Top Community College in NJ
Raritan Valley Community College has been named the #1 Community College in New Jersey in 2023 and the “Intelligent Pick” by Intelligent.com. RVCC earned its Intelligent Pick ranking with a score of 97.92. RVCC also has been named the top college in New Jersey by WalletHub.com.
Newman Civic Fellow
Sydney Lehrer, RVCC Class of 2023, has been selected as a Newman Civic Fellow by Campus Compact for the 2023-2024 academic year. Lehrer, a Liberal Arts major, joins more than 157 students from across the US and Mexico selected for this honor, which recognizes their commitment to finding solutions facing communities locally, nationally, and internationally. RVCC is one of six community colleges in the US, and the only New Jersey community college, to be honored with a fellow.
As a volunteer at Safe Harbor Child Access Centers, Lehrer created a free program offering English classes to its Spanish-speaking population and a multiweek lesson plan focusing on basic English grammar and proper pronunciation. At RVCC she was actively engaged in the College’s nationally recognized Service Learning Program, Honors College, and Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, and also served as President of the Campus Fitness Club. In addition, Lehrer is a recipient of the President’s Volunteer Service Award–Gold Level from the White House.
Jack Kent Cooke
Liam Boyle, RVCC Class of 2023, is one of 60 high-achieving community college students selected from across the country to receive the highly competitive Jack Kent Cooke Foundation’s Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship. The award can provide Boyle, a Mechanical Engineering major, with as much as $55,000 a year to complete a bachelor’s degree. Boyle is continuing his studies in Mechanical Engineering at Princeton University.
A member of the RVCC Honors College and the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, Boyle received the Academic Award for Engineering Science. While at RVCC, he served as co-president of the Engineering Club and participated in a service learning project with the Authentic Engineering Experience. He also was awarded the President’s Volunteer Service Award–Gold Level.
National Group Ranks RVCC as #1 Two-Year College for Sustainability Efforts
For the first time in its history, RVCC has earned a STARS Gold rating by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). RVCC now ranks as #1 overall for two-year colleges in the US for its sustainability efforts. STARS, the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System, measures and encourages sustainability in all aspects of higher education. This is the eighth year in a row that RVCC has been recognized nationally for its sustainability efforts by AASHE.
The College also ranks extremely high nationally among community colleges in a number of areas, including the #1 school in the country, with a perfect score, for sustainability research (for its Center for Environmental Studies); #1 for academics (for research and learning outcomes); tied for #1 for water use and rainwater management, with perfect scores for both (for River Friendly commitments); #3 two-year institution, with a 97.25% score, for sustainability learning outcomes; #3 for energy; and #4 school for air and climate, due to the College’s energy efficiency initiatives and purchasing of carbon offsets and renewable energy credits.
Men’s Soccer Team Ranked #9 in the US
RVCC’s Men's Soccer team had a stellar season, winning the Region 19 Championship and finishing up 9th in the country after the 2022 National Tournament. It was an impressive season for the predominantly freshmen Lions team, which had not won the Region championship or gone to the National Tournament since 2000. The Region 19 champions left their opponents scoreless in eight out of 14 games for the 5th best defense in the nation.
Fulbright Scholar
Jenna Douglas, RVCC Class of 2017, has been selected as a Fulbright Scholar and will spend the 2023-2024 academic year serving as an English Teaching Assistant in La Rioja, Spain. While at RVCC, Douglas was a member of the Honors College and the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society.
Douglas, a graduate of Georgetown University, serves as a Strategy & Analytics Consultant for Deloitte Consulting in Arlington, VA, in its Higher Education practice. She previously worked with Aspen Institute’s Education & Society program. Douglas also has continued to serve as a peer mentor to youth in the DC community and teach English to English-language learners.
Automotive Program Coordinator Receives National Award
Sara Heller, Coordinator of RVCC’s Automotive Technology program, was honored with a national achievement award as the CCAR/Electude/ASE Instructor of the Year. Heller was among 52 automotive professionals recognized in November 2022 at the Fall Board of Governors meeting of the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) in San Diego. CCAR is the Coordinating Committee for Automotive Repair. Heller is an ASE Certified automotive technician who has experience working in the automotive field. She also holds various licenses and certifications in the automotive field.
Student Honored Nationally as Part of ALL IN Student Voting Honor Roll
RVCC student Steven Reffler was one of 175 college students being recognized nationally for their nonpartisan democratic engagement work in 2022. Reffler, a Business Administration major, is being honored by the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge (ALL IN) as part of the 2023 ALL IN Student Voting Honor Roll. At RVCC, Reffler served as Chairman of RVotesMatter (ALL IN CHALLENGE), leading the efforts to provide non-partisan political education to the student body.
