Rutgers University has long been committed to public engagement as an essential part of its mission as a public research university. With its deep pool of scholarship, expertise, and talent, the School of Arts and Sciences is well positioned to develop creative and visionary public engagement programs that can benefit citizens of New Jersey, the United States, and the world while serving to build the School’s reputation and stature.
In the Division of Humanities, a professor of classics has been teaching in New Jersey prisons and has done a series of public events in which she and formerly incarcerated students discuss the epic works and apply them to contemporary social justice issues. In the Department of History, the program in public history enlisted students in a project to explore and document immigrant workers lives in New Jersey. Meanwhile, the Department of Spanish and Portuguese developed the “Spanish for Community Engagement” course in which students explore issues such as housing, health, and education while volunteering in community service organizations in New Brunswick.
In the STEM fields, there is a long history of providing support to and training teachers around New Jersey in mathematics and physical sciences from the New Jersey Partnership for Excellence in Middle School Mathematics to similar initiatives in physics and computer science while the Geology Museum, Faraday Physics Lectures, and Rutgers Science Explorer, known as the "Science Bus" reach all ages.
In the Life Sciences and Social and Behavior Sciences, outreach encompasses support and education for individuals with spinal cord injury and families concerned and pursuing treatment for children with developmental concerns such as autism, and promoting research and education on issues related to individuals with disabilities and inclusion through dedicated centers such as The Center for Disability Sports, Health and Wellness.
Below is just a sampling of the many ways the School of Arts and Sciences is promoting health, wellness, and inclusion in the local community and the State of New Jersey.
