Rowan Employee Resource Communities

Rowan Employee Resource Communities

The Office of Workplace Inclusion is excited to announce a process for forming a Rowan Employee Resource Community (ERC) at Rowan University. ERCs will provide opportunities for employees with similar identities to connect, provide feedback and recommendations to areas of the University, and work together to collaborate and lead initiatives and events. Please see below for additional information.

If you are interested in forming an ERC, please complete the application linked below.

ERC Application

ERC Best Practices
  • A community of a minimum of 5 members will help maintain active interaction and will increase the likelihood of developing innovative programs and robust discussions.
  • Each ERC should identify 2 co-chairs to lead developments. This will ensure continuity of your community should one of the co-chairs need to step down, even if only temporarily.
  • Please select an Executive Sponsor, a member of leadership who will serve as a liaison, provide support, and be a contact for issues that may arise. This individual can be any current Rowan employee at the Manager (or higher) level or an upper-level AFT employee.
ERC Roles
  • Upon formation, each group will identify their mission and objectives.
  • We recommend that ERCs meet a minimum of once per month during the academic year to maintain momentum. We encourage more frequent meetings as well as virtual, in-person, or hybrid formats to make meetings accessible to all.
  • We request that brief meeting minutes/notes be shared with the Office of Employee Inclusion within one week after each meeting takes place. This will allow us to assist with tracking your progress and keep records of the work you are doing.
  • ERC activities should reflect at least one of the following dimensions:
    • External Engagement - community service and/or volunteering
    • Allyship - educating employees about allyship, leveraging allies to help ERG members and to further the ERG’s mission
    • Leadership Connection - providing a channel to engage with Rowan leadership
    • Employee Community Building - broadening social and professional networks and meeting others across all of Rowan’s campuses
    • Career Advancement - offering advice and support to advance the careers of ERC members
  • All ERC work, including events, programs, and recommendations, should align with the Mission of Rowan University.
  • ERCs will have the opportunity to showcase their work and contributions to Rowan University in an Annual Report. These Reports should be kept on file by your ERC and HR. Keeping these records will simplify the process of analyzing multi-year progress and growth. Annual reports should include the following information:
    • Membership numbers
    • A list of programs and events offered with participation numbers
    • A brief description of how their work addressed one or more of the 5 dimensions as well as how the work aligns with Rowan’s Mission
    • Any additional information the ERC determines to be relevant.
Responsibilities and Assistance from OWI
The Office of Workplace Inclusion is excited to support ERCs at Rowan University. Examples of services the OWI can provide are listed below. This list is not exhaustive, and we look forward to collaborating with you as you work toward your goals.
  • Outreach related to ERC formation, specifically reaching out on behalf of groups to gauge interest and to provide information, including contact information to get involved with an ERC.
  • Maintaining up-to-date information about current active ERCs on the Human Resources website.
  • Providing and sharing information about ERCs to Rowan employees in order to clarify the role of ERCs at Rowan and to confirm their legitimacy
  • Supporting ERC co-chairs and members with event/program brainstorming, marketing, and developing plans for increasing employee participation and engagement
  • Managing data for evaluations, including ERC timelines and reporting