SON Magazine 2024

A C A D E M I C E X C E L L E N C E CREATING A WELCOMING, INCLUSIVE ENVIRONMENT B Y L I N A Z E L D O V I C H I It’s just another day at Rutgers School of Nursing, and Kyle D. Warren, PhD, MAE, senior vice dean, is starting a school leadership meeting focused on equity and belonging, the first in a three-part series on leadership enrichment. Warren, who oversees administration and student services and also serves as chief equity and belonging officer, says “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.” 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. For six years in a row, the school won the Best Schools for Men in Nursing Award for its higher-than-average proportion of male students (some 15 percent) in the female-dominated field and for its highly active American Association for Men in Nursing (AAMN) chapter, recently winner of the prestigious national Chapter of the Year award. The school also won a Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award in 2022 and 2023. “However, it’s one thing to have the numbers, and another to ensure the school is a safe and welcoming space for everyone,” Warren says. 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 equity and belonging efforts. R U T G E R S N U R S I N G / S P R I N G / S U M M E R 2 0 2 4 1 6 / 1 7