To build Rutgers University’s multi-disciplinary approach in addressing health equity through housing, the School of Social Work, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, and the Institute for Health have developed a Housing and Health Equity Cluster. The Cluster is an active community of Rutgers scholars working at the intersection of housing and health equity on innovative projects that range from multi-state NIH-funded big-data research to local, community-engaged work with practitioners, experts with lived experience, and other community stakeholders.
The Cluster is supported by funds from the Rutgers Presidential Diversity Hiring Initiative. This initiative is intended to advance the university’s goal of building diverse, equitable, and inclusive (DEI) excellence on our campuses. Our faculty and fellows work in one of the most diverse states in the nation alongside a student body that represents a wide range of backgrounds, cultures, and identities. The Cluster provides our core cluster faculty with individualized and targeted supports, opportunities for collaboration and networking, and a sense of belonging and professional growth in the academy.
The mission of the Rutgers University School of Social Work is to develop and disseminate knowledge through social work research, education, and training that promotes social and economic justice and strengthens individual, family, and community well-being in this diverse and increasingly global environment of New Jersey and beyond.
The Rutgers University School of Environmental and Biological Sciences powers the university’s robust exploration of sciences. Today, the School supports vibrant academic departments, research and outreach centers, and institutes addressing the scientific foundation of the pressing needs of the 21st century in the environment, climate, marine and coastal, agriculture, nutrition, plant biology, landscape design, food systems, and more.
At Rutgers University’s Bloustein School, the disciplines and professions of urban planning, public policy, public health, health administration, and public informatics are strongly situated in an educational context that stresses social science education and public service. Located in New Brunswick, NJ, the school’s research and scholarship touch on a wide array of issues that affect public welfare including designing healthy communities, better understanding the social determinants of health, researching ways to effectively and economically combat and adapt to climate change, and much more.
The Ralph W. Voorhees Center for Civic Engagement is a collaboration of university faculty, students and community development actors that seeks to enhance educational opportunities, facilitate innovative research, and build community development capacity.
Rutgers University’s Institute for Health is a hub for multidisciplinary and translational research focused on improving population health. The Institute fosters rigorous theory-based research and innovative training and supports collaborative opportunities for investigators across New Jersey and beyond. The Institute is focused on advancing the translation of knowledge to impact policy and practice, with an emphasis on sustainable engagement and reciprocal relationships with community partners to better understand the ubiquitous issues that affect health outcomes.