Rutgers Health Earns National Honor for Advancing Inclusive Excellence

University’s biomedical and health sciences unit makes history as first to receive the bronze award in biomedicine from the AAAS SEA Change initiative

Rutgers Health is the first to receive a bronze biomedicine award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) for its efforts and commitments to advance inclusive excellence in biomedicine as part of the group’s STEMM Equity Achievement (SEA) Change initiative.

The award process, which began in 2021, included a comprehensive institutional self-assessment carried out by a Rutgers Health-wide committee and several work groups of faculty, staff and students that evaluated current and future needs of faculty, including postdoctoral and clinical trainees. Insights from the review led to the development of a five-year action plan (ending in 2029) designed to address gaps and capitalize on opportunities to recruit, retain and advance Rutgers Health current and future faculty.

The award application also highlighted a strong commitment to advancing clinical pathways from training to faculty. Rutgers Health hosts 125 Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education programs and is recognized as the sixth largest sponsor of Graduate Medical Education training positions in the U.S.

“It’s widely recognized that science and biomedicine fields greatly benefit from the rich diversity that different perspectives bring” said Sangeeta Lamba, vice chancellor for diversity and inclusion at Rutgers Health and vice president for faculty development and diversity within University Equity and Inclusion at Rutgers. “While we acknowledge there is still much work ahead, we celebrate efforts to foster an environment where all members can thrive.”

These efforts align with university advancements such as the Rutgers Presidential Faculty Diversity Hiring Initiative, launched in 2021 with a $45 million investment over five years. This initiative has added several Presidential Scholars on the tenure track at multiple Rutgers Health schools, with additional offers in progress. Six postdoctoral fellows also have been recruited in key research areas including health equity.

“This achievement in the new biomedicine category for SEA Change highlights the progress, internal efforts, and commitments we have made to enhance efforts in diversity, inclusion, and health equity,” said Chancellor Brian Strom, who leads Rutgers Health and established the Office of Diversity and Inclusion in 2019, with Lamba leading the strategy for the office. “We are proud to be the first to win this, and grateful to Dr. Lamba and her team for leading it.”

As part of its priority initiatives, Rutgers Health will establish a new role dedicated to faculty success and outreach. This position will oversee progress, manage implementation of the SEA Change action plan and ensure alignment with university goals and resources. The five-year action plan will employ a phased, annual approach to ensure effective and sustained implementation of its action items and prioritize key initiatives from faculty feedback.

Other efforts will include enhancing culturally aware mentor training, engaging in deeper leadership dialogue around culture and climate, establishing an equity adviser program to assist leadership searches and outreach efforts for diverse candidate pools, and creating programs to support transition of postdoctoral and clinical trainees to faculty roles.

The plan also focuses on enhancing the overall climate and culture by analyzing data from the university’s 2023 climate surveys and conducting listening sessions to gather direct feedback and implement solutions.

“Being recognized by AAAS and our peer institutions is an honor and truly speaks to the ways we are shifting from mere conversation to concrete action toward transformative change to recruit and retain a diverse community of scholars. The Sea Change Institutional Bronze Award recognizes the ongoing work of progress to further advance our goals outlined in the strategic plan,” said Rutgers Senior Vice President for Equity Anna Branch who leads the University Equity and Inclusion office.

The SEA Change awards emphasize ongoing improvement, requiring institutions to reapply every five years to either maintain or advance their award status. Institutions can earn gold or silver awards based on their progress and cultural transformation.

"We are very excited to have Rutgers Health as our SEA Change Biomedicine first bronze awardee,” said Shirley Malcom, director of the AAAS SEA Change initiative. “This designation recognizes what is possible when the different resources and communities within an institution are committed and come together to chart a course forward. Rutgers is asking hard questions of itself and promoting actions that really can bring about a SEA Change.