Rutgers University

On June 29, 2023, in response to the Supreme Court's affirmative action ruling, Rutgers University President and other university leaders issued the following statement: "Please know that we will take the time to review our policies and practices to ensure they follow the law established by today’s decision...Rutgers embodies the democratic possibilities of our country, opening its doors for people from the broadest range of backgrounds and recognizing that excellence can be found everywhere—and that will not change with this ruling. Our commitment to being a powerful engine of social mobility for students and their families will not change."

The university's faculty and staff led Diversity Education Network provides opportunities such as "racial healing circles" for individuals with diverse backgrounds to share their stories.

Hosted by the University Equity and Inclusion and the Diversity Education Network, the 2024 Education as Disruption Virtual Intensive provides students a two day virtual seminar and workshop that explores concepts of "equity, access, diversity, inclusion, and justice capacity building."

Students in the School of Arts and Sciences will be required to take one course in "Diversities and Social Inequalities [CCD] (3 credits)" which will "Analyze the degree to which forms of human differences and stratifications among social groups shape individual and group experiences of, and perspectives on, contemporary issues. Such differences and stratifications may include race, language, religion, ethnicity, country of origin, gender identity, sexual orientation, economic status, abilities, or other social distinctions and their intersections."

Rutgers University has a university wide Bias Prevention Campaign called Speak Up which serves as a “call to action for all members of the university to respond when they observe bigotry and to be vigilant about disrupting personally held bias.”

Rutgers University is investing in faculty diversity through strategic diversity cluster hiring within the Race, Racism, and Inequality cluster, Health Equity cluster, and Advancing STEM Diversity cluster.

On September 21, 2021, Rutgers professor of women’s and gender studies and Africana studies, Britney Cooper discussed colonialism and critical race theory in an online conference with the Root Institute. The Rutgers professor stated that white people are historically “committed to being villains” and that the only solution to white supremacy is for white people to be “taken out,” although she doesn't believe in violence. Regarding Critical Race Theory, the Rutgers professor argued that “Critical Race Theory is just the proper teaching of American history.”

The president of the university announced, "Rutgers has been awarded a $15 million, five-year grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to fund a new, university-wide initiative: The Institute for the Study of Global Racial Justice, a scholarly project with centers based on our New Brunswick, Newark, and Camden campuses.

The Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Advocacy (IDEA) Innovation Grants Program at the university invests “in grassroots efforts to encourage understanding and learning, enable relationship building across differences, and offer new ways to promote equity and diversity.”

Rutgers has a program known as the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation.

The School of Social Work offered a seminar called "The Culturally Woke Social Worker-WEB". The webinar will "1) Define and explore culture, unconscious bias, microaggressions, racism, privilege, marginalization, color blindness and intersectionality. 2) Determine ways that cultural differences impact professional relationships and 3) Provide social workers with a culturally relevant toolbox of skills to work toward micro and macro level change."

Rutgers University Libraries provides a number of resources on anti-racism, social justice, equity, diversity, bias, microaggressions, and white privilege.

On April 21, 2022, the university’s School of Public Health held an event on Dismantling Institutional Racism in order to discuss how “racial inequality remains prevalent within higher education institutions.”

On September 23, 2021, the Rutgers Institute for the Study of Global Racial Justice held its inaugural event where researchers joined together to study systemic racism.

Rutgers has a Race, Ethnicity and Politics minor which delves into “political identity, attitudes and behavior, public policy and law, inequality and criminal justice, political institutions, among other topics, and also explore theoretical approaches to conceptions of race and ethnicity in relation to gender, citizenship, immigration, empire and colonialism.”

The Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences has a program called “Voices of Diversity: Rutgers Student Stories.”

Rutgers has a page dedicated to diversity initiatives led by faculty on the DEI Committee in the School of Arts and Sciences.

The Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences has a list of diversity, equity, and inclusion resources.

On August 14, 2024 an event titled "It Doesn't Have to Be Like This: Tending to Grief in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Practice" will be held at the university to guide diversity educators and equity-minded leaders through the grief caused by the difficult year for higher education.

The Faculty and Staff of Color Reception takes place every fall and spring semester to expand "professional network with administrators, faculty, and staff of color" and learn about the university's work in "promoting inclusive hiring" and "advancing equity in education."

The university president announced the creation of the "Senior Vice President for Equity—to ensure a permanent, university-wide, intentional commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion."

On March 31, 2022, Rutgers University “renewed its commitment to develop a more diverse, equitable and inclusive environment” by releasing a new plan to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion with the Rutgers Forward: University Diversity Strategic Plan.