Cutting-edge research addressing the high Black maternal mortality rate in New Jersey; the mental health needs of adolescents and young adults of South Asian descent in New Jersey; the impact of active shooter drills on New Jersey’s children; and the news ecosystem in New Jersey. These are just a few of the current projects SC&I faculty are focused on, and they are all included on the new SC&I website "Bettering NJ Together."

The aim of the new website is to showcase current and past research by SC&I faculty that directly supports New Jersey’s residents, whether they live in urban, suburban, or rural communities.

“A vital mission of SC&I is to serve New Jersey residents in numerous impactful, measurable, and sustainable ways,” said SC&I Associate Dean for Research and Professor of Communication Mark Aakhus.

A vital mission of SC&I is to serve New Jersey residents in numerous impactful, measurable, and sustainable ways.

SC&I faculty research focuses on a broad set of issues that are of critical importance to the state, Aakhus said. These include:

• The impact of mis- and dis-information on our state’s residents, including our children
• A social justice journalism lab at SC&I and Rutgers
• The impact of LibGuides on voting in new Jersey 
• Communication and health, including improving communications between healthcare providers and their patients and seeking solutions to the opioid addiction crisis
• The exploration of ways residents can benefit from or be harmed by emerging communication and information technologies
• The understanding the impact public relations practitioners have had on the global environment
• Collaboration with libraries and librarians to help them continuously evolve to provide the support their local communities need the most

Addressing the link between faculty research and the instruction the faculty  provide to Rutgers students and NJ residents, Aakhus said, “The school’s faculty and staff are committed to educating individuals who make lasting contributions to New Jersey, the world, and to the interdisciplinary study and professional practice of communication, journalism and media, and library and information science.”

Learn more about the Bettering NJ Together website on the Rutgers School of Communication and Information website.