GP-UP: Growing Rowans Environmental Education Network in Southern New Jersey (GREEN-SJ)

New Jersey, one of the most diverse regions in the nation, is developing into the east coast hub for offshore wind energy. The new Rowan University Department of Environmental Science (Rowan ES), in the recently formed Rowan University School of Earth and Environment, will serve as a nexus for regional workforce development in the geosciences by partnering with a nearby community college, Rowan College of South Jersey Cumberland Campus (RCSJ-C), an Hispanic-serving institution.

GP-UP: Growing Rowan’s Environmental Education Network in Southern New Jersey (GREEN-SJ) unites Environmental Science transfer students from RCSJ-C with majors from historically marginalized communities who already enrolled in Rowan ES to build their identities as environmental scientists and practitioners in the field, and ultimately prepare them to lead NJ’s green energy future. Recruiting efforts will extend to high schools and increase regional awareness of environmental science careers and opportunities associated with green energy.

GREEN-SJ students will be supported by their diverse peer group and three scientist mentors from similar communities, as they gain practical experience in industry or research within an educational community committed to creating a welcoming and attractive learning environment.

Growing Rowan’s Environmental Education Network in Southern New Jersey (GREEN-SJ) is designed to build a diverse geoscience workforce in the region through a multi-layered approach. Direct support of transfer students from RCSJ-C, an Hispanic serving institution, through course alignment between institutions, and an on- ramp opportunity to orient to Rowan before transferring to improve retention, will expand diversity in a new and growing major, Rowan Environmental Science (Rowan ES).

Once these students transfer to Rowan, they will join a peer group that includes students from historically marginalized communities already in the major, and engage in career preparation including internship and research experiences, academic and professional preparation workshops. A welcoming and attractive learning environment, facilitated by training focused on cultural diversity awareness for race and ethnicity for faculty and our partners in industry will aid in laying the foundation for a more diverse geoscience community in southern NJ.

Culturally competent program evaluation will enable broader implementation in our region with connections to more 2-year schools. Documentation of our experiences and sharing lessons learned will aid other institutions attempting similar initiatives. Ultimately, GREEN-SJ will assist in diversifying the green energy and environmental science workforce in southern NJ, and with the strong preparation this program provides, Rowan ES GREEN-SJ graduates will assist in diversifying the wider workforce beyond southern NJ.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.