Rutgers Forward: University Diversity Strategic Plan

March 30, 2022

Members of the Rutgers Community:

After a thoughtful process that began in the first months of my presidency and builds upon effective initiatives already in place at Rutgers, I am pleased to announce the completion of our first-ever Diversity Strategic Plan.

Within each chancellor-led unit, Rutgers community members have affirmed five overarching priorities for the university: developing a diverse community, promoting inclusive scholarship, defining substantive community engagement, building capacity for inclusive climates, and developing the infrastructure to drive change. Toward those priorities, they have committed themselves to concrete actions to create—or bolster—mechanisms to achieve a Rutgers that models diversity, equity, and inclusion across all our constituent units and in service to the wider community.

A commitment to inclusive excellence is reflected throughout the plan. The document calls for improvements to the search, retention, and student recruitment processes; professional development opportunities in cultural competency; new approaches to community engagement and local procurement; and efforts to establish metrics on progress, to name only a few examples. In many places the report is documenting efforts that existed before we embarked on this strategic planning process. In those cases, we will be strengthening or expanding a successful program and ensuring that it is coordinated with other and new efforts.

This plan, which was launched with a candid self-examination within the central administration, is the product of numerous conversations, consultations, and committee meetings in Newark, Camden, and New Brunswick, and within RBHS. It is a credit to the dedicated individuals from across Rutgers who have worked so hard to answer the challenge of redefining how and where we find excellence.

I invite you to read Rutgers Forward: University Diversity Strategic Plan, and I encourage you to help us put the plan into action.

Excellence can be found everywhere; I know that to be true. But we have to look for it, we have to nurture and cultivate it, we have to remove barriers to it, and we have reward and celebrate it throughout the university. This strategic plan is Rutgers’ declaration that we will. 

Sincerely,

Jonathan Holloway
President and University Professor