Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 65.20
Liaison Olivia Conner-Bennett
Submission Date March 2, 2020

STARS v2.2

Stevens Institute of Technology
EN-10: Community Partnerships

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.00 / 3.00 Mercedes McKay
Deputy Chief of Staff
Office of the President
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability :
Sustainability Management Plan for Jersey City, NJ

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:
A team of Stevens graduate students developed a Sustainability Management Plan for the city of Jersey City, NJ as part of their capstone project in sustainability management in 2019. This project was advised and supported by professor Dr. D. Sarkar, on behalf of the institution. In 2018, Jersey City launched the Office of Sustainability to coordinate sustainability initiatives across all government departments and to provide a holistic view for how Jersey City will operate in the future. The Sustainability Management Plan identifies four key focus areas and accompanying strategies that are necessary for the City to pursue a sustainable, greener future. The expectation is that the Sustainability Action Plan will be updated regularly to stay relevant to current concerns from residents, businesses, and other stakeholders.

Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (2nd partnership):
Green Retrofit for Stormwater Best Management Practices for Pollution Prevention in Urban Coastal Communities in New Jersey

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):
Yes

A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (2nd partnership):
The Town of Secaucus and Stevens are partners on a research project funded by the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that explores the possibilities of retrofitting green infrastructures with green technologies to make Secaucus more resilient to extreme climate events and to improve overall environmental sustainability efforts of the town. Dr. D. Sarkar, a professor of environmental engineering at Stevens is the Principal Investigator of this grant. Below are the 4 major objectives of the project:
1. Retrofit an existing bioretention system with green-material-coated mulch to remove phosphorus and metals.
2. Retrofit storm drains (that receive high concentrations of metals and hydrocarbons from automobiles) with catch-basin inserts with green filter media.
3. In Retrofit 3, a floating treatment wetland with hydroponically-grown vetiver grass (Chrysopogon zizanioides), a non-invasive, high-biomass nutrient- and metal-hyperaccumulator with massive root system will be optimized and installed in a stormwater retention pond next to a highway for water quality improvement.
4. A survey instrument to collect opinion data will be implemented to evaluate the potential of broad-scale future application of these green technologies in Secaucus and similar urban coastal communities to make them more sustainable and resilient to extreme climate events.

Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (3rd partnership):
Hugo Neu Corporation Sustainability Seminar Series

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):
Yes

A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (3rd partnership):
The Hugo Neu Corporation Sustainability Seminar Series is a weekly lecture hosting a variety of speakers who focus on a wide range of sustainability issues. The series is sponsored by the Hugo Neu Corporation, and co-sponsored by BEM Systems, Brown and Caldwell, Geosyntec Consultants, and H2M Architects and Engineers. It is organized by the Stevens Sustainability Management Master's Program. The seminar series is "free" for anyone in the community to attend, either in person or online. It has been intentionally kept free to encourage anyone and everyone in the community to participate.

Please see https://www.stevens.edu/schaefer-school-engineering-science/departments/civil-environmental-ocean-engineering/graduate-programs/sustainability-management-masters-program/sustainability-seminar-series.

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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