Chancellor-Provost Challenge Update

March 15, 2023

Dear Rutgers–New Brunswick Community:

I am pleased to announce the selection of four outstanding submissions to the Chancellor-Provost Challenge: Toward the Common Good, which invited members of our community to propose transformational, campus-wide initiatives to help fulfill the goals of Rutgers–New Brunswick’s Academic Master Plan.

After my announcement of the Chancellor-Provost Challenge in November, we received 25 entries and submitted them to a competitive review process before choosing the four proposals that are best positioned to catalyze exploration, collaboration, concept-testing, and risk-taking; to represent the efforts of cross-disciplinary teams from multiple Rutgers–New Brunswick units; and to focus the power of our research on grand challenges of science and society.

The chosen proposals are listed below, along with the team leads who represent each proposal’s interdisciplinary group:

• Cyberinfrastructure for AI for Science & Engineering (CASE), led by Shantenu Jha, Professor of Computer Engineering, School of Engineering; and Alyson Brooks, Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy, School of Arts and Sciences
• Notice Nature: An Art-Science Collaboration in Support of Student Wellness, led by Rebecca Cypess, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Associate Professor of Music, Mason Gross School of the Arts; and Mary Nucci, Assistant Dean for Campus Engagement and Assistant Research Professor, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences
• Planning for a Future Full-Feature Net-Zero Wind Energy Test (WET) Center, led by Onur Bilgen, Associate Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, School of Engineering; and Josh Kohut, co-founder of the Center for Ocean Observing Leadership and Professor of Marine Science, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences
• Transforming Climate Change Scholarship at Rutgers–New Brunswick, led by Julie Lockwood, Interim Director of the Rutgers Institute of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences and Professor of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences; and Robin Leichenko, Associate Dean of Social and Behavioral Sciences and Professor of Geography, School of Arts and Sciences

Please join me in congratulating these colleagues.

The Office of the Vice Provost for Research has invited each submission team’s leaders to proceed to the next phase of the Chancellor-Provost Challenge, which will involve clarification and development of each proposal and, ultimately, the awarding of grants as part of the Chancellor-Provost Office plan to invest $15 million over five years to build interdisciplinary scholarship and scholarly communities to serve the common good. We will provide a further update when these details are finalized. Implementation of each project is expected to begin July 1, 2023.

The Chancellor-Provost Challenge is a component of the Rutgers–New Brunswick Academic Master Plan. Additional AMP initiatives can be found on the Chancellor-Provost’s Strategic Priorities and Initiatives website. They include Discovery Advantage, a holistic reimagining of the student experience from enrollment to retention and ultimately graduation; and ScarletWell, a public health and prevention-focused approach to mental health and wellness for our students, faculty, and staff.

Members of our community are invited to take part in these initiatives and help shape the future of academic, research, and service excellence at Rutgers–New Brunswick; contact my office to express your interest in getting involved.

Sincerely,

Francine Conway, Ph.D.
Chancellor-Provost, Rutgers University–New Brunswick