Rutgers-Newark has awarded nine grants to advance efforts that encourage understanding and enable relationship-building on campus and within the city.
The Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Advocacy (IDEA) Innovation Grants Program encompasses projects such as the Repair Café, which allows students and the Rutgers community to repair beloved items rather than dispose of them, and a multilingual poetry program exploring identity, migration, and belonging.
The purpose of the IDEA Grant program at Rutgers-Newark is to invest in grassroots efforts involving research, scholarly activities, and community engagement projects that advance the role of Rutgers-Newark as an anchor institution in the city.
It funds proposals that focus on priority areas such as climate, culture, and community building. It also furthers Rutgers-Newark goals such as access, advocacy, equity, and inclusion, and professional and academic training, learning, and development.
Below are this year’s award-winning grantee, who were chosen by the Chancellor's Diversity and Transformation Commission. They were selected from 26 applicants and will each receive $5,000.
CareerThreads Clothing Drive & Fashion Show
The Office of Career Resources and Exploration will launch the inaugural CareerThreads Clothing Drive & Fashion Show. This event will stock the CareerThreads closet with free professional attire for students, promote cultural diversity, and foster collaboration across campus. It supports first-generation and low-income students ahead of the Fall 2025 Career Fair. Embedded workshops will boost career readiness, and the program’s impact will be measured to ensure long-term success.The effort is led by Joshua Iannuzzi, Associate Director of Employer Relations and Community Engagement, CRE, Career Development Center.
Pod to Pencil Podcast
The Pod to Pencil Podcast is an initiative created by Rutgers-Newark student teachers to explore the journey to teacher certification, the realities of student teaching, and the complexities of pedagogy. It focuses on the transformational power of education in diverse communities while emphasizing the importance of equity and inclusion. Hosted by Urban Education in partnership with Kappa Delta Pi, this interactive project will highlight students lived experiences and the challenges and opportunities facing education today, particularly from the perspective of student teachers seeking certification. Heading the program is Debby Debby Romero, Assistant Director of Teacher Preparation and Certification, SASN Urban Education.
Cultural Food Cooking Demonstration with the Blueprint Cafe
The BOLD Women’s Leadership Network and Rutger University- Newark’s Pantry +, will partner with Blue Print Café, a local restaurant on Raymond Blvd in Newark to organize a cultural food cooking demonstration. The fosters intercultural exchange by teaching both international and domestic students how to prepare a healthy meal using ingredients available at RU-N’s Pantry +, the campus food pantry. The effort is headed byJennifer Bucalo, Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives & Director, BOLD Women's Leadership Network Office of the Chancellor and, Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives.
A Feeling Of Itself: A Multilingual, Multimedia Exhibition
This exhibition highlights the profound connections between language, identity and culture through bilingual interviews conducted by Rutgers-Newark students, engaging in conversation with family and friends. It is the next phase of last year’s A Feeling of Itself project and exhibition, which brings to life the personal stories of a collection of audios collected with the Newark Story Bus. Stories will be displayed in a public space within the city of Newark. The effort is headed by Stephanie Rodriguez, Assistant Teaching Professor, Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies, the Lives in Translation program, and the Design Consortium of Express Newark.
Assessing Access: Building Disability Community
This project brings aims to strengthen disability community at Rutgers-Newark by working to address barriers to access on campus. It builds on a pilot accessibility audit conducted by students in Fall 2024, which emerged from both a Disability Studies course, and from the Disability Justice Coalition (DJC) student group. This project involves not only completing a full audit of campus accessibility, but will harness the audit process as a means for strengthening disability community on campus. This will take place through a series of community-building and self-advocacy activities and events. The project is headed by Alison Howell, Associate Professor, SASN Political Science.
Staff Community Affinity Action Network
The Staff Community Affinity Network (SCAN) will establish spaces for dialogue among staff across Rutgers-Newark units, schools, and departments while providing leadership experience and professional development training. SCAN is envisioned as a network of voluntary, staff-led communities or affinity groups comprised of individuals with shared interests, cultures, or identities. The project aims to cultivate interpersonal relationships that help lead to professional collaboration in previously unexplored ways and help provide a collective voice for staff with common needs. The project is led by Caessandra Sperling, Senior Department Administrator Supervisor, P3 Collaboratory. Co-Principal Investigators are Corey Clawson, Administrative Coordinator, SASN Global Urban Studies and Paul Lazaro, Director for Veteran Affairs, Division of Student Affairs.
Repair Cafe
This project proposal is for a Repair Café, which would allow students and the Rutgers community--with the possibility of opening up to the wider Newark community--an opportunity to repair beloved items rather than dispose of them in a landfill. Repair cafes work by having a group of people with repair skills gather in one space to serve the community. Repairs may include items like small appliances, furniture, bicycles, lamps, toys, clothing, and more. We throw away massive quantities of items that often have small damage or defects. These items could be useful after just a simple repair. The project is led by Hend Elburi, Director, Nutrition and Pantry, Student Health,
Translingual Voices: Poetry, Place, and Belonging in Newark
Translingual Voices is a six-week, community-engaged arts project exploring identity, migration, and belonging through multilingual poetry. Led by Zhongfeng Tian in collaboration with the Price Institute, it invites Rutgers–Newark participants to create and share original work across languages. Through workshops and a public showcase, the project fosters linguistic justice, community connection, and inclusive expression in resistance to rising English-only discourse. Bridging the Gap: Intergenerational Dialogue for Civic Engagement. The project is led by Zhongfeng Tian, Assistant Professor, SASN Urban Education.
Bridging the Gap: Intergenerational Dialogue for Civic Engagement
This is initiative is designed to foster meaningful connections between students and Newark community leaders. This project creates a structured platform for intergenerational dialogue, allowing students to learn directly from activists, policymakers, and civic leaders who have shaped Newark’s history of advocacy and community engagement. Through a semester-long monthly workshop series, students will explore the evolution of civic strategies, gain experienced leaders, and develop practical skills in advocacy, leadership, and community-based research. The effort is led by Cleopatra Charles, Associate Professor, School of Public Affairs and Administration.
