Rutgers University–Newark

Newark, NJ

F
Score: 50/100
7,187
Undergraduate students
$17,250
Annual tuition
94 / 100
Diversity Index
Medium Campus
Medium Campus
public
Public University
Urban Campus
Urban Campus
Northeast Region
Description

Rutgers University–Newark's official student newspaper, The Observer, is either defunct or does not publish online. Hence there is a missing record of any recent disability advocacy on campus. It also suggests that the campus is under-resourced.

Nevertheless, there are some exciting developments happening around disability scholarship and activism on campus. The new Disability Studies Program was founded in 2021, by Dr. Lauren Shallish, and offers a minor in Critical Disability Studies. This year, the Chancellor's Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Advocacy (IDEA) Innovation Grants Program awarded $5,000 to Professor Alison Howell and the Disability Justice Coalition (DJC) to complete a full accessibility audit of the Newark campus and to help remove barriers in bringing the campus disability community together.

In 2024, the Disability Studies Program hosted Liberating Disability: Stories From Our Past, Present, and Future -- "a series of workshops, speakers, and performances to explore the role of disability in movements for justice and liberation."

Rutgers University–Newark is ranked 80th among national universities by U.S. News. It was ranked 82nd last year.

Has the university committed to maintaining its DEI programs?

YES

No changes to its DEI programs have been reported.

What types of activities exist on campus for disability inclusion, advocacy, and recreation?

Disability Cultural Center

NO

Adaptive sports programs

NO

Student organizations

YES

Other

NO

The Disability Justice Coalition (DJC) is "a student-led group collectively representing the diverse interests and cultures of disabled students at Rutgers University–Newark. This group is guided by principles of disability justice, including intersectional organizing and leadership by the most impacted. The group opens space for students to explore disability identity and allyship, and embraces an ethos of questioning and critical curiosity about disability."

The number of disability-centered articles published in the campus newspaper last year

0

Does the university use stigmatizing language about mental illness or disability on its website?

NO

Does the university provide an alternative-to-police mental health crisis response team?

NO

Rutgers Health University Behavioral Health Care's (UBHC) "Alternative Responses to Reduce Instance of Violence and Escalation" (ARRIVE Together) program is actually a misnomer, because contrary to what the website claims, ARRIVE Together is not an alternative-to-police response program. As Rutgers Today notes, the unit dispatches police with mental health specialists to respond to 911 crisis calls, so it is actually a co-response model. Co-response is a co-opted version of alternative-to-police response.

Does the university offer a Disability Studies major?

Disability Studies major

NO

Disability Studies minor or certificate

YES

One or more classes in Disability Studies

YES

Rutgers–Newark's Disability Studies Program is housed in the Department of Urban Education in the School of Arts and Sciences. The program offers a minor in Disability Studies. The core courses are Disability Studies (21:988:306/21:300:306) and either Inclusive and Social Justice Pedagogies (21:300:230) or Inclusive Education and Disability Advocacy (21:300:298).

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