Creating a Welcoming, Inclusive Environment

BY LINA ZELDOVICH

It’s just another day at Rutgers School of Nursing and Kyle D. Warren, PhD, MAE, is starting a school leadership meeting focused on equity and belonging, the first in a three-part series on leadership enrichment. “We are pulling together all the deans and directors. Many of the topics we discuss are difficult, but it’s something we have to do if we want all our students, faculty, and staff to feel as though they belong,” says Warren, senior vice dean for administration and student affairs at School of Nursing and associate vice chancellor for student affairs, Rutgers Health.

When it comes to diversity, Rutgers School of Nursing has always led the way. It has one of the most diverse student bodies in the country—close to 60 percent are people of color. The school received the Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award in 2022 and 2023 from Insight Into Diversity. For six years in a row it’s won the Best Schools for Men in Nursing Award from the American Association of Men in Nursing. The student body is about 15 percent male—higher than the workforce average.

“However, it’s one thing to have the numbers, and another to ensure the school is a safe and welcoming space for everyone,” says Warren, the school’s chief equity and belonging officer. That’s why after the tumultuous world and national events of 2020—which included a deadly pandemic, protests against racial injustice, and a contentious election—the school leadership committed to a greater focus on equity and belonging.

Led by Dean Linda Flynn, PhD, RN, FAAN, the school created a Dean’s Committee on Anti-Racism and Anti-Bias. Among other things, the school implemented “Impact Dialogue Circles”—a series of listening workshops with faculty, staff, and students designed to seek feedback from the community and act upon it. Additionally, the school created an anonymous digital hotline to report incidents of racism and bias directly to the dean. “The dean requested a five-year plan to organize our efforts and we brought in speakers and two external partners to aid us in achieving our goals,” Warren says.

The school leadership launched two types of Power of Difference groups or PODs, aiming to create a safe and inclusive environment for everyone. One POD, Voices of Color, offers faculty and staff who identify as people of color an opportunity to share and discuss their experiences. “The Voices of Color POD is about creating safe spaces for people to be their authentic selves, and to talk about the totality of their experience within the school and university,” says Rosario Reyes-Urbina, MA, who co-chairs the POD, along with Wilson W.B. Ng, PhD, EMT, senior student program coordinator; and Mamilda Robinson, DNP, APN, PMHNP-BC, clinical assistant professor and specialty director. Reyes-Urbina, who serves as senior executive assistant to the dean, is also an inclusion and belonging officer. “The essence of Voices of Color is to get together and create a space where we can build community and respect dignity and equality,” she says.

The second POD, called the Rainbow Advocacy Coalition, consists of members and allies of the LGBTQIA+ community who advocate for procedural and curricular changes to make the school and the learning process more inclusive. “They have made outstanding recommendations,” says Warren. “For example, one of their many efforts was to examine where there could be bathrooms for all genders. This POD is chaired by Clinical Assistant Professor Dawn Slowinski, PhD, MSN, RN, PHCNS-CNEc.

Students are actively involved in these efforts. Satya Thakor, who graduated in May, served in the senior vice dean’s office as one of two inclusion and belonging student interns. “We did a train-the-trainer program to help teach us how to navigate, guide, and lead difficult conversations regarding equity and belonging,” he says. These skills are particularly important in nursing, he emphasized: “Nursing goes beyond administering IVs—much of our role involves therapeutic communication. It’s important that we build our skills as nurses and that we are prepared for these important conversations. When there’s diversity you get different perspectives, and you learn from different people, and from different cultures and experiences.”

The school also strives to attract and retain a diverse faculty and staff. “We’re using a multi-pronged approach, looking at the school as a whole as far as our faculty, our staff, and our students are concerned,” says Johanna Stephenson, MPA, MLER, assistant dean for faculty and staff resources, who is a co-chair for the Dean’s Committee on Anti-Racism and Anti-Bias. “For example, we recently added equity and belonging questions to exit interviews to learn what people’s experiences have been.”

These efforts help create opportunities for professional development and growth for everyone, notes Stephenson. “We really strive to make our school a safe and welcoming space where everyone feels respected, valued, and included.”