Champion of Sustainability Award

The Rebecca Johnson Sustainability Champion Award recognizes high levels of accomplishment, innovation, and achievement in sustainability at RIT. The award is given annually to a faculty member, adjunct faculty, RIT staff, or teams of faculty or staff, whose research, project, or campus initiative advances sustainability at RIT and beyond.

At RIT, the term sustainability encompasses holistic approaches to the awareness, understanding and resolution of our interrelated ecological, economic, social, and ethical challenges, with the goal of working within, restoring, and ameliorating the systems and resources necessary to meet the needs of the current generation without jeopardizing future generations.

Awardees will be formally recognized by the university and through sustainability-related media, and will receive a financial prize which they may direct to their project or initiative, or to an area of sustainability at RIT that they select.

Selection Criteria

Nominations will be reviewed by a five member award committee, including the university’s highest ranking sustainability officer and Rebecca Johnson. This group will select three finalists from the applications and will submit them to the provost, who will make the final decision.

Applications will be evaluated on the following criteria:

• Student engagement
• Going above and beyond routine or assigned responsibilities
• Innovation
• Evidence of Impact (environmental, economic, social, and/or student wellbeing)
• Relation to the Sustainable Development Goals

Nominees can be made for groups (either formal or informal) or individuals. Self-nominations are permissible. To submit a nomination please click here.