Current Projects
Community First Fellows
The Community First Fellows program is designed to facilitate deeper connections between academia and community-engaged research and learning opportunities for graduate students at Rutgers-Camden.
Here are some of the organizations fellows have been placed at and the variety of projects they have supported:
- The Rutgers-Rowan Board of Governors to work on a maternal health initiative.
- FairShare Housing to work on tenant screening policy recommendations.
- Save Our Schools NJ to work on national education policy.
- Camden, We Choose to work on their Camden employment research.
- Camden Community Development Associations (St. Joseph’s Carpenter Society, PBCIP, Heart of Camden, Camden Lutheran Housing) on research on ownership of property in Camden City.
- Urban Promise to work on the financial sustainability of their Food Pantry.
Spring 2024 Pilot
In the spring of 2024, we 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.
Summer Fellowships
This summer, thirteen Rutgers-Camden graduate students are partnering with community organizations in Camden and beyond as CURE Community First Fellows. The students were selected based on their commitment to community-engaged scholarship and are studying Data Science, Prevention Science, Public Policy & Administration, History, and Childhood Studies.
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.
Check back for more information on the launch of new projects within the Community First initiative soon!