partnership-combats-food-insecurity

RIT and Foodlink signed a MOU in 2018 to signal the start of a strategic partnership to combat food insecurity and hunger in the Greater Rochester region. This program provides RIT students critical experiential learning, nutritional research, and civic engagement opportunities. It allows Foodlink to utilize student volunteers for group projects, pilot initiatives, and internships.

Optional Fields 

A brief description of the institution’s other community partnerships to advance sustainability:
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Website URL where information about the institution’s community partnerships to advance sustainability is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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