Gloria Steinem Endowed Chair in Media, Culture, and Feminist Studies
The Steinem Chair, a prestigious faculty position funded by an endowment, is held by eminent scholars or practitioners who design and teach courses, mentor students, and engage the university community in exploring new media, social change, and power.
Launched in 2018 with renowned author and activist Naomi Klein as its inaugural holder, the Steinem Chair is a bold collaboration among the Rutgers Institute for Women’s Leadership at Rutgers–New Brunswick, the School of Communication and Information, and the Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at the Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences. Through this role, Chair holders create unique opportunities for students to connect with experts committed to advancing gender equality and building a more inclusive, democratic media landscape.
Funded by more than 425 donors, including a dozen foundations, the Steinem Chair faculty position was established as a tribute to the groundbreaking leadership of Gloria Steinem. It honors, retains, and recruits distinguished individuals whose work explores the intersections of media, social change, and power.
2022–2026 Chair: Roxane Gay
Roxane Gay, an internationally recognized writer, editor, cultural critic, and educator, is the 2022–2026 Gloria Steinem Endowed Chair in Media, Culture, and Feminist Studies at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. Gay’s pursuit of social justice makes her appointment especially powerful as she brings a commitment to centering underrepresented voices along with deep and broad experience in media.
“I am truly honored to serve as the new Gloria Steinem Endowed Chair at Rutgers," Gay said. "I walk and work in the footsteps of the many feminists and womanists who came before me, and Gloria is one of the giants among those women. I look forward to joining and contributing to a vibrant intellectual community both on and beyond campus."
She began her time at Rutgers in September 2022 in a wide-ranging, compelling conversation with feminist icon Gloria Steinem that was moderated by feminist activist and writer Jamia Wilson. In her first year, Gay has taught undergraduate courses exploring cultural criticism, trauma, Black feminisms, and intersections of identity while providing close mentorship to aspiring student authors through creative writing cohorts. Overall, Gay taught eight courses and led six competitive non-credit creative writing cohorts for students. She organized over 20 events, conversations, and workshops, participated in numerous campus events and numerous classroom visits, and offered a variety of writing opportunities for faculty and emerging writers in the community. Among her many contributions, the four full-day writing conferences she directed each May are widely regarded as the signature events of her yearly program. To see more of the Chair's event, please visit the YouTube channel.
Gay’s writing appears in "Best American Mystery Stories 2014," "Best American Short Stories 2012," "Best Sex Writing 2012," A Public Space, McSweeney’s, Tin House, Oxford American, "American Short Fiction," Virginia Quarterly Review, and many others. She is a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times. She is the author of the books "Ayiti, An Untamed State," the New York Times-bestselling "Bad Feminist," the nationally bestselling "Difficult Women," and the New York Times bestselling "Hunger." She is also the author of "World of Wakanda" for Marvel. She has several books forthcoming and is also at work on television and film projects. Learn more from her newsletter, The Audacity, podcast, The Roxane Gay Agenda, and Gay's YouTube channel.
2018–2021 Chair: Naomi Klein
Naomi Klein, a best-selling author and public intellectual known for her work on social, economic, and ecological injustice, served as the the inaugural Gloria Steinem Endowed Chair in Media, Culture, and Feminist Studies at Rutgers University–New Brunswick, following approval by the Rutgers University Board of Governors. Her appointment came at a pivotal moment in the American political and media landscape, as progressive leaders increasingly linked human rights, economic justice, and climate change. Klein said she was honored to have been selected and expressed enthusiasm about engaging with Rutgers students on these pressing issues. Gloria Steinem joined her on September 21 for a public discussion exploring how information technology and new media were reshaping culture, power, and progressive movements. The chair was a collaboration among the School of Communication and Information, the Institute for Women’s Leadership, and the Department of Women’s and Gender, and Sexuality Studies. According to the selection committee, Klein was chosen for broadening feminist discourse to address major global challenges such as climate change and participatory democracy.
During Klein's appointment, she taught five courses and participated in 40 events, including programs she hosted, invited appearances, and conversations she moderated in collaboration with campus classes.
History of the Chair
The Gloria Steinem Chair in Media, Culture, and Feminist Studies honors and draws to campus eminent scholars and practitioners to immerse the university community in debate and scholarship about new media, social change, and power structures.
Occupants of the chair design and teach courses, providing unique opportunities to connect students with media experts who focus on gender equality and creating a more inclusive and democratic media.
When I learned of your interest in creating a chair in Media, Culture, and Feminist Studies at Rutgers – and doing it in my name – it was hard to wrap my mind around. It is both a first and unique combination of two growing fields of study, and a personal honor for the work and the global movement that matter most to me.
Gloria Steinem
Origins of the Gloria Steinem Endowed Chair
Following a three-year, $3 million fundraising campaign, Rutgers University achieved a historic goal in 2017 to establish the first-ever academic chair named in honor of prominent feminist Gloria Steinem.
Funded by more than 425 donors, including a dozen foundations, the Chair was designed to engage students in debate and scholarship and prepare them for success in transforming the media landscape.
"We know that new media are transforming our governance," Gloria Steinem said, "and also that they may be short on facts and context. We also know that heritage media haven’t always told an inclusive story. I’m very proud that the late Alison Bernstein, a visionary scholar who directed the Institute for Women’s Leadership, committed this chair to inclusiveness and accuracy. I’m also proud that Rutgers is not only one of the oldest and most respected public universities, but also has a student population that looks like the nation. I’ve come to believe it’s as good as Harvard – with democracy added. It also happens to be next to one of the media capitals of the world."
The idea for the chair originated in 2014 with Bernstein, a visionary scholar who became director of the Institute for Women’s Leadership in 2011. Bernstein saw the chair as a way to simultaneously honor an American feminist icon while establishing a multidisciplinary teaching role leveraging Rutgers’ strong platforms in media, social change, and women’s and gender studies.
Despite Bernstein’s untimely death from cancer in 2016, her quest to create the first academic position named for a preeminent living feminist grew into a shared mission. A steering committee of dedicated volunteers, co-chaired by Geraldine Laybourne and Subha Barry, continued to raise funds.