Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Graduate Student Advisory Committee

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Graduate Student Advisory Committee: 2022 Call for Applications

The School of Graduate Studies (SGS) is seeking applications from SGS master’s and doctoral students across disciplines to serve on the inaugural SGS Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Student Advisory Committee. The committee will help shape SGS’s collaborative efforts to cultivate an equitable, affirming, and inclusive graduate education experience in which all SGS community members, across race, ethnicity, gender identity, citizenship status, language, religion, socioeconomic status, nationality, sexual orientation, and ability-difference, can learn and thrive.

A major goal of the committee is to advise on the implementation of the SGS Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Strategic Plan focusing on those components that directly address the student experience. To this end, with the support of SGS, committee members will:

• Make recommendations on processes and approaches for soliciting student feedback on the plan.
• Advise on translating the strategic plan objectives into specific actionable steps.
• Help design and/or carry out special events for graduate students.
• Recommend individuals and groups of individuals who may carry out the actions, including recommendations for involving partnering organizations or units within Rutgers.
• Suggest what resources would be needed and recommend steps to obtain these resources, whether internal or external.
• Help coordinate DEI activities at SGS with those of schools and departments.
• Recommend new additions to revisions to the strategic plan.

Possible Activities

For the Spring 2022-Fall 2022 term, SGS facilitators will work with committee members to sketch the specific scope of their work, with some possible activities including:

• Advising on the design and facilitation of roundtables about the strategic plan with/for other graduate students.
• Advising on the design and distribution of educational materials about the plan.
• Suggesting student organizations with whom to connect.
• Producing a proposed set of graduate student survey questions that SGS may administer.
• Identifying campus and/or community partners for specific components of the plan.
• Participating in opportunities to disseminate our accomplishments.
• Drafting proposals for specific projects, action steps, or interventions that align with the strategic plan goals (for example, students may sketch a plan for what an affinity group infrastructure might look like, or for a series of workshops and events that would enhance the graduate student experience), including proposals for how to assess the effectiveness of these activities.

Committee Meetings

Committee service is expected to last two semesters, with appointments beginning February 2022. Committee members will have opportunities to renew membership for a second year. We estimate that the committee will meet for 1.5 hours about once per month during the Spring 2022 and Fall 2022 semesters, with some correspondence (likely via email) at other times. The tentative plan is for the committee to meet via Zoom, with flexibility to shift to an in-person format should the committee prefer an in-person format and so long as it’s permitted by University-wide COVID-19 protocols.

Committee meetings will include one or two SGS staff members acting as facilitators. The committee, at its discretion, may meet on its own without an SGS facilitator present.

Compensation

Each committee member will be compensated $500 total for their time and contributions over the two semesters. If a student needs to resign from the committee prior to the end of the term, compensation will be prorated accordingly.

Committee members may choose to deepen their involvement in the implementation process through participating directly in related events or activities. However, this is not expected or required as part of committee service. 

In addition, committee members will receive a letter from the School of Graduate Studies acknowledging their contributions.

Student Privacy

Meeting notes and the initial recommendations therein are reviewable by SGS staff and administrators. SGS staff may synthesize key findings, recommendations, proposed next steps, and/or implementation partners for broader distribution. This public, synthesized version will not include subjective or personal information students may share during the meetings.

For best consideration, apply by January 24

As part of the online application form, applicants will be asked to include a CV and a brief personal statement.

We are aiming for a committee of about 10-15 students across academic areas. 

Applications will be reviewed by a cross-disciplinary committee. We will communicate decisions to all applicants by approximately February 7, 2022. Any applicant who is not selected to serve on the Spring 2022-Fall 2022 committee is invited to apply again in subsequent application cycles and participate in other SGS involvement opportunities.

Please send any questions to sgsdei@grad.rutgers.edu.