Mission Statement

The mission of the Arnold and Sheila Aronson Archive for Environmental Sustainability (“The Aronson Archive") is to document, preserve, and promote environmental sustainability and justice initiatives carried out by the Tishman Environment and Design Center ("The Tishman Center") as well as associated faculty, students, and environmental justice partner practitioners. 

As a component of the Aronson Fellowship, the archive aims to serve as a repository to house and activate interdisciplinary research, methodologies, and communications strategies that support and advance bold environmental and climate justice action and movement building in the long term. Furthermore, this archive serves as an intergenerational tool for continued learning. Rooted in the spirit of the environmental and climate justice movements, it seeks to cultivate future leaders and scholars dedicated to advancing environmental justice work.

The archive was founded in 2022 to advance the Tishman Center’s mission of integrating design, policy, and social justice approaches to tackle the climate crisis and advance environmental justice. Guided by the Center’s commitment to the Jemez Principles for Democratic Organizing, the archive will be activated by inclusive, bottom-up approaches that amplify the knowledge of frontline and environmental justice communities.

Audience

The archive serves the faculty, students, alumni and staff of The New School community, as well as the broader Environmental Justice movement, which includes local community-based organizations, environmental and climate justice coalitions, advocates, policymakers, activists, interdisciplinary scholars, designers, and the general public.

Collecting Policy

Overview

The Aronson Archive contains digital materials of enduring historical and research value related to environmental sustainability and justice initiatives conducted by or in collaboration with the Tishman Environment and Design Center (Tishman Center). These materials also reflect the work of affiliated faculty, students, and environmental justice partner practitioners, from the Center's founding to the present day. The archive includes publications, event documentation, and records pertaining to the Center’s history and programming.

Selection Criteria of Archival Materials

Collecting responsibility belongs to the Tishman Environment and Design Center based on the needs and interests identified by the organization. Appraisal is based on the materials’ format, subject matter, and alignment with the defined parameters of the collection development policy. While value judgements are inherently subjective, we will do our best to be aware of biases and counteract them with input from diverse stakeholders. The following parameters will guide whether and how materials can be ingested within the Aronson Archive:   

• Materials that fit into the Aronson Archive’s Collection Scope.
• Materials of digital format.
• Materials that are of historical, enduring, and administrative value to the Tishman Center’s community.
• Materials contain unique content including perspectives or that are at a greater risk of loss (i.e, not preserved by other institutions).
• Materials with a high likelihood of access by target audiences for future use.
• The administrative, technical, and financial ability to apply preservation actions and tools that ensure the maintenance and reliability of the records.
• The materials do not have intellectual property or privacy issues that would render the files inaccessible.

How the Archives are Organized

The following collecting areas outline broad categories of focus for the Aronson Archive. While the work of the Tishman Environment and Design Center relates to wider themes within Climate, Indigeneity, Waste, and Infrastructure, the Archives’ collecting scope prioritizes the center's main programs. The Aronson Archives are divided into six categories, or classifications, representing the historical origins of the center, research and programming. There is a unique alphanumeric code assigned to every collection. They include: 

• Aronson Fellowship (AF): Records related to the Aronson Fellowship, which supports the mission of the Tishman Center by encouraging students to explore design, policy, and environmental justice through financial support and mentorship. These records may include student work, project documentation, multimedia and text-based theses, and communication materials such as interviews. In accordance with The New School’s Intellectual Property Rights Policy, creators, including students, retain intellectual control, including copyright and intellectual property rights, over their work.
   
• Campus Engagement: Records documenting the Tishman Center’s collaborations with academic and administrative departments to implement, measure, and promote sustainable practices at The New School. This category also includes collaborations with activists, partner organizations, and coalitions that demonstrate the broad impact of the work being done by the Tishman Environment and Design Center. Examples of materials the Archive may collect include both formal and informal records documenting campus activities. These may encompass Faculty and Student Research Support Grants, promotional materials, social engagement initiatives, and event documentation involving Tishman Center, affiliated faculty, staff, students, and partners. In accordance with The New School’s Intellectual Property Rights Policy, creators retain intellectual control over their work, including copyright and other intellectual property rights.
   
• Events (Events): Records about the Tishman Center’s annual and flagship events, such as Climate Week and Earth Week, and other events outside of those themed periods. These records may include administrative work, promotional materials, event recordings, and documentation. 
   
• Research & Practice (RP): The Tishman Center serves as a hub for climate and environmental justice (EJ) research and practice. Records documenting the research team's work will focus on critical, action-oriented research developed in collaboration with frontline, grassroots, and community-based organizations and coalitions. Examples of documentation the Archive may collect in this category include internal and external studies and reports, academic publications, presentations, key communications, and event recordings and related materials.
   
• Environmental Justice Disrupt Design Fellowship (EJMF): Records pertaining to the fellowship, a 2-year experience made up of progressive phases in environmental justice and design geared for leaders of the Environmental Justice Movement. Records in this category may include materials related to scholarly and artistic practice, administrative and fellowship activities, event recordings, documentation, and program presentations. This category includes records that involve the Environmental Justice Movement Fellowship.
   
• Institutional History (IH): Records that trace the organizational history of the Tishman Center, including past press and media coverage, annual reports, strategic plans and initiatives, correspondence and key communications, as well as testimonials from current and former staff, advisory committee members, affiliated faculty, students, and research assistants.