Student Success Proposals Wanted/$3 Million Chancellor Challenge  

May 30, 2024

Dear Rutgers–New Brunswick Community,

Our Academic Master Plan sets forth a bold new strategy for student success—empowering all qualified students to graduate on time, with minimal debt, and prepared to excel in their future pursuits and live as engaged citizens.

To that end, I am pleased to launch the newest Chancellor Challenge: Focus on Student Success, which invites Rutgers–New Brunswick faculty and staff to propose innovative proposals that will support student success through access, affordability, and support; community engagement; and world-readiness.

The Office of the Chancellor will invest up to $3 million in this Chancellor Challenge, by supporting each chosen proposal with a grant ranging from $20,000 to $200,000. We will support the chosen teams in preparing their initiatives for scale and making them sustainable to achieve lasting change.

Specifically, Chancellor Challenge: Focus on Student Success seeks proposals that will fulfill one or more of the following goals:

• Access, Affordability, and Support: Develop academic pathways that focus on educating the whole person with attention to affordability, on-time graduation, and student well-being (e.g. basic, financial, and mental health needs)
• Community Engagement: Develop opportunities for hands-on learning through community partnerships and/or civic engagement, either locally or globally, that prepare students to lead, engage, and serve
• World-Readiness: Leverage our proximity to the region’s scientific, technological, cultural, and economic sectors to create experiential learning opportunities that will prepare students to excel in their future pursuits

Proposals should foster new collaborations across campus and with outside partners in government, industry, and community sectors.

Proposals are due October 11, 2024. My office will announce selections, based on the review committee’s recommendations, on or about December 6, 2024. Implementation of the chosen initiatives will begin on or about July 1, 2025. Details on submitting a proposal can be found on the Chancellor Challenge website, and proposals may be submitted via this link.

The Chancellor Challenge advances our community’s best talent, creativity, and concept creation. Previous Chancellor Challenges have focused on innovative interdisciplinary research and led to the creation of the Cluster on Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, the Rutgers Climate and Energy Institute, and other transformative initiatives.

With Chancellor Challenge: Focus on Student Success, we are proud to request your unexpected, cross-disciplinary solutions for the success of our current and future students. Together we will empower new generations of students and help them achieve their dreams.

Sincerely,

Francine Conway, Ph.D.
Chancellor and Distinguished Professor
Rutgers University–New Brunswick