Raritan Valley Community College
EN-9: Community Partnerships

RVCC is a member of Sustainable Somerset, the sustainable business organization within the Somerset County Business Partnership (since 2013 and ongoing, see http://www.scbp.org/greenprograms/). A RVCC staff member is on the Board of RideWise, Somerset County's transportation management authority, which focuses on transportation alternatives (since 2012, ongoing). (See http://www.ridewise.org.) RVCC is part of the New Jersey Water Supply Authority's River Friendly Business program and received River Friendly certification (since 2010, ongoing). (See http://www.raritanbasin.org/Projects/riverfriendly/business.html.)

RVCC and New Jersey Audubon have combined forces to conduct education, research, and outreach on forest health in central New Jersey, with the support of a 3-year grant from the National Science Foundation’s SENCER Program (Science Education for New Civic Engagement and Responsibilities). Preliminary results from 2013-2014 include the successful training of citizen scientists by RVCC students and NJ Audubon, research on the bird and plant communities of our local forests, and integration of these activities into RVCC classes, Audubon programs, and stewardship of public forest preserves. RVCC has partnered with the Rotary Club, Rutgers University, and Boy Scouts of America to develop a enabling garden on campus, to benefit the disabled, veterans, and the community at large. The garden will have native plants, with touch, smell, and visual sections. The partnership began in 2013, and the project will be completed in 2015. The Greater Raritan Workforce Delivery Project (GRWDP), sponsored by the USDOL, aims to improve workforce education by partnering with local businesses, employers, and high-performing incumbent workers to train workers in new career paths for high demand jobs which pay a livable wage. The programs are selected by a an external steering committee, comprised of representatives from local industry, economic, governmental and community-based entities and the project is further evaluated by John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University. Partners are USDOL (TAACCCT), John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University, Greater Raritan Workforce Investment Board (GRWIB), Somerset County Business Partnership & Hunterdon County Chamber of Commerce, & local employers/businesses. The Institute for Holocaust and Genocide Studies is a partnership with Public Strategies Impact, LLC; High Grade Beverage; MDAdvantage Insurance Company of NJ; AstraZeneca; Sa & Sons Construction Co., Inc. and Glassman High Voltage, Inc.; New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education, Association of Holocaust Organizations, The Museum of Jewish Heritage- A Living, Memorial to the Holocaust, New York Museum of Tolerance, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Israel. The partnership enables college to serve as a repository of Holocaust and Genocide literature and audio/visual materials with outreach services; and evokes reflection and remembrance while encouraging active community participation to build a more humane society. The Paul Robeson Institute for Ethics, Leadership, and Social Justice is a partnership with State Organizations: Amistad Commission of NJ, New Jersey Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Commission, NJ Black Cultural Heritage Initiative, Save Darfur Now, RVCC’s Black Students Association, Diversity Task Force for the Tolerance Center Initiative, and The Historically Black College and University Planning Committee. It fosters a spirit of inquiry and excellence in academic studies, communication skills, and the arts and sciences and provides educational and cultural opportunities that emphasize Ethics, Leadership and Social Justice.