
Education as Disruption Intensive
Education as Disruption (EAD) Intensive
This year's theme was Affirming Humanity: Building Bridges in Divided Times. Nationally-recognized nonviolence trainer Kazu Haga delivered the keynote. Then, the inaugural cohort of Rutgers’ Bridging the Gap Fellows facilitated Story Circles on each campus—creating space for open, empathetic dialogue across differences. The intensive centered on engaging across deep divides in our society and community.

Building Bridges in Divided Times | Kazu Haga at the Education as Disruption Intensive 2025
Story Circles
Facilitated by Rutgers' Bridging the Gap Fellows
In the afternoon, the inaugural cohort of Rutgers’ Bridging the Gap Fellows facilitated Story Circles on each campus—creating space for open, empathetic dialogue across differences. Rooted in the belief that education can be a force for connection, Bridging the Gap empowers students, faculty, and staff with the skills to listen, understand, and engage across ideological and cultural divides.

Frequently Asked Questions
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The EAD Intensive is a hybrid event hosted by University Equity and Inclusion and the Diversity Education Network that provides an opportunity for students, staff, and faculty to take advantage of unviersitywide diversity education and bias prevention offerings. The Diversity Education Network is a universitywide network of units engaged in equity, access, diversity, inclusion, and justice capacity building.
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The EAD Intensive is an annual opportunity for Rutgers University staff, faculty, and students to deepen the knowledge and skills required to support critical self-reflection and learning, foster positive relationships, and enable institutional transformation. Content changes from Intensive to Intensive, but all offerings equip attendees to work toward inclusion in their learning and workplace environments.
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Attendees will be able to selection the sessions they plan to attend and share accommodations required for full participation during the registration process. Auto-generated live transcription will be available for all sessions. Please contact the organizer (diversity@rutgers.edu) to cancel registration prior to the Intensive if you are no longer able to attend the event.
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Staff, faculty, and students across Rutgers University are the event's primary audiences. This is one of the few universitywide opportunities for faculty and staff to deepen their equity, diversity, and inclusion knowledge and to grow their capacity to act on this knowledge.