Steinem Shined a Light at Rutgers
In the last decade of her life, Gloria Steinem, recognized as “a symbol of modern American feminism,” left her lasting mark at Rutgers as a supporter and inspiration for an endowed chair named in her honor.
When the late Alison Bernstein, former director of the Rutgers University Institute for Women’s Leadership, approached Steinem with a proposal, the cultural icon embraced the idea.
Fundraising efforts by 2017 reached the goal of $3 million with the support of more than 425 donors, one of whom was Steinem, and the Gloria Steinem Endowed Chair in Media, Culture, and Feminist Studies was established.
Steinem, who died Wednesday in New York City, at the time described the Rutgers chair—a collaboration among Rutgers–New Brunswick’s School of Communication and Information, Institute for Women’s Leadership, and Department of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies in the School of Arts and Sciences—as a “bringing together of worlds” and “a sign of progress.”
The chair launched in September 2018 with the inaugural appointment of Naomi Klein, who held the position through 2021. Roxane Gay succeeded Klein, holding the chair from 2022 through earlier this year.
Rutgers–New Brunswick Chancellor Francine Conway praised Steinem’s leadership and her support of Rutgers. “Gloria Steinem changed how generations of women saw themselves and what they believed was possible,” Conway said. “We are grateful that she lent her name and support to the Gloria Steinem Endowed Chair at Rutgers, where her belief in the power of ideas and dialogue continues to shape conversations with our students. We will miss her voice and her presence, but the courage she inspired in so many will continue to move us forward.”
In addition to the chair, Steinem’s words inspired the name of the Institute of Women’s Leadership’s Torch Lighter Awards, which were introduced in 2024. In a speech to the National Press Club in 2013, Steinem said, “People often ask me if I’m ‘passing the torch.’ I explain that I’m keeping my torch, thank you very much—and I’m using it to light the torches of others.”
Meghan Rehbein, director of the Rutgers Institute for Women’s Leadership, said Steinem’s efforts will live on in Rutgers programs.
“Gloria Steinem used her platform and her torch to light a fire in millions of women and girls to work for the betterment of all,” Rehbein said.
Rehbein said the chair named for Steinem “is an example of how she ensured that legacy would continue after her death. The chair carries Gloria's work forward for the next generation of students at Rutgers.”
Dafna Lemish, Distinguished Professor of Journalism and Media Studies and former interim dean of the School of Communication and Information, led the searches that brought in Klein and Gay.
“Gloria Steinem was a role model and an inspiration for so many women of different generations and backgrounds,” Lemish said. “Her activism enthused me growing up across the ocean, and meeting her in person through the Gloria Steinem Endowed Chair events at Rutgers was a reinvigorating honor. I feel immensely fortunate and honored to have had a part in securing her legacy through the endowed chair at Rutgers for the benefit of generations to come.”
Ethel Brooks, chair of the Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies in the School of Arts and Sciences, said Steinem challenged a sexist world in multiple ways through her continuous work as a writer, intellectual, and mentor.
“She was an iconoclast in the best sense of the term,” Brooks said. “Her iconoclasm allowed her to make history and to make change and to bring all of us along with her, creating these institutions and understandings that we now take for granted.”
Brooks said Steinem’s intellectual fearlessness continues to inspire faculty in the department today.
“The idea of feminist knowledge production is central to what we do in women’s, gender, and sexuality studies,” she said. “We open up a space that gives students the opportunity to think through things, to question things, and to produce new knowledge.”
The establishment of the endowed chair honoring Steinem ensures that the tradition of intellectual rigor will endure for future generations, Brooks said.
“The result is that there’s now a recognized space at Rutgers for intergenerational collaboration,” Brooks said. “There is now a larger space for students who have something to say to be supported, mentored, and empowered to move forward and change the world.”
Support the Steinem Chair
Consider a gift in memory of Gloria Steinem to the fund that supports the Gloria Steinem Endowed Chair in Media, Culture, and Feminist Studies. Any amount helps strengthen the legacy of Gloria’s impact on Rutgers students and the Rutgers community at large.
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