Rowan University

One of the strategic priorities of the Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is "recruiting and retaining diverse students, faculty and staff."

To its faculty and staff, Rowan University offers various certificates that promote diversity training and goals. These certificates include the Foundations of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Certificate and the Inclusive Pedagogy and Practices Certificate.

As of January 2021, Rowan University has accomplished its goal to "seek new and evaluate existing student trainings and workshops" as part of its goal to "educate all staff and student leaders of the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusivity through trainings, workshops, and personal reflection activities."

Rowan University seeks to create a "minimum requirement for administration to engage in DEI related professional development." Rowan will also train the Office of Community Standards staff.

The Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion offers professional development trainings including "Foundations of DEI Certificate Level One" and "Search and Hiring Committee Implicit Bias Training."

The Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion has implemented the following: "Mandatory Implicit Bias Training for all Faculty and Staff Search Committee Members."

The Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion posted a blog titled "A Unique Approach to Anti-racist Education in Technical & Professional Writing," which discusses the "Program for Inclusive Pedagogy and Educational Reform" grant project. The purpose of this project is to "achieve a more inclusive educational environment through the research, development, and implementation of different resources and programs for the support of students— especially students with learning dis/abilities, first-generation college students, English-language learners (ELL), and students from a wide array of diverse and underrepresented backgrounds." 

The Antiracist Pedagogies and Practices Task Force at Rowan is comprised of faculty, staff and students and "draw[s] from research and experience in and beyond our community in a bottom-up effort to support antiracist work on our campuses." The program "establish[es] certificate programs in antiracist pedagogies and practices for faculty and staff" and is "build[ing] a program for student leadership in antiracism."

The mission of the Law Enforcement and Community Collaborative at Rowan is to "bring together the Rowan community with local law enforcement professionals to address the following strategic priorities: develop professional development rooted in a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion; identify and disseminate evidence-based practices that facilitate meaningful engagement with diverse communities."

Rowan University offers a Bachelor's degree in Inclusive Education. One of the courses for this major is a course in "Cultural Geography."

The university states that, "Through the pervasive demonstrations around our nation, we have been called to reckon with injustice that pervades our institutional structures." Thus, the university created the "Anti-Racist Reading List." This reading list is available in the library.

The library also offers resources for student who are researching anti-racist music theory. These resources are found in the "Anti-Racist Music Theory Assignment."

Rowan University has a series of events and programming denoted the 1619 Project which "aims to reframe the country’s history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of our national narrative."

In July 2020, Rowan University created a DEI task force. The DEI division was created in 2019.

Rowan University refers to the NIRSA Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion resource manual for guidance on university policies and potential initiatives.

In response to the death of George Floyd, Rowan University launched the "We Are Not OK: Injustice, Action and Healing" series.

On October 23, 2023, the Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion published an article titled "Dr. Alicia Monroe and Ruben Britt, Jr.'s Journey in Decolonizing Teaching," which reads in part: "As seasoned educators, Monroe and Britt leverage the power of personal narratives to ignite critical conversations about the enduring legacy of colonization with the landscape of whiteness in education."

The School of Education announced several new faculty hires including Assistant Professor of School Administration, Margaret Thornton, Ph.D., whose "research interests include equity-focused school leadership development, school leadership for detracking [sic], and critical race theory."

The Campbell Library at Rowan provides "Inclusive & Anti-Racist Pedagogies" resources for teachers which is a "starting point for anyone teaching at the college level who would like to learn more about inclusive and anti-racist pedagogies." Book titles include "Racialized Schools: Understanding and Addressing Racism in Schools" and "Teaching Race: How to Help Students Unmask and Challenge Racism."

The Africana Studies program and the Division of DEI are "planning a virtual Critical Race Theory (CRT) 'Teach-in' that will educate students, faculty, administrators, staff, and the wider community about CRT and the controversy surrounding its alleged teaching in K-12 public schools (with implications for higher education)."

The Office of Social Justice, Inclusion and Conflict Resolution provides resources for underrepresented and underserved students and includes the "BIPoC [Black, Indigenous, People of Color] Student Support Services Center."

Rowan has compiled and published its DEI Strategic Action Plan initiatives between 2019-2022 with updated department-wide status reports for each.

Rowan's third annual DEI Summit took place in April of 2023 and was a "call to action for all community members to transform their approach to creating equitable environments and opportunities rooted in justice."

In response to the Executive Order on Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping of September 22, 2020, Rowan University reiterated its stance as an anti-racist institution. The university stated, "As an institution of higher education, Rowan has the responsibility to expose students to educational opportunities that promote growth, development and appreciation of diverse perspectives through coursework, experiences, and programming. Further, we promote inclusive professional development for faculty and staff."

The university ensures that DEI is included "as a discussion item for departmental bi-weekly meetings and reports."

On September 25th, 2020, Rowan University took part in an online forum titled, "Dreams Will Not Be Deferred: A Conversation with Chief Diversity Officers on the Status of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in New Jersey Higher Education Institutions."