Community First

The Community First Initiative places the needs, aspirations, and voices of our local community at the forefront of our research endeavors. Community First represents a pledge to ensure that our work is not just academically rigorous but deeply relevant and impactful for the communities we call home.

 

Applications Now Open for Summer 2026 Community First Fellow Placements! CURE is looking for students to participate as fellows and community partners to serve as placements sites this summer. Fill out a Fellow Interest Form or Partner Interest Form by May 1st to be considered. Applications submitted by April 27th will receive priority review. See below for more information about the program. 

 

Community First Fellows

Community First Fellows is a program in which Rutgers-Camden graduate students are placed with local community partners to support their work.   

 
The program has two main goals:  

1) To support local work and build the research capacity of local organizations. 

2) To provide students with the support and training to become the next generation of community-engaged researchers. 

Here are some of the organizations fellows have been placed at and the variety of projects they have supported:

 
Program Background

In the spring of 2024, CURE piloted the Community First Fellows model through a graduate course taught by CURE Director Dr. Stephen Danley. Fellows in the course were paired with a community organization and together they developed a research project which advanced the mission of the community partner. In this way, the standard curriculum for community development research methods was flipped. Instead of starting with a ‘gap in the literature’, it started the research process by engaging in rich community work. This direct experience with community led research was supported by class reflection and course readings, which allowed fellows to build a valuable toolkit of methodological knowledge that they can bring to future community work. 

Building on this pilot, the Community First Fellows program ran as a full program in the summers of 2024 and 2025. To date, nearly forty placements with community organizations in Camden, South Jersey, and Philadelphia have been created through Community First Fellows. All fellows are selected based on their commitment to community-engaged scholarship and are selected as part of an interdisciplinary cohort, with students from programs in Data Science, Prevention Science, Public Policy & Administration, History, and Childhood Studies.

 
Summer 2026 Program Overview

This summer’s program will run from mid-June through late August. CURE is currently recruiting students who are interested in becoming fellows and community partners who are interested in hosting a fellow. In May, CURE will select fellows and match them to a community partner. When making placements, we take into consideration the interests, skills, and experiences of each fellow, along with the community partner’s needs and goals.

During the program, fellows will work an average of 15-20 hours a week on a project for the community partner (limited spots are also available for 10 hours a week). Projects can take a variety of forms. In the past, the most successful projects included community-engaged research, program evaluation, or capacity building for the organization.
 
 
The Community Partner Experience and Eligibility

As part of the fellow matching process, CURE staff will work with community partners to develop a project that best pairs the needs of the partner with their matched fellow’s skills and ability. Once the placement begins, community partners won’t be responsible for direct supervision but are asked to orient their placed fellow to their organization and to provide ongoing project feedback and guidance. To help community partners plan for working with a fellow, CURE will invite partners to a training meeting prior to the start of the placement and coordinate monthly check-in calls.

Interested partners must be located in Camden, South Jersey, or the Philadelphia region. Past community partners have worked in areas including youth education, affordable housing, food insecurity, workforce development, health equity, immigrant and refugee rights, and social change through art. Most partners are organized as nonprofits, but this is not a requirement for all placements.

 

The Fellows Experience and Eligibility

The fellow role begins with a mandatory orientation during which the fellows are introduced to one another and their community partner. Following orientation, fellows will work up to 20 hours a week for their placement. Throughout the program, fellows will attend monthly half-day training sessions and meet regularly with CURE staff to discuss project progress. Project work may take place onsite or remotely, depending on the nature of the project and the community partner’s available office space. However, fellows are expected to attend all trainings in-person and to be available to visit their placement site at least monthly.

Fellows will receive payment in one of two ways:

  • Students hired through Rutgers-Camden will receive compensation of $20-25/hour.
  • Students who serve as Rutgers-Camden Public Health AmeriCorps members will receive a biweekly living allowance totaling $3,735 and an Eli Segal Education Award of $1,565 upon completion of a 300-hour contract. Note: this option is only currently available to U.S. citizens and permanent residents.

Students in good standing in a graduate degree program at Rutgers University-Camden and enrolled through Fall 2026 are eligible to apply. Students may be engaged in any discipline. In the past, we have had fellows in the following programs: Data Science, Prevention Science, Public Policy & Administration, History, and Childhood Studies. Above all, CURE is seeking students who demonstrate an interest in community-engaged research and who are committed to supporting the work of local movements and community-based organizations.

 

Community First Research Projects and Partnerships

 

Equity Analysis of Camden’s Open Enrollment Process

Funded by the Rutgers Urban Innovation Fund and the Rutgers Equity Alliance for Community Health, this project partners with One Camden to analyze equity of Camden’s Universal Enrollment process. In Camden, households can apply to send their children to any school in the city. Through this partnership, we test application data to analyze equity within that system.

Partnership with the South Jersey Institute for Population Health (SJIPH)

Starting January 1, 2024, CURE announced a partnership with SJIPH to support the Institute’s funding of community-engaged research. SJIPH funds collaborations between Rowan University researchers, Rutgers University-Camden researchers, and community partners. CURE supports that research through technical support, data analysis and strategic planning. Dr. Danley serves as the Rutgers Co-Lead for SJIPH.