Strategic Diversity Cluster Hiring

Since creating and retaining a thriving culture of inclusive excellence often occurs through thoughtful collaboration within and across units in areas that are of strategic value to the university, University Academic Affairs has approved ten proposals for faculty cluster hires that fit within one of four areas of academic strength and emerging promise across all the Chancellor-led units at Rutgers: Race, Racism, and Inequality; Health Equity; Advancing STEM Diversity; Engaged Climate Action. See our ten strategic diversity clusters. University Academic Affairs is not currently accepting new Cluster proposals.

• Race, Racism, and Inequality clusters support scholars at any rank conducting research into the structural, systemic, institutional, and individual effects of racism and discrimination, both historically and today, in all domains of the humanities, social sciences, and professional schools, including but not limited to area studies, business, criminal justice and the carceral state, families, education, environmental and climate justice, labor, law, media, public policy, urban planning, or other related fields.
   
• Health Equity clusters support scholars at any rank conducting basic, clinical, translational, community-engaged, and population-based research in the biomedical sciences, social sciences, behavioral, psychological sciences and related fields that addresses health inequalities, including but not limited to research on pathogenesis, chronic disease, mental health, disease prevention and treatment, access to healthcare, and public health. 
   
• Advancing STEM Diversity clusters support scholars at any rank conducting research in any area of the physical, biological or biomedical sciences, earth sciences, computer sciences, engineering, mathematics, or in areas of convergence among multiple fields that define an emergent domain of research (e.g. AI and the data sciences, computational biology, interdisciplinary climate science, etc.).
   
• Engaged Climate Action clusters support scholars at any rank conducting use-inspired, publicly-engaged and/or community-engaged research in the natural sciences, social sciences, policy, engineering, humanities, or other disciplines that addresses the causes and consequences of climate change, their inequities, and policies, technologies and behaviors to limit those consequences and inequities.

Support: University Academic Affairs supports cluster hires at 100% salary or the equivalent amount for the first two years of appointment, to be used for salary and benefits support, discretionary funds for the faculty as a top off to the startup, or funds to provide protected time for scholarly activities. Note in addition that:

• Faculty may be supported either through the Strategic Cluster Hiring program or through the Accelerated Recruitment program, but not both.
   
• Funding support is allocated according to fiscal year, beginning in the year following hire. Hires made in AY24-25 (FY25) will be supported with program funds as of July 1, 2025 (FY26) and forward for two years total. Appointments that begin mid-year (i.e. February 1) will only be supported with program funds as of July 1.