IDEA Innovation Grants

Jessica Hamilton and Jas Sarna (Psychology)

The Teen Engagement And Mental Health (TEAM) Research project will include a 1-day workshop for teens, which aims to 1) engage teens in clinical psychology research and professional development, 2) work with teens to brainstorm research projects to conduct using data from our studies, 3) identify ways to involve teens in disseminating research findings. Throughout the workshop in Spring 2024, teens will work collaboratively to learn about methods in psychology research, including in our ongoing studies, and embrace their roles as the next generation of psychology researchers. The first part will focus on education and working with teens to advance their understanding of the research process, data analysis, and overview of our lab’s research and research (Aim 1). Part 2 (second half) of the workshop will focus on putting the new information and skills into practice as the attendees work together to brainstorm collaborative research projects using our lab’s deidentified data (Aim 2), and identify avenues for disseminating future findings (Aim 3). This work will build upon, though is distinct from, our ongoing collaborations with our youth advisory board (started June 2021), our 1-day workshop (April 2023), and ongoing outreach at high schools (started in May 2023).
Development Track

Gabriela Constantin-Dureci (School of Arts and Sciences)

Language(s) and Disability: Inclusive Teaching Practices for the Language Classroom” is a one-day community-centered symposium designed to foster awareness around the intersections of disability, multilingualism, and world language teaching. In this symposium, experienced instructors (teachers, professors, teaching assistants) will share their experience(s) with promoting inclusive and anti-ableist teaching practices in the language classroom, followed by renowned scholars in the field offering further insights into this topic. Lastly, the symposium will culminate with a workshop on implementing Universal Design for Learning in the World Language Classroom. In striving for more inclusive and equitable educational practices that serve an increasingly diverse student population, an intersectional framework that acknowledges that learners may embody multiple identities, while also recognizing systemic barriers that lead to the exclusion of certain groups, is essential. By advocating for an intersectional approach rooted in critical disability studies and language and social justice, this symposium aims to inspire change in educational practices and, thus, lead to the retention of historically marginalized and underrepresented diverse student bodies. By uniting varied perspectives, from teaching practitioners to educational researchers, this project responds to the specific needs of the language learners at Rutgers and within our immediate community, by offering high-quality
training.
Partnership Track

Ghada Endick, Zoey Eddy, Joanna Woo, Nusrath Yusuf, and Briana Bivens (Student Affairs and School of Graduate Studies)

Graduate students will be invited to grow their capacity as facilitators and design and facilitate intersectional affinity groups organized around particular experiences or social identities. The selected cohort of facilitators will receive tailored facilitation and content development support from a team of faculty and staff advisors skilled in equity, diversity, and inclusion education. The School of Graduate Studies and the Office of Graduate Student Life (OGSL) in the Division of Student Affairs will invite proposals from individual graduate students or graduate student teams at Rutgers interested in creating and facilitating discussion-based graduate affinity groups organized around shared social identities, backgrounds, or life experiences. These groups aim to increase social support among underrepresented graduate students by creating intentional spaces and opportunities for connection and conversation to discuss challenging issues, share resource navigation strategies, and provide personal and career development support. This pilot program will allow graduate students to partner with peers invested in promoting an inclusive culture across all the Rutgers-NB graduate schools and all academic programs. Facilitators will receive facilitation and content development support from program coordinators and a team of faculty and staff advisors, to be identified after proposals are received, who are trained in equity, diversity, and inclusion education. We hope to support submissions for the pilot Spring 2024 semester that initiate partnerships between already-existing affinity groups for graduate students or propose new groups that are intersectional and interdisciplinary in scope.
Partnership Track

Cassandra Oliveras-Moreno and Megan Lotts (Mason Gross School of the Arts)

The Rutgers Art Network is a strategic initiative bridging stakeholders working in / with visual art across the New Brunswick Campus with the goals of: SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS: To foster peer support system & potential for collaborative art making and programming OPEN COMMUNICATION: Sharing opportunities, resources around best practices & information about happenings CENTRALIZING CONTENT: One common website interface for audience building among network members, student population, and local community.
Partnership Track

Elizabeth Matto and Katherine McCabe (School of Arts and Sciences)

A system of self-government requires us to have productive conversations about difficult and sometimes divisive issues. Indeed, our ability to talk across difference is a fundamental democratic skill that can and should be taught to students of all disciplines. From STEM to the humanities, talking politics can be woven into existing curricula of all disciplines, but most faculty feel unprepared and uncertain about bringing discussions of contemporary affairs into the classroom. With this project, we seek to pilot a faculty development workshop focused on the value and best practices of connecting core curricular content to timely civic issues and contemporary politics through class discussions. Our intention is to build a 2-3 hour interactive in-person faculty workshop that explores the realities and the value of weaving opportunities to engage in dialogue—not debate - across difference into coursework, shares a set of resources and best practices for fostering honest but respectful and productive class discussion, and allows faculty to practice these skills with peers. With this proposal, we seek the funding to create, market, and host the workshop for different faculty communities across the Rutgers University-New Brunswick throughout the spring as we approach the 2024 general election.
Partnership Track

Ching-Chun Lai and Jade Baez (Mason Gross School of the Arts) 

The goal is to develop the capacity for Rutgers orchestral program to take on community engagement and educational outreach activities and partnerships. The initial project is to collaborate with New Brunswick Public Schools to enhance and build a sustainable string/orchestral education from grade 4 and above. The proposed activities include providing teaching assistance to young string players, mentorship to high school players, and other
rehearsal/performance activities. Through these practical opportunities, the training and workshops to develop these entrepreneurial and teaching skills are intended to be included for Rutgers students. The awareness and understanding of EDI is an important component.
Partnership Track

Kevin Clay (Graduate School of Education)

This in-person mini conference will bring together eleven scholars in the fields of education, political science, psychology, sociology, Black Studies, and anthropology, around questions of youth organizing and political education. Five members of this group belong to the Rutgers University community and include faculty, graduates, and postdocs, representing various academic units; the rest are faculty across diverse fields situated at R1 institutions across
the country. The two-day conference will be anchored in a discussion of my forthcoming monograph that explores the challenges and merits of progressive pedagogy and Freirean critical pedagogy models of youth organizing. Conference participants will explore, alongside the manuscript author, questions that seek to unpack critical pedagogy in relation to the third world historical context in which it evolves, radical-materialist traditions of political education in Black America and Latin America, and relevant issues that confront organized youth and organizers of youth in contemporary movements and grassroots organizations. Day I will be a half-day closed work session devoted to discussion and feedback on the penultimate draft of the book. Day
II will be a three-hour research symposium that invites members of the university community to be in conversation with scholars who will present research related to the conference theme.
Partnership Track

Mildred Lopez Escudero (School of Arts and Sciences)

In the humanities, assemblage thinking is a popular conceptual approach that asserts that people do not act solely in their own interests, but rather their interests depend on complex social-material interdependencies that surround them. It takes a relational perspective of the world, and a topological perspective of space, and places an emphasis on the socio-material in order to make sense of the world. In light of the six films curated for this film
festival, which deal with the relationship between human and non-human actors, I believe it is a great opportunity for all of us (Rutgers and the local community) to take time to reflect on critical empathy, which is the act of thinking and feeling with others and acknowledging that it is impossible to truly understand their lived experiences. This is an excellent opportunity to increase intercultural awareness by engaging in the practice of empathy among students. The subjects covered in these movies range from Afro-Latino-American culture, identity, family relations, immigration, transgender issues, women's issues, indigenous environmental issues, and youth issues, to name a few. Global economy, extractivism, etc. Screenings will be held both online and in person during the event so that participants who have busy schedules can access the screening at their convenience.
Partnership Track

Jessica Hamilton and Linda Oshin (School of Arts and Sciences) (Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology)

Offering annual workshops for Rutgers undergraduate students who are (or plan to be) psychology majors to learn about psychology doctoral programs and meet with faculty and students to successfully navigate the “hidden curriculum” of how and when to apply for these programs. Most successful applicants for our PhD and PsyD programs have substantial research experience as undergraduates and additional training as a post-baccalaureate research assistant (for 1-3 years). However, dozens of Rutgers undergraduates apply every year for doctoral programs (both at Rutgers and nationally) without the knowledge or insight into: 1) the role of research in successful doctoral applications (even with clinical interests), 2) how to get research experience as undergraduates or after graduation, 3) what types of doctoral programs are the best for their goals (e.g., PhD, PsyD, MA), and 4) how and when to apply (e.g., personal statement, CV), etc. Through our in-person and zoom workshops, with monthly zoom “drop-ins” hosted by faculty and students in the PhD and PsyD programs, we will collaboratively work to better prepare our Rutgers; undergraduate students, build community for our students, and work to improve diversity and equity in higher education for psychology programs.
Partnership Track

Miraj Ahmad and Atharv Jayprakash (School of Environmental and Biological Sciences)

The EcoVoices initiative is a bimonthly "speaker series" program at Rutgers University-NB that strives to assemble a diverse and inclusive community centered around sustainability and environmental awareness. While some students are environmentally aware and sustainability-oriented, a majority remain uninformed due to a lack of diversity in this field. EcoVoices addresses the lack of diversity in the field by assembling a diverse and inclusive community through engaging events where underrepresented voices in climate action, whether experts or undergraduates, can share their work. This work can include new initiatives, research, or any other relevant environmentally related efforts that underrepresented voices have undertaken to contribute to sustainability and climate action. Each event features dynamic themes, expert speakers, and opportunities for dialogue. The program encourages participation through incentives and collaborations with various campus groups, including the Office of Climate Action (OCA) and Students for Environmental Awareness (SEA). By promoting diversity and inclusivity, EcoVoices seeks to inspire a lasting commitment to environmental and climate issues on campus.
Development Track

Nazam Mohammed and Sumaira Qasir (Rutgers Central Administration, Division of Student Affairs)

To create and promote an inclusive environment that allows Muslim and non-Muslim faculty and staff at Rutgers University to collaborate. The event will host Rutgers staff of other faiths to spend an enjoyable evening together during the holy month of Ramadan. During the event, staff that are fasting for that day will break their Ramadan fast by partaking in the meal called Iftar. All attendees will be requested to join in breaking the fast. Once the fast is broken, the staff will join in the evening prayer service followed by a delicious buffet dinner. During the dinner, we will have speakers from across Rutgers and local Mosques, give a 3-5 minute talk. In addition, we will have youth participation in Quran recitations and Nasheeds. This group event will provide faculty and staff an opportunity to dine and exchange ideas in a safe and inclusive space.
Partnership Track

Mercedes Diaz and Elisabeth Camp (School of Arts and Sciences)

Rutgers Philosophy Graduate Students Mentoring Undergraduates (RPGSMU) will be a collaborative initiative between Philosophy graduate and undergraduate programs where graduate students will serve as mentors and support undergraduate students' paths both within and outside of academic life in an effort to build a more diverse academic pipeline in the field. Pairs will meet weekly to ensure consistent progress in writing; the undergraduates will hone basic skills in writing philosophy papers, with an eye to developing a potential writing sample for graduate school, for presentation at an undergraduate philosophy conference, or for submission to an undergraduate journal.
Development Track

Stéphane Robolin and Meredith McGill (School of Arts and Sciences)

In Spring 2022, the English department conducted a climate survey to gauge our sense of how members of the department view social relationships within our community. CBAP—the department’s Committee on Bias Awareness and Prevention—has designed a rollout of a sequence of conversations that lead to the April 5th event, "Climate Change: A Summit After the English Department Survey": an in-person, day-long department-wide conversation across staff, students, and faculty, to help us process the results of our last climate survey. This summit opens with a discussion (open to the university public) with eminent guest speakers, Professors Cathy Davidson (Distinguished Professor, CUNY Grad School) and Rinaldo Walcott (Professor, University of Buffalo), who have written powerfully about the possibilities of a transformed university. After a lunch, we will then segue into a more intradepartmental discussion about how to transition from the survey results to a vision for the future of our department. 
Development Track

Keywuan Caulk and Gary Santos Mendoza Division of Student Affairs (New Brunswick and Newark respectively)

Each GAYpril (April), our office hosts our LGBT PRIDE month campus as we aren’t in session during June. GAYpril also ends our year with celebrations of survival and thriving through the academic year and the world around us while involving our campus community in educational and celebratory programming on queer and trans communities and issues. GAYpril Opening is a signature event in the Spring semester and we know that hosting outstanding, iconic talent is a great way to bring the community together. Typically, our in person experience captivates an audience of 300+ for this annual event.
Partnership Track

Primitiva Buesaquillo and Katie Lynch Division of Student Affairs (RU Indigenous Turtle Island Club)

The goal of the event is to showcase Indigenous joy and celebrate the vibrancy of Native American culture on campus. The event will include a powwow with a drum group and dancers, as well as food for attendees. The Indigi-Culture Fest will also serve as a platform for dialogue and empowerment. Through invited speakers and a voter registration drive, we hope to inspire action in attendees as we all work towards a more inclusive and equitable future. The event will start with an introduction and presentation by our guest speaker on the history and significance of powwows, followed up with grand entry and dancing. We will then take a break for lunch, where we will host an open dialogue and discussion, and in the event with an interactive dancing portion.
Partnership Track

Sharron Crane and Abbey Issac School of Environmental and Biological Sciences

This program will connect prospective SEBS students from New Jersey community colleges directly with faculty and the SEBS undergraduate community. Community college (CC) students will attend a virtual or in-person seminar run by SEBS faculty and transfer students. Faculty and student leaders will provide distilled information on the Rutgers hierarchy, useful contacts, and must-bookmark webpages. Student leaders will offer practical advice about navigating the statewide transfer agreement and what courses to take before transferring to Rutgers, which will maximize the likelihood of graduating in a timely manner. We will also discuss the many opportunities available at SEBS, including academic programs, honors, and research/experience-based education opportunities. Interested students will be added to a supportive Slack/Discord community where they can ask questions, share useful information, and discuss their transfer experiences. Having student leaders who also went to community colleges such as Union and Brookdale, will provide information through a unique lens founded in experience.
Partnership Track

Ariela Parisi and Jessica Valera (School of Arts and Sciences)

The Antiracist Pedagogies in Bilingual Education and the Language Classroom Workshop is a community-centered effort to develop antiracist pedagogies through a full-day workshop in which leading scholars in the field provide specific training to not only the Rutgers community, but also its New Brunswick partners. During the workshop, there is an emphasis on the importance of what antiracist pedagogy means. It’s not only about incorporating racial content in our language classrooms but encompasses a time of critical self-reflection not only promoting change within the formal
education setting but on a broader social scope. As one of the most diverse universities in the United States, creating equitable educational environments for our students is essential. In the context of the School of Arts and Sciences theme of the Year of Languages, this project brings together four scholars whose academic contributions have impacted the development of antiracist pedagogies inside the language classroom. 
Partnership Track

Laura Ramirez Polo and Charles Haberl (School of Arts and Sciences)

The State of New Jersey has one of the most diverse populations in the United States. A significant portion of these populations either does not speak, or has limited proficiency in, English. As a result, the need for interlinguistic and intercultural mediators who can guarantee access to public services is increasing, with a forecast per the US Bureau of Labor Statistics of a 20% increase for translators and interpreters from 2021 to 2031. The Language Center of the School of Arts and Sciences has recently launched The Language Bank, a free service whose mission is to provide high-quality translation and interpreting services to local non-profits, social services organizations, and outreach initiatives. The Language Bank is open to any languages and is currently in a phase of recruiting volunteers who can serve as interlinguistic and intercultural mediators. The next phase will be to expand The Language Bank to create a translation, interpreting, and mediation training hub for the community through the organization of workshops and the creation of
resources. With the IDEA grant, we would focus on communities and individuals with limited access to higher education, as well as those speaking languages in which training is scarce or non-existent.
Partnership Track

Simone Snyder and Catherine Buttner (School of Social Work)

Funding supports the screening of the recently released documentary, Born Free. The documentary discusses the current state of childbirth in this country, specifically maternal mortality, negative birth outcomes, birth trauma, and racism in the medical system. The film screening would also include a 60-minute Q& A with the director of the film. The project seeks to bring together folks from the diverse corners of Rutgers including, social work, women & gender studies, and RBHS. The opportunity to watch and discuss the film gives participants a chance to explore the topic of childbirth in America, maternal mortality, medical racism, reproductive justice, and birth justice. Important to the project, is the inclusion of community members such as community doulas, birth professionals, and direct service organizations working in this field.
Partnership Track

Teresa Leyro and Jessica Hamilton (School of Arts and Sciences)

Resources that support diversity and equity in training and scholarship are often underutilized. Failure to bridge the gap between resource availability and utilization hinders the advancement of underrepresented and disadvantaged trainees in our field, and may impede our ability to recruit, retain, and develop a diverse community. To bridge this gap, our Department proposes the following: Aim 1: Conduct a needs assessment of undergraduate and graduate student trainees’ knowledge and utilization of internal and external resources that promote training and scholarship and interest in accessing support in this domain. Aim 2: Compile training and scholarship resources. The DCC (2a) developed a workgroup composed of members of each Program within the Psychology Department, to pool and organize resources by stage of training; (2b) developed an in-person workshop to help trainees navigate available resources. Aim 3: Hold an in-person workshop, obtain outcome data, and provide ongoing support. To ensure sustainability, workshop materials and outcomes will inform subsequent workshops and be available on the Department’s website.
Development Track

Karla Esquilín-Lebron and Sharron Crane (School of Environmental and Biological Sciences)

This program assists transfer students in their transition to their academic and college life at RU-New Brunswick by fostering a network of support and providing incoming transfer students with an undergraduate peer mentor within their major, providing a sense of belonging from day one. The junior/senior student mentor will be expected to provide support in aid of their mentee’s transition to Rutgers and will share campus resources to promote academic, social and community involvement. Mentors will be trained in effective mentoring practices at the beginning of the semester. A book will be provided to start discussions among the cohort, training will include improving mentoring skills and how to build lasting mentor-mentee relationships, setting up SMART-goals, and ways to introduce their mentees to various Rutgers resources (e.g., libraries and learning centers). The pairs will meet at least once a month and be invited to reflect on their meeting in the program’s Canvas page. The Canvas page serves as a source of resources and support for and from the extended mentoring community; students and program faculty will be able to share questions and resources on the site and discuss their experiences and questions using the discussion boards.
Development Track

Ramaydalis Keddis (School of Environmental and Biological Sciences) 
Shawn Rumrill (School of Arts and Sciences)

Our project would entail a panel and networking activity. A diverse graduate student body from various STEM fields share their journeys to graduate school with undergraduates to inform them of opportunities and steps to follow to find ways on how to successfully apply and obtain a spot in a graduate program. After the panel, a networking event will allow
undergraduate students to meet and chat with graduate students and be able to ask personalized questions. This event created relationships between undergraduate and graduate students and built bridges between individuals that are in different stages of their educational journey. 
Partnership Track

Christelle Palpacuer Lee and Mary Curran (Graduate School of Education)

We propose two innovative, transnational projects aligned with the Rutgers GSE Community-Engaged, Anti-Racist Education framework. Partners include Rutgers GSE, the New Labor Organization, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, and RU Global. These transnational projects will implement and extend CEAR principles and practices, developed among faculty, community-based organization leaders, and educators. Principles include: · Embracing
Intersectionality and Multiple Identities · Centering Student, Family, and Community Knowledge, Perspectives, and Experiences · Welcoming and  Expanding Linguistic Resources · Implementing Culturally and Historically Responsive Practices · Critically Analyzing and Disrupting Traditional Notions of Power and Knowledge · Countering Dominant Narratives · Cultivating and Celebrating Joy · Engaging in Resistance and Action. Project 1: Mathematicians in our Community Workshop Project 2: Community- Engaged, Anti-Racist Transnational Study Abroad Workshop
Partnership Track

Brian Daniels (School of Arts and Sciences)
Troy Roepke (School of Environmental and Biological Sciences)

QUASAR is a one-day symposium on the RU-NB campus whose goal is to celebrate and amplify the voices of LGBTQIA+ scientists and students at Rutgers. The event featured a combination of scientific and biographical talks from queer faculty in the biological and physical sciences at Rutgers, along with selected presentations from students. Additional programming included mentoring and career panels, an invited outside keynote speaker, networking sessions, and other activities aimed at increasing community identity, connecting students and trainees with potential faculty mentors and advocates, and collecting feedback to inform the development of longer-term programming to support queer scientists and students at RU-NB. 
Partnership Track
 

Carlos Fernandez (Student Affairs)

Offered as part of the 2023 Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy Series at Rutgers University, the Cultural Center Collaborative presented a keynote with social justice advocate, political strategist and media correspondent Angela Rye. Angela Rye is Principal and CEO of IMPACT Strategies. Featured as an influential politico, lawyer, and advocate by several publications and outlets from Marie Claire to Ebony and the Washington Post, Rye has an unwavering commitment to ensuring positive change in the political process. She is a prominent political strategist who offers regular on-air commentary for several media outlets including BET, CNN, MSNBC, and TV One. The depth of her dialogue ranges from political campaigns to more complex legislation that bears long-term implications nationally and internationally.
Partnership Track

Rebecca Carroll (Mason Gross School of the Arts)

The Rutgers University Musicological Society is partnering with Mason Gross, Rutgers Global, GSA, Kansas University ACMI, and RU Asian Classical Musicians' Initiative to host a conference in May. This event is specifically centered around the representation of AAPI musicians and scholars in the field and programming works by AAPI composers. We  premiered concert works by AAPI composers, and the scholarship was geared towards analysis of works by AAPI composers, Research related to AAPI cultural heritage and music, topics of transnationalism as it related to musicians and
composers, and pedagogical and curricular topics. 
Partnership Track
 

Jessica Hamilton and Teresa Leyro (School of Arts and Sciences)

This project aims to build an inclusive community and network of teen mental health advocates and to co-develop a suicide prevention workshop for future presentations at local high schools and in their community. To achieve this goal, we will host a full-day workshop in Spring 2023 with 40 adolescents across NJ to help teens learn about mental health, gain research skills, and empower them to promote mental health in their schools and communities. Through a series of presentations and hands-on activities, teens will learn about mental health and help to develop an interactive and
engaging workshop for teens. In this workshop, teens will build a community with their peers, gain leadership skills, and participate in a brainstorming session focused on creating a presentation on suicide prevention to be delivered at high schools across NJ. The overall goal of this workshop is to improve equity in access to mental health education and science-based careers by equipping and empower teens with the skills needed to succeed. Goals of this workshop are consistent with the Rutgers-New Brunswick Diversity Strategic Plan to support future leaders, develop a more diverse
community, and meaningfully engage with the community at multiple levels (I.e., adolescents and their communities).
Development Track

Hila Berger and Nazam Mohammed (Office of Research)

This inaugural half-day event will be held in May 2023, brought together by a community of research administrators and ethics professionals into the discussion of equity and systemic racism in research, regulatory affairs and research administration. Within the great context of racism, this event will explore how research administrators, researchers and ethics professionals can work together to address inclusivity, beneficence, exclusionary research design, representation and more.
Partnership Track

Jillian Hanna and Itzamarie Chévere-Torres (Office of Postdoctoral Advancement)
Postdocs experience high levels of anxiety, depression, and burnout due to the nature and pressures of their roles. Our event aims to bring Rutgers postdocs an immersive and practical experience where they can actively engage in wellness activities such as a Mindfulness Meditation workshop, massage therapy, therapeutic coloring, and gratitude journaling. Pamphlets on mental health, sourced from organizations such as the National Institute of Mental Health and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, will be handed out to provide postdocs with information regarding mental health issues and resources to seek help, if needed. Additionally, we will disseminate a one-pager showcasing current mental health and wellness resources available at Rutgers.
Partnership Track

Kaylin Padovano and Simone Snyder, School of Social Work

The movement to end violence against women has historically silenced Black survivors’ experiences, marginalized and criminalized Black communities and ignored the work of Black women within the movement. Rutgers’ sexual violence services and prevention initiatives strive towards inclusivity, anti-racism and reconciliation; however, this cannot be done without healing and repairing the historical harms caused by healing and ultimately shifting power within our own spaces as researchers, providers and advocates. Utilizing a restorative, racial healing model Black Women’s Blueprint— leaders of the movement to place Black women’s lives squarely within the broader political as well as civil and human rights concerns of African American communities in the U.S.—will provide a [# of days] workshop to Center for Research to End Violence (REV) and Violence Prevention and Victim Assistance (VPVA) faculty and staff. These sessions will include: conducting an intercultural assessment of our center/offices, learning ways to decolonize anti-violence work, unpacking issues of guilt and belonging and building trust to move towards healing and repairing harm in order to better serve all survivors at Rutgers.

Hajar Shirley, School of Communication and Information

Amanda Potter, Zimmerli Art Museum

The Vaccination Equity Education Coalition is a community centered effort toward building vaccination confidence that will be achieved by a new
collaboration across the Rutgers University community, school nurses, and elementary school educators and students.

The Vaccination Equity Education Coalition is designed with three project goals/ aims:

1) Execute a three-hour design thinking, experiential workshop with school nurses, elementary school educators, and students at Zimmerli Art Library to co-create a student-led social innovation educational challenge that will launch in the 2022-2023 academic year. Participants of this workshop will return to their organization and become educator ambassadors of the Vaccination Equity Education Coalition;

2) Execute the History of Vaccination Social Innovation Challenge at Cedar Hill Prep School during the 2022-2023 academic year. The student innovators will be mentored by Rutgers-NB students and will showcase their work becoming ambassadors of vaccine equity shaping future cohorts; and

3) Establish an implementation framework to digitally scale the History of Vaccination Social Innovation Challenge across New Jersey in the 2023-2024 academic year. The educator ambassadors (i.e. goal 1 participants) will leverage the existing New Jersey Educator Association network to disseminate this social innovation challenge across New Jersey.

Briana Bivens, School of Graduate Studies

Corina Hernandez, Douglass College

The goal of the Mentoring for Social Justice and Community-Building Project is to foster mutually beneficial relationships between current graduate students and undergraduates committed to aligning their scholarship, advocacy, and collaborations with social justice principles. Through training graduate students in justice-oriented approaches to mentorship and partnering a cohort of graduate student mentors with Douglass undergraduate mentees, the project aims to generate sustainable near-peer mentoring relationships shaped by common interests, experiences, or aspirations.

Lauren Snedeker, School of Social Work

Tracy Davis, School of Health Professions

According to a report from the 2018 U.S. Census, 1 in every 5 U.S. residents will be retirement age by the year 2030. It is important to us as faculty, who represent different fields and industries that work with older adult community members, to ensure that students across different programs are educated about the aging experience (and process) in the U.S. today and are prepared to engage and support older adult community members in their respective professions post-grad. The goal of our project is to develop a taskforce on aging that unites faculty and staff across Rutgers University–New Brunswick working with this population to design and distribute a university-wide survey to fellow Instructors to assess whether they are including content on aging in their courses, how they are infusing this, and their comfort level in discussing this content. The taskforce will develop a toolkit for instructors with resources and classroom activities based on the survey results. There will also be a meet and greet event to introduce the members of the taskforce to the Rutgers University–New Brunswick community, share findings from this project, and bring awareness to the importance of age inclusivity.

Alexandria Bauer, Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology (Postdoctoral associate); Peggy Swarbrick, Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology (Faculty) 

This project will develop a resource toolkit to promote cultural humility among mental health providers (e.g., psychiatrists, psychologists, counselors, social workers). The comprehensive toolkit will include psychoeducational resources on cultural humility, such as narrated Powerpoint presentations on ways to assess and incorporate relevant cultural characteristics into treatment; podcast-style recordings on how mental health providers can begin to discuss and address culturally relevant aspects of treatment; educational materials on diverse populations and intersectional experiences; and handouts, tools, and measures based on cultural considerations for providers to use throughout treatment. These materials will be developed as an online resource on the Center of Alcohol & Substance Use Studies (CAS) website, with additional promotion through professional networks and other channels.

Anita Bakshi, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (Faculty); Holly Nelson, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (Faculty); Jameson Sweet, School of Arts and Science (Faculty)

This project proposes to create a physical space on campus that acknowledges Native American history and celebrates the continued presence of Indigenous communities in our state. We plan to research, design, and install a garden on Rutgers Cook Campus composed of plants significant to Native American communities for medicinal, ceremonial, and agricultural uses.

Samir Patki & Prasiddha Sudhakar, School of Arts and Sciences (Undergraduate student)

Rutgers Hindu Students Council will be conducting Hinduphobia training to understand and navigate the Hinduphobia students and communities face in their lives. This project will simultaneously promote scholarly research into Hindu culture and history which is underrepresented in academia.

Priscilla Pinto Ferreira, School of Arts and Sciences (Faculty)

The CO-OPs of color & mutual-aid international solidarity project will bring together members of the Rutgers and NJ/NY communities for a global learning experience about cooperativism and mutual aid organized by Black and Latinx women in the US and Latin America. This project will build an international community of learning and cooperation between Black and Latinx domestic worker co-ops in the NJ/NY/PA area and majority-Black favelas in Brazil. It will educate the Rutgers community about the intersections of class/race in social enterprise through an international virtual panel centering on Black and Latinx co-op organizing in the US and Brazil.

Kimberly Cook-Chenault, School of Engineering & Graduate School of Education (Faculty); Saundra Tomlinson-Clarke, Graduate School of Education (Faculty)

The overarching goal of this project is to provide a mechanism for enhancing the climate, culture, and training of educators in STEM fields via a series of targeted seminars framed on providing inclusive and accessible engineering education pedagogy and practices through a collaboration between the School of Engineering and Graduate School of Education.

Christopher Manente, Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology (Staff); Courtney Butler, Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology (Staff) 

Neurodiversity describes how diverse we are from a neurological perspective and suggests that variation of the human brain should be accepted as a spectrum of the human population. The goal of our project is to develop a taskforce on neurodiversity that will conduct a university-wide survey, hold multiple stakeholder focus groups to identify the needs and priorities of Rutgers’ neurodivergent community and those positioned to support the success of this group, and host an event at the Rutgers Center AAS focused on neurodiversity at Rutgers to share our findings and raise awareness about issues surrounding neurodiversity within our campus community.

Amanda Potter, Zimmerli Art Museum (Staff); Whitney Prendergast, Zimmerli Art Museum (Staff) 

In conjunction with the Zimmerli Art Museum’s current exhibitions “Angela Davis – Seize the Time” and “Stitching Time: The Social Justice Collaboration Quilts Project,” which underscore the power of art to illuminate, humanize, and otherwise drive participation in the work of social justice, we propose to work with Social Justice Collaboration Quilts Project co-founder Maureen Kelleher on a series bringing members of the community on- and off-campus together to explore the arts as an instrument of change. The programs, envisioned as a series of workshops to be held in the spring semester, will combine both in-gallery exploration and facilitated conversation about the wide-ranging impacts of mass incarceration and other social justice issues raised in the Zimmerli’s exhibitions with hands-on collaborative art-making, primarily through quilting/fabric arts.

Lauren Kelly, Graduate School of Education (Faculty); Caitlin Petre, School of Communication and Information (Faculty) 

As a partnership between faculty from Rutgers Graduate School of Education (GSE) and School of Communication and Information (SCI), this project seeks to cultivate youth activism and community-building by training high school and college students as current leaders and future educators at an annual Youth Leadership Training Institute. Hosted at Rutgers University, the Institute which will provide mentorship and training for current and future youth leaders and organizers.