A Message from Interim Dean Meghan Rehbein

Dear Douglass alumnae and friends,

Thank you for the warm welcome I have received from so many of you to the Interim Dean role. 

I joined Douglass four years ago in the Office of Advancement and have served for the past two years as the Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives, overseeing communications, operations, and planning at the College. While I have had the pleasure of meeting many of you, I wanted to take a minute to introduce myself to those of you I have not yet met.

For more than two decades I have been working in higher education and nonprofit organizations in fundraising and leadership positions. My research focuses on women’s leadership development in the nonprofit sector, specifically on gender and other disparities between the nonprofit workforce and leadership. I have found many connections between the work we do at Douglass to prepare students to lead in a global, interconnected, and highly complex world and my own studies. With all of the changes the world has seen over the past century, Douglass is as relevant and essential as ever.  I look forward to meeting many more of you in the coming months as we welcome students, alumnae, and friends back to campus again.

Our alumnae and friends have always been important partners.  Think back to your time at the College – did an alumna host an externship, share their story with you in a class or at an event, or support your college experience with a contribution? Students today continue to make those connections with alumnae.  If you have not been connected to the College in a while, I urge you to join us to:

• Host an externship (1-2 week job shadowing) or internship at your workplace
• Participate as a speaker at the Christiana Foglio DC’84 Douglass Career Conference this fall
• Share your Douglass story to help recruit the next generation of Douglass women
• Mark your calendars for October 14, 2022 to learn more about student research at the Project SUPER Symposium and annual STEM Lecture

If getting to New Brunswick is impossible, we will have a number of hybrid events and activities over the course of the year. Subscribe to our newsletter to stay current with Douglass news, events, and upcoming opportunities.

In addition to giving of their time and talent to engage with students, many alumnae and friends continue to provide financial support. Recently we established a new series of opportunities called Douglass Discovery as part of our re-visioned curriculum. 

Thanks to the support of donors like Bob Colin in memory of his wife Phyllis Mevoglioni Colin DC'53, Douglass Advisory Board member Tara Kousha DRC'12, and Victoria Perkins DC'67, students had the opportunity to research maternal fetal outcomes for Black women in Central New Jersey under the leadership of Dr. Pamela Brug DC'84; create aleatory art under the direction of Artist in Residence Kameelah Janan Rasheed; and help organize the March2RUGardens with Dr. Anette Freytag and Dr. Julia Ritter.

In the coming year, students will have the opportunity to go deeper into public health research, work with the Zimmerli Art Museum and kyle.b.co around a printmaking exhibit, support the 16 Days Campaign with the Center for Women’s Global Leadership, and study situations and conditions under which trans and non-binary people negotiate pronoun use and misuse with Dr. Carlos Decena.

Recently many of you came together to celebrate the legacy of former Dean Jacquelyn Litt with gifts in support of the Dean Jacquelyn Litt Fund for Equity and Inclusion. Thank you. Over 60 donors generously helped us raise over $168,000 to ensure we have resources for this important curricular cornerstone. In addition to projects like Dr. Decena’s, your support makes it possible for us to continue our work with Student Diversity Ambassadors and broaden their impact on the Douglass community, explore DEI concepts across our programs and activities, and encourage our students to work towards social justice.

Thank you again for your continued support of, advocacy for, and belief in the importance of a Douglass education. Please stay in touch, whether through the Douglass website, social media (@rudouglass), or by email. If you have not been on campus recently, schedule a tour and take some time to meet our staff and current students. There are so many ways to be involved, and I look forward to seeing you later this year. 

Sincerely,

Meghan Rehbein

Interim Administrative Dean

Douglass Residential College