Redefining Research: Rutgers CHECE Leads a Community-Driven Movement for Change

The face of research is changing, and at Rutgers Center for Health Excellence and Community Empowerment (CHECE), that transformation is driven by community voices, collaboration, and a bold new vision for impact.

“At CHECE, we are advancing 'A New Paradigm for Community Empowerment'—one where research is rooted in lived experience and shaped by the voices of the people it is meant to serve,” said Diane Hill, co-founder of CHECE.  “We commend our community partners for their dedication, insight, and trust. They are essential to advancing this work and ensuring that our research leads to real, measurable change.”

Those remarks set the tone for the recent "Inaugural Community Matters: A Collaborative Research Symposium." A milestone event held at Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hall, it brought together Rutgers leadership, state officials, community scientists, students, and partners to showcase how research is being reimagined to better serve communities.

Dr. Hill recognized the internal force behind the center’s growing success. “The symposium provided an important opportunity to highlight the depth and impact of CHECE’s work—from initiatives like the Intergenerational Fight Against Menthol (IFAM) project to Senior Connect and the Digital Divide, and our Community Scientists program,” she said. “It allowed us to showcase how our research is not only addressing critical health disparities but also building sustainable partnerships and creating pathways for community voices to shape solutions.”

New Jersey Health Commissioner Dr. Raynard E. Washington reinforced the urgency of this approach. “Public health can't afford to treat community voices as afterthoughts. Real, lasting change happens when the people closest to a problem are partners in solving it,” said Dr. Washington, “It’s essential that we build a state where there's an unbroken thread connecting lived experience to research, research to policy, and policy to the community."

That commitment to community-driven solutions is already taking shape through CHECE’s growing academic and clinical partnerships, including its collaboration with Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

“Working with Dr. Diane Hill, we are creating innovations in care based on the needs that our communities have told us they need and want,” said Alfred F. Tallia, MD, MPH, professor and chair of Family Medicine and Community Health, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. “We are Rutgers’ healthcare innovation lab and we will transform care by empowering communities with services for the betterment of all of us in the state. Stay tuned!”

Among the dignitaries in attendance was Dr. Tonya Smith-Jackson, chancellor of Rutgers University–Newark, who commended CHECE for its groundbreaking work advancing community-driven research and engagement.

Reinforcing the center’s mission, Chancellor Jackson commended CHECE for its intentional focus on elevating community voices as a driving force in research and innovation—an approach she has championed throughout her career.

“What’s happening through CHECE is exactly the kind of work we need to see more of—research that is deeply rooted in the community and shaped by the people it is meant to serve,” she said. “This collaborative symposium reflects that commitment, and it’s exciting to see it take form. I’m not new to this approach.

“As far back as 1999, when I was an engineer at Virginia Tech, I was engaged in action-based community research—bringing community members with lived experience into the process as experts,” Chancellor Jackson told the packed audience. “At the time, it challenged traditional thinking, but the principle was clear then and remains true today: the quality of research is grounded in its validity and its ability to address real-world issues. You cannot do meaningful, community-centered research without the community at the table."

Building on that sentiment, Dr. Kaifeng Yang, dean of Rutgers School of Public Affairs and Administration, also expressed his appreciation to Dr. Hill and the CHECE team, reflecting on the deeper connection between research and community impact.

“When I arrived in Newark 30 years ago as an international student, the community opened its arms to me—and that experience has shaped how I see the role of research today,” said Dr. Yang. “Research must live in the community and, more importantly, matter to the community. That is the true value of what is being built through this center.

“It reflects the University’s mission—knowledge not for its own sake, but knowledge that serves, and technology that transforms communities,” he explained.  “Thank you for creating a space where science and social justice meet, and to our community scientists and partners—thank you for your trust in us.”

The symposium also served as a celebration honoring Assemblywoman Cleopatra Tucker, Assemblyman Michael Venezia, and New Jersey Cabinet Secretary - Office of the NJ Governor Jayne’ Johnson, Esq. for their longstanding support of the center’s mission.

During the symposium, fireside chat panel discussions were held highlighting the partnerships with CHECE’s community partners, community scientists, and intergenerational research projects.

The purpose of the Center for Health Excellence and Community Empowerment (CHECE) is to build upon proven effective community engagement strategies developed by Rutgers University–Newark's Office of University-Community Partnerships (OUCP) and the scholarship and knowledge-based services that are the hallmarks of the School of Public Affairs and Administration (SPAA).

The center's mission is to support public, nonprofit, and private sector entities to effectively engage underrepresented urban constituencies in health research, scholarship, policy and decision-making, service delivery, community engagement, and assessment. During the inaugural symposium, the East Orange Senior Volunteer Corporation was awarded a $10,000 grant for the organization’s community engagement sustainability project.

Major Community Partners Include:

• Rutgers Health
• Programs for Parents
• Greater Newark Health Care Coalition
• New Hope Now Community Development Corporation
• CareSparc Community Connections
• East Orange Senior Volunteer Corporation
• Hillside Senior Citizen Center
• Communities in Cooperation Inc.
• New Jersey Alliance for Clinical and Translational Sciences (NJ ACTS)