Our programs take into consideration the context in which our members live and grow every day. While the city of Newark has made exponential progress in the areas of preschool enrollments, high school graduation rates, and juvenile arrests, there is still work to be done. Pervasive poverty still persists, with nearly three quarters of Newark’s children living in families who earn too little to pay the rent, buy food, and afford quality childcare. We provide a safe haven where children and their families get the extra support they need in the face of uncertainty to thrive.

Rutgers University School of Health Professions is opening a free primary care clinic serving the Plainfield community. Continuing a tradition of providing culturally competent, compassionate care in Plainfield, the Physician Assistant Program faculty and students will manage acute and chronic diseases, such as diabetes and hypertension for the uninsured.

The mission of the IDEA innovation grants is to support projects that enable students, faculty, and staff across Rutgers University to take an active role in building an inclusive community. As we invest in broader institutional efforts to advance equity, the IDEA grant program offers a way for innovative grassroots efforts to join in our larger strategy. We invite projects that encourage understanding and learning, invest in relationship-building across difference, and offer new ways to promote equity and diversity to achieve our goal of an inclusive university culture.

Founded in 1983 within the former UMDNJ, we have locations in Newark and New Brunswick as well as hybrid and remote course options. Under the leadership of Dean Perry N. Halkitis, the school has become a leader in bioethics, cancer health disparities, climate change and planetary health, HIV, COVID-19, TB, and other infectious diseases, modern statistical methods, pharmacoepidemiology, sexual and reproductive health, LGBTQ+ health, population aging and mental health, gun violence prevention, and much more.