Caring for Our Community
Rutgers–New Brunswick values each community member’s unique perspectives, which enrich our campus culture. We are committed to free speech, academic freedom, and civil discourse—and the right of all in our community to safely learn, teach, and carry on the university’s essential work.
Community Resources and Strategies
Rutgers–New Brunswick has committed to a series of strategic actions designed to maintain a culture of freedom from discrimination and bias, and freedom to learn, live, work, and express viewpoints in safety and mutual respect. This page contains resources offered across the institution to support this commitment and will be expanded and updated regularly to keep track of these actions and our progress.
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Provide expanded opportunities to faculty, staff, and students for awareness and education on issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Upcoming and Recent Events
- On September 27, 2024, the Tyler Clementi Center for Diversity Education and Bias Prevention within the Division of Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement (DICE) hosted its third annual Inclusion Summit with the theme, “Disrupt Hate: Coalition Building Across Difference.” Further information will be shared on the Tyler Clementi Center website.
- The Division of Student Affairs will offer its staff a professional development session on Islamophobia and antisemitism. This event follows two April 2024 sessions titled “Understanding Antisemitism: Past and Present” and “Understanding Islamophobia, Anti-Arab, and Anti-Palestinian Racism.” Student Affairs continues to provide learning materials to its staff on these issues. This event is for professional staff in the Division of Student Affairs only.
- The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and Islamic Networks Group on August 8 and 29, 2024 provided separate trainings for senior campus leaders that included historical and cultural information on the root causes of antisemitism and Islamophobia, respectively, and outlined strategies to combat these forms of hate along with other forms of anti-Jewish, anti-Muslim, anti-Arab, and anti-Palestinian bias.
- DICE has partnered with Student Affairs to launch the Jewish Ally Zone and Muslim Ally Zone initiatives beginning in Fall 2024. These initiatives will include educational workshops on the historical and current manifestations of antisemitism and Islamophobia, on the lived experiences of Jews and Muslims, and on practices that support inclusion on campus.
- The Tyler Clementi Center has partnered with Right to Be to offer bystander intervention training for the Rutgers–New Brunswick community. Trainings in February 2024 focused on stopping antisemitic, Islamophobic, and xenophobic harassment. Additional trainings will be held at least annually to continue to address bias as we work to reject hate in all its forms.
- Senior leaders in DICE continue to engage in regular professional development to foster cultural competency.
- Student Affairs partnered with DICE to provide training for Residence Life processional and paraprofessional staff on difficult conversations around issues of diversity and faith. Before the session, staff completed two online modules provided by Right to Be on intervening when encountering Islamophobia or antisemitism.
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Explore the creation of new strategic alliances and intentional outreach toward different segments of our campus community.
Upcoming Opportunities and Ongoing Actions
- The Civil Discourse Learning Module is an online learning resource for students through GoodCourse that provides tools to help recognize the difference between opinions and prejudices, approach discussions with an open mind, and thoughtfully listen without reacting or dismissing others, as well as explore the line between free speech and speech that crosses into threats, harassment, or incitement to violence.
- The Office of the Chancellor announced the Dialogue Across Difference initiative to promote constructive conversations across diverse perspectives at Rutgers–New Brunswick. The initiative includes workshops, panels, and other events, seed grant funding for efforts that promote civil discourse, and a web presence that will highlight new and existing partnerships across the university in support of these aims.
- The Chancellor established the Advisory Council on Antisemitism and Jewish Life, and the Advisory Council on Arab, Muslim, and Palestinian Life in January 2024. Each of the councils met with the Chancellor throughout the spring and resumed meetings this summer with the addition of the Chancellor’s Executive Leadership Team, a practice that will continue throughout the academic year. In addition to highlighting the needs of their respective communities, the councils serve as a resource for considering ways to engage with our campus community around difficult dialogue and around combating and understanding antisemitism and Islamophobia. As such, they contribute to the Rutgers–New Brunswick goal of creating a community that is safe, inclusive, and open to a free and civil exchange of ideas.
- Rutgers–New Brunswick has convened faculty, administrators, and students to review the bias reporting protocol and web page to make the process more user-friendly and responsive. The new bias reporting process can be accessed via the Division of Student Affairs website.
- During Fall 2024, Counseling, Alcohol, and Other Drug Assistance Program and Psychiatric Services (CAPS), the university's mental health support service, will establish two counseling support groups for Arab and Jewish students.
- The Chancellor's Office, through Student Affairs, has convened a Task Force to Review Procedures Around Codes of Conduct and Codes of Ethics. The task force, charged with reviewing existing codes and their related policies, procedures, and practices, met during Summer 2024 and is drafting a final report.
- Rutgers–New Brunswick has accepted nine Palestinian undergraduate students impacted by the current war in Gaza, and Rutgers Health has accepted one graduate student. Rutgers Global is working with internal and external partners to identify the necessary funding and support for these students.
- Rutgers University and Tel Aviv University (TAU) in November 2021 signed a memorandum of understanding that will further the collaboration between the two universities and establish a presence by TAU at the New Jersey Innovation and Technology Hub, a 550,000-square-foot, $665 million project in New Brunswick.
- Rutgers has had a relationship with Birzeit University since 2022, based on a shared interest in small business development and urban entrepreneurship. Rutgers is committed to continuing that relationship through research collaboration and scholarly exchange.
- The Chancellor's Office, through Student Affairs, has convened a working group to develop a plan for a new cultural center for Arab life.
- Leadership of the School of Arts and Sciences has convened a task force to study the feasibility of creating a Department of Middle East Studies.
- Rutgers has adopted the operational practice of the United Nations headquarters in New York, which flies flags representing the UN’s member states as well as two observer states.
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Provide faculty with resources that will help them meet student needs during challenging times.
Recent and Ongoing Actions
- The Center for Faculty Success (CFS) is a virtual and physical space for all Rutgers–New Brunswick faculty: tenure track, teaching, research, professional practice, lecturers, and tenured faculty. CFS supports faculty across the full span of their careers with opportunities for development, advancement, leadership, and recognition. Visit the CFS website to learn more about the center and to explore its resources.
- The Institute for Teaching, Innovation, and Inclusive Pedagogy (TIIP) supports faculty by facilitating initiatives, providing services, and sharing resources that advance teaching and learning. TIIP has developed resources to help instructors create inclusive learning environments and foster respectful discussions. These include Navigating Challenge: Teaching in the Present Moment, a video-based toolkit developed to facilitate discussions within schools and departments.
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Rutgers is a community of diverse ideas; we value the protections of academic freedom that enable our faculty to state their views and engage in lively discourse.
Recent and Ongoing Actions
- The universitywide Free Expression at Rutgers University website provides clear and accessible information on the university’s guidelines for free expression and the expectation that all community members adhere to time, place, and manner restrictions on demonstrations. The web content also provides information on procedures to address violations of these rules, which are upheld through the University Code of Student Conduct, the Rutgers Policy Prohibiting Discrimination and Harassment, and other resources available on the site.
- The Free Expression for Rutgers–New Brunswick Students site, developed by Student Affairs, provides information for students on engaging in healthy dialogue and providing their own thoughts and opinions as part of our community.
- FAQs on Academic Freedom and Free Speech for Rutgers–New Brunswick Faculty and Staff, available via the CFS website, includes valuable information and a link to the recording of a November 2023 webinar in which Stacy Hawkins, Professor of Law and Senior Faculty Fellow at the Rutgers Institute for the Study of Racial Global Justice, spoke in depth on these concepts.
We can use this moment to deepen our collective understanding. When engaging with fellow students or other members of the campus community, it behooves us all to listen and learn.
Francine Conway, PhD
Chancellor and Distinguished Professor
Rutgers University–New Brunswick
Learning Resources
We are a community of scholars, educators, researchers, and perpetual learners, and we grow together through troubling times. Explore resources that demonstrate ways we can move forward together.
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Byrne Seminar: A Conversation With DeForest B. Soaries
Rutgers University President Jonathan Holloway sat down with DeForest B. Soaries — Baptist minister, author, public advocate and financial educator — for his Byrne Seminar Citizenship, Institutions, and the Public.
Professor Stacy Hawkins examines a vital issue facing higher education today — academic freedom and its potential impact on cultural perspectives — in the first webinar in a new series presented by the Office of the Provost. Watch and learn about issues relative to both concepts and how they can synergize to create a more dynamic educational atmosphere.
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A collection of resources that reaffirm our community commitment toward respecting each other in both word and deed and serve as a reminder of the consequences of hate. These include:
- Hate Kills - Learn about the lasting impacts of words and actions fueled by hate.
- Speak Up! Bias Prevention Campaign - Discover the importance of speaking up against acts of bias.
- Unpacking Hate - Video content to help viewers understand the impacts of intergroup antagonism.
- Our Community Commitments - Powerful calls to action toward building a stronger community.
Learn more about the university policy relating to religious observances and culturally significant holidays.
As part of the “Navigating Tensions, Affirming Community” Speakers Series, Kazu Haga, a nationally recognized practitioner of nonviolence and restorative justice, shares insights regarding what it means to create a beloved community and how to cultivate compassion and understanding for those with whom we may not agree.
Support and Well-Being Resources
Rutgers–New Brunswick supports students during periods of stress as they navigate college life, which at times can be demanding and stressful. You are not alone — many resources are a phone call away. We are here to assist you on your journey and provide necessary relief to help you stay on track.
Rutgers–New Brunswick offers supportive resources for employees who may experience emotional and mental health concerns. These include stress management resiliency tools and telephone support, mental health support and coaching, and specific group peer-support programs.