Recruitment Efforts and Collaboration with Partnership High Schools
The Rubenstein School initiated a multicultural education and recruitment effort in 1988. With USDA funding for undergraduate scholarships and graduate fellowships, the School has recruited and graduated increasing numbers of undergraduate and graduate students of color. Since 1988, the School has received well over $2 million in federal funding to support multicultural students.
Faculty and staff visits to a partner high school (High School for Environmental Studies in New York City) and related programs (The Nature Conservancy LEAF program) help students make connections between natural sciences, social sciences, and natural resources. Issues such as climate change, atmospheric pollution, biodiversity, and economic-environmental conflicts surrounding tourism are used to illustrate these connections. In our experience, many high-achieving multicultural students have strong natural science backgrounds but struggle to make meaningful connections between these basic disciplines and the critical issues in environment and natural resources.
Read a New York Times article on the Rubenstein School's recruitment efforts.
Recruitment and Retention of Faculty and Staff
The School conducts affirmative searches with guidance from the UVM Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Office and has initiated efforts to network within relevant professional venues, organizations, and conferences. Search committees involved in hiring for positions in RSENR create and execute search plans, which succeed in identifying ALANA applicants. They make every effort to write job descriptions that will enable candidates with diverse backgrounds to be considered and then aggressively seek applications from women and people of color.
View the Rubenstein School Diversity Recruitment Plan.
The Dean's Office provides responsive leadership to seriously address issues as they arise. We strive to create a welcoming environment for faculty, staff, and students.
Collaboration with Other Units on Campus
The Rubenstein School collaborates with others on campus in diversity and multicultural efforts, including the Mosaic Center for Students of Color, Prism Center, the Center for Cultural Pluralism, and the President's Office. Over the last several years, members of our administration, faculty, staff, and student body have served or are currently serving on the UVM President's Commission for Inclusive Excellence. We support and participate in special events and development workshops sponsored by other academic units.