(PDF) (DOC) (JPG)December 8, 1999

(Mahwah) — Sporting bike pants and helmets Ramapo College Public Safety officers recently debuted their newest uniforms along with the very latest in patrol vehicles – mountain bikes. After an initial training course, the officers who volunteered for the bike patrol began duty last month.

The project is part of an effort to reduce the environmental impact of the state’s colleges and universities and involves eight campuses that have joined to form the New Jersey Higher Education Partnership for Sustainability. Launched last spring with the support of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation in Morristown, the Partnership includes Montclair State University, Ramapo College, Kean University, Rutgers University, Stevens Institute of Technology, The College of New Jersey, Princeton Environmental Institute, and Bergen Community College.

The bike patrol has had an immediate environmental impact. The officers are averaging 10 miles per day or 50 miles per week. For each mile traveled by Public Safety personnel with human power, there is a fossil-fuel mile avoided. It is estimated that every five miles saves one gallon of gas (gas mileage is low for Public Safety vehicles because of time spent idling and at low speeds). Not only is there a savings from the reduction in gasoline and motor vehicle costs, there is also an actual reduction in vehicle emissions.

On top of that there is an added advantage: the physical activity required is benefiting bike patrol personnel. Comments from students have been favorable. They describe the bike patrol officers as more approachable than those in other vehicles. In addition, morale has gone up due to better physical fitness and an increase in public contact.

In addition, two emergency medical technicians are trained on the bikes. “Emergency Medical Services is a large part of our community effort,” says Russ Hoffman, director of Public Safety at Ramapo. “If we use the ambulance for every call, we put that wear and tear on the vehicle.” The technicians carry oxygen and a defibrillator on the bikes when they respond to a call and are backed up by the ambulance if needed.

“How academic institutions consume electricity, discharge waste water, apply chemicals to their landscapes, operate vehicles, purchase products, dispose or recycle their wastes, and a range of many other activities means more than mere maintenance,” says James Quigley, executive director of the Partnership. “The entire process sets an example for students, faculty, staff and the community.” Quigley contends that we have no models anywhere of truly sustainable institutions.

At the center of the project is networking and information sharing between the campuses. Anthony Cortese, executive director of Second Nature, a Boston-based sustainability training organization that Dodge is funding to work with the Partnership, notes of the New Jersey effort, “It is a model for what can happen in other states and regions. If we can make it work here, this model will be copied widely.”

According to Michael Edelstein, a professor of environmental studies at Ramapo and a director of the Partnership, “There is no more urgent task before educators than to provide our students with an opportunity to learn how to live sustainably on this earth. The campus is the logical place to innovate along these lines because we are historically leaders, because we have a responsibility and opportunity to be self-reflective that other institutions may not have, and because we are preparing the next generation of citizens.”

The grant from the Dodge Foundation covered the cost of the bikes, which were sold to the college at a wholesale price by Amber Cyclery; all other equipment and training was paid for from the Public Safety department’s budget. Officer Autumn Gerena initiated the project, in response to Hoffman’s call for suggestions on how the Public Safety Office could be more user friendly. She did the research and, together with Edelstein and fellow member of the faculty Clifford Peterson, put together the grant proposal.

For more information, please call James Quigley, (201) 684-7031.

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About Ramapo College

Ramapo College of New Jersey is the state’s premier public liberal arts college and is committed to academic excellence through interdisciplinary and experiential learning, and international and intercultural understanding. The comprehensive college is situated among the beautiful Ramapo Mountains, is within commuting distance to New York City, was named one of the 50 Most Beautiful College Campuses in America by CondeNast Traveler, and boasts the best on-campus housing in New Jersey per Niche.com. Established in 1969, Ramapo College offers bachelor’s degrees in the arts, business, data science, humanities, social sciences and the sciences, as well as in professional studies, which include business, education, nursing and social work. In addition, the College offers courses leading to teacher certification at the elementary and secondary levels, and offers graduate programs leading to master’s degrees in Accounting, Applied Mathematics, Business Administration, Contemporary Instructional Design, Computer Science, Creative Music Technology, Data Science, Educational Leadership, Nursing, Social Work and Special Education, as well as a Doctor of Nursing Practice.

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