September 10, 2021: We R Back!

Spotlight

We R Back!

WE R BACK! Red Sidewalk Art with Rutgers Knight

After more than a year away, campuses and classrooms are once again bustling with students and it’s clear that weRback! Visit the weRback campaign page to access a variety of media and resources to help celebrate and welcome the return to campus as well as answer any common lingering questions for Fall 2021. Share in the student and campus excitement by using #weRback with your choice of social media filters and frames and check out more back-to-campus stories!

From the Desk of...

Chancellor-Provost Conway and Chancellor Strom

Chancellor-Provost Francine Conway and Chancellor Brian L. Strom

Dear Colleagues,

It has been thrilling over the past several days to see our students return to campus, and to feel the buzz of excitement across our campuses and within our classrooms and offices as we welcomed so many new students and colleagues, and reunited with those who have returned. Throughout this difficult time, our campuses have continued to offer invaluable spaces and opportunities that encourage collaboration, engagement, and innovation, with a commitment to health and safety.

From the start, Rutgers has been at the cutting edge of safety, responsibility, and effectiveness in our handling of the pandemic. You, our faculty and staff, have been so inspiring in the ways you have come together to continue our academic, research, and service missions amid an unprecedented crisis. Phenomenal efforts by central university offices and the leadership, faculty, and staff of our schools have enabled us to work within an environment that is among the safest in our region. Vaccination rates among our faculty and staff at Rutgers–New Brunswick and RBHS exceed 80 percent, and our COVID-19 case rates continue to remain substantially lower than the areas in which we reside.

Announcements

Health Briefings and Podcasts Return

Also returning to the campus community this semester are RBHS Chancellor Brian Strom’s COVID-19 Health Briefing and Executive Director of Health Systems and Population Health Integration at RBHS Mary O’Dowd’s On the Pandemic podcast series. Combined, these virtual monthly programs have been designed to keep our community apprised of safety guidance updates while also helping to address the critical challenges we collectively face as we work to recover from the pandemic. Check out the recording of the first COVID-19 Health Briefing from September 9 and be sure to tune in for the debut of the second season of On the Pandemic with special guest Antonio Calcado, executive vice president and chief operating officer, for a reflective conversation about being back on campus and back in the classrooms on September 16.

Faculty Diversity Initiative

In a universitywide message in August, University President and Professor Jonathan Holloway, Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Prabhas V. Moghe, and Senior Vice President for Equity Enobong (Anna) Branch jointly announced the Presidential Faculty Diversity Initiative. Designed to strengthen Rutgers' commitment to nurture academic excellence, strategic institutional clarity, and a beloved community, this initiative dedicates up to $45M over the next five years to increase diversity among the faculty and graduate communities through recruitment, hiring, and fellowship programs. Find out more about the Presidential Faculty Diversity Initiative, its programs, and other resources to help faculty diversity and academic excellence thrive here at Rutgers!

Anniversary of 9/11

Tomorrow marks the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and Shanksville, Pennsylvania, on September 11, 2001. To honor the lives lost that day and to support the first responders who dedicated to rescue recovery efforts that day and those to follow, the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute (EOHSI) and Rutgers University Alumni Association invite members of the community to join the 9/11 20th Anniversary Commemoration Event: 20 Years of Healing Our Heroes, currently underway via Vimeo livestream, now through 11:30 a.m. today, which includes a welcome from President Holloway and remarks from EOSHI clinic staff and 9/11 responders. Also, the School of Arts and Sciences invites all to view the recording of yesterday’s special virtual lecture, Reflections on 20th Anniversary of 9/11, where John Farmer—adjunct faculty member at Rutgers School of Law–Newark, director of the Eagleton Institute of Politics, and former assistant U.S. attorney, New Jersey attorney general, and senior counsel of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (aka “9/11 Commission”)—shares his personal experiences through his various roles in counter terrorism work. Additionally, read World Trade Center Historian Reflects on 20th Anniversary of 9/11, a reflective Rutgers Today interview with professor of American Studies at Rutgers–New Brunswick, Angus Gillespie, as he examines the historical and symbolic context inherent in the attacks as well as lessons learned as we as a nation continue to forge forward together.

More to Know

Streamlined Support

Preceding the start of the fall semester, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer Michele Norin announced that technical support for Canvas and Sakai will be provided by the Office of Information Technology (OIT) Help Desk to streamline support. Moving forward, faculty and staff universitywide can call 833-OIT-HELP for help with everything from Canvas and Sakai to Zoom, Rutgers Connect, and NetIDs. Hours to reach OIT’s dedicated team experienced with answering questions about learning management systems (LMS) include: Mondays through Thursdays, 7:30 a.m.–9:30 p.m.; Fridays, 7:30 a.m.–8 p.m.; and Sundays, 2 p.m.–9 p.m.

Instructional design support for faculty and staff, however, will continue to be provided by the respective campus-specific groups below:

Campus-Return Resources

To assist the transition back to in-person campus activities and classes with the health and safety of the Rutgers community at the forefront, a collection of informative guidelines and resources have been made available online:

Stay tuned for and check in on the Universitywide COVID-19 Information website additional announcements and resources from university and campus leaders as we continue to responsibly navigate the return to campus together throughout Fall 2021.

Apply for Gun Violence Research Funding

Faculty are invited to submit funding applications for projects addressing gun violence for consideration by the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center. Special consideration will be given to projects focusing on interpersonal gun violence in New Jersey cities that also emphasize equity, diversity, and inclusion elements and involve active partnership with community organizations. Also, completion or near completion of work outlined in proposals should be attainable before the close of this fiscal year (June 30, 2022). Access additional details, templates, and how to submit applications by the September 15 deadline.

Ask Us Anything

Where can I direct students looking for support resources and services this semester?

The Student Success Steering Committee has developed the Resources for Student Success website (Success.Rutgers.edu) to help students find resources and services to succeed. The site is easily searchable and includes “How To” instructional videos and guides related to course scheduling, add/drop period and process, technology systems and terms, and more!

What's Happening

Zimmerli Reopens

Wadsworth Jarrell's "Revolutionary" Bright, Mosaic-like Portrait of Angela Davis

The Zimmerli Art Museum has reopened to the public and invites all to visit the new exhibitions and participate in a combination of virtual and in-person programming this fall, including the latest addition that debuted earlier this week, the Angela Davis—Seize the Time exhibition. Museum admission remains free, but mask and social-distancing guidelines must be followed. Also, please note the museum’s new hours, Wednesdays through Sundays (closed Mondays and Tuesdays). Check out the Zimmerli’s redesigned website for more details!

Islam in/and America, 20 Years After 9/11

On Wednesday, September 15, 3 p.m.–6 p.m., all are invited to join Islam in/and America, 20 Years After 9/11: Muslims, Blackness, & Anti-Blackness, a special virtual event featuring two separate faculty panels as they discuss and reflect on how their respective scholarly perspectives and academic approaches toward Muslims, Blackness, and anti-Blackness have shifted within the various contemporary contexts over the last 20 years. Sponsored by the Departments of American Studies, Department of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, and the Institute of Global Racial Justice at the School of Arts and Sciences (SAS), both the first external faculty panel and the latter Rutgers faculty panel will be moderated by Sylvia Chan-Malik, associate professor in the Departments of American Studies and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and director of undergraduate studies in the Department of American Studies at SAS. Find out how to join and learn more about the event and all seven panelists.

NJ ACTS Symposium

Wednesday, September 22 at 12 p.m. through Thursday, September 23, New Jersey Alliance for Clinical and Translational Science (NJ ACTS) at RBHS invites all interested Rutgers faculty, postdocs, and students to register to join its first annual NJ ACTS Translational Medicine and Science Symposium, which was designed to bring together academic communities at Rutgers, Princeton University, and New Jersey Institute for Technology to present the best new clinical and translational research and build collaborative partnerships. This two-day, virtual conference will feature sessions on four hot topics with internal talks as well as featured external keynote addresses on these topics: Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity in AI and Machine Learning; Social and Environmental Determinants of Health in the Urban Setting; Clinical Trial Science after a Pandemic; and Biomarker Exploration in the Heterogeneity of Disease. Meeting agenda and link to join will be emailed to registrants prior to the event. Register today!

USPTO Webinars

The Innovation Ventures team at the Office for Research and New Brunswick Libraries will be hosting four different, monthly Zoom webinars throughout the fall semester with expert facilitators from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), starting with Session 1. Patent Basics on Monday, September 27, 4 p.m.–5:20 p.m. Registration is required, so find out more about webinar dates, topics, and register for any or all of the sessions today. Questions can be sent to Connie Wu, engineering resource librarian at New Brunswick Libraries.

NJ Film Festival

Starting today and occurring on Fridays and Sundays through October 10, the Rutgers Film Co-op/New Jersey Media Arts Center and the School of Arts and Sciences Cinema Studies program proudly present the 40th Anniversary New Jersey Film Festival. This iteration of the festival will be hybridized, presenting films both online and via live screenings starting at 7 p.m. for each respective program’s show date in room 105 of Voorhees Hall on College Avenue Campus (71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, NJ). All films will be available virtually via Video on Demand for 24 hours on their show date and each ticket or Festival All Access Pass purchased is good for both the respective live and virtual screenings. Ticket buyers will also have special access to filmmaker introductions and Q+A sessions for many of the films, so check out the upcoming film lineup and buy your tickets today!

#March2RUGardens2021

All are invited to register to join the March to Rutgers Gardens on Saturday, September 25, 10 a.m.–1 p.m., starting behind Woodbury Bunting-Cobb Hall on Douglass Campus (49 Dudley Road, New Brunswick, NJ 08901). This two-mile, choreographed walk to Rutgers Gardens will feature a variety of speakers sharing information about projects and history at Rutgers along the way and emphasize the shared desire for and importance of access to nature and community for all. Find out more about parking and programming for the day and register to participate today!

Awards & Honors

Farok J. Contractor

Farok J. Contractor, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Management and Global Business at Rutgers Business School–Newark and New Brunswick, was appointed as president of the Academy of International Business (AIB)—an international association of approximately 3,500 primarily academic members worldwide—through a rigorous nomination and election process on August 1, 2021. In this role, Contractor will lead the AIB’s executive board in its “responsi(bility) for setting the overall direction of (the) association and developing specific policies to achieve that vision.”

Tobias Gerhard

Tobias Gerhard, professor of pharmacy and epidemiology in the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Administration at Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy and the founding director of the Center for Pharmacoepidemiology and Treatment Science at RBHS, was elected and inducted in August 2021 as president-elect of the International Society for Pharmacoepidemiology, an international organization dedicated to advancing public health by serving as a global forum for the open exchange of scientific information and the development of policy, education, and advocacy for the field of pharmacoepidemiology.

Janet Jones

Janet Jones, director of industry and student connections at the Office of Career Exploration and Success, was recognized by the HireBig10+ Career Consortium as the David S. Bechtel Outstanding Career Services Professional of the Year on July 15 for significant contributions in the field and “demonstrating an outstanding commitment to students' career success at the campus level and within the profession at the local, regional, or national level.” This prestigious award is not presented annually and is seen as the greatest honor awarded by Hire Big10+ career services network.

Kusum Punjabi

Kusum Punjabi, assistant professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, was elected Chair of the Board of Trustees of American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin, a national organization formed in 1982 that is composed of more than 80,000 practicing physicians in the U.S. Punjabi also has the honor of being the youngest to ever hold the position and the first person to have completed medical school in the U.S.

On The Move

Dorothea Berkhout

Dorothea Berkhout, associate dean and executive director for administration at Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy (EJBPPP), retired on July 1 after 25 years of service at EJBPPP. Berkhout spent 38 years at Rutgers University, serving in various roles under five presidents.