Fall 2019 Rutgers University Impact Report

A Message from Josh Harraman, Ph.D.

Interim Vice President for Alumni Engagement, Annual Giving, and Advancement Communications

Josh HarramanAs a generous supporter of Rutgers University, you help the university harness world-class talent, resources, and expertise to improve the human condition in New Jersey and beyond.

Donor support enables Rutgers to expand educational opportunities for the next generation of leaders and to provide research, health care, and services that make the world a better place. No matter its size, your gift helps make Rutgers the academic, health, and research powerhouse it is today.

I am pleased to present the following report, which provides a glimpse of how you and other donors are making an impact at Rutgers and around the world. Although this report features only a few of the funds our donors support, I hope you will take pride in knowing you help make a difference at Rutgers.

President’s Fund

The President’s Fund supports areas of greatest need across the university. The fund broadens student programming and experiences; assists with unexpected issues or opportunities as they happen; allows for flexibility in prioritizing the needs of students; and provides emergency support for students and research. The fund has helped students conduct research and make presentations at conferences, and has assisted students facing unexpected crises, such as the death of a parent or job loss. Donor generosity helps ensure that students and programs have the resources necessary for continued success.

Rutgers Future Scholars

Each year, Rutgers Future Scholars admits 200 New Brunswick, Piscataway, Newark, Camden, and Rahway, New Jersey, middle-school students. The program provides them with the tools they need to be the first in their families to earn a college degree. From eighth grade until they graduate high school, students participate in rigorous after-school, weekend, and summer classes, receiving academic and socio-emotional support from professional staff and trained college mentors. Scholars who successfully complete the program are admitted to Rutgers and receive full scholarships if they enroll at Rutgers.

Marcellus Hill CCAS’19, a graduate of the program, calls it “a haven, an oasis. Where I’m from, there aren’t too many opportunities for youth, and if I didn’t have Rutgers Future Scholars in my life, I probably would have spent my downtime with a lot of folks who don’t have positive figures in their lives and don’t know right from wrong. This program gave me a different perspective on life and exposed me to so many positive and caring role models. It’s been like another home.”

University Library Fund

Donors who support the Rutgers University Libraries help drive student academic success. Research shows that students who use libraries are 44 percent more likely to graduate in four years. And students who have library instruction incorporated into their classes have higher cumulative grade point averages than those who don’t.

Rutgers University Libraries help students access and evaluate information, an essential 21st-century skill both inside and outside the classroom. In the past year, the libraries have expanded instruction initiatives that help students locate and use high-quality information from peer-reviewed research and trustworthy news sources.

“The university libraries are crucial in providing me the resources I need to succeed,” says Gabriela Eckensberger SAS’20. “From the online academic journals I use to write papers to the physical space of the library, which helps me focus, I wouldn’t be doing as well academically without their support.”

Scarlet Promise Grants

Because of limited financial resources, a growing number of Rutgers undergraduates are either unable to complete their degrees or are finishing college with burdensome debt. To help more students avoid these outcomes, Rutgers’ Board of Trustees has created an endowment that will provide, in perpetuity, more need-based aid. The board will work with Rutgers University Foundation to raise $3 million for the Scarlet Promise Grants endowment over the next 10 years.

Scarlet Promise Grants, formerly known as Rutgers Assistance Grants, have made a life-changing impact on undergraduate students universitywide. The average grant’s size is about $3,000. In 2018–2019, Rutgers awarded $33.3 million in grants to more than 11,500 students to help them pay for college. Sam Adepoju, one of those students, is grateful for the difference the grants have made in his life. To learn more about Sam and the Scarlet Promise Grants, please click here.