The Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research (IFH) was established in 1985 by David Mechanic to facilitate collaboration between faculty and researchers in social and behavioral sciences, clinical disciplines, basic sciences, and related fields. Thus far, IFH’s core and associate members have generated award-winning scholarship and account for many of those elected to the National Academy of Medicine/Institute of Medicine from Rutgers University and UMDNJ.
With iterative and in-depth input from existing core and associate members from surveys and in-person discussions, IFH leadership has created a membership structure to be responsive to current members’ needs and provide a platform for further support and growth of current and future members and interdisciplinary collaboration. Our ultimate goals are to be responsive to member needs and to align scholarly interests to generate novel and important work. The resulting responsibilities and benefit structures are a result of direct feedback from members and institutional leadership. Additionally, to facilitate our core value of interdisciplinary collaboration, we added a new class of membership which can include non-Rutgers University faculty.
IFH is deeply committed to collaborating with Rutgers University schools and institutes. Coordination with other schools and institutes at Rutgers University will not only strengthen scientific output and scholarship, but also adequately support faculty at various stages in their careers. It is important to IFH and schools and institutes at Rutgers that all entities benefit from membership inclusion in IFH. This will be accomplished through transparency regarding eligibility, benefits, and responsibilities of IFH membership and communication to strength relationships between IFH and individuals’ schools and institutes at Rutgers University.
Applications will be reviewed by IFH leadership constituting the membership committee. Membership review will occur at three points: 1) initial appointment membership review/onboarding; 2) renewal (every two years); and 3) off-boarding.
A subcommittee of IFH leadership serves as the membership committee. The membership committee is comprised of the following individuals:
The membership committee will screen all applications for membership. Recommendation of membership type and program alignment will then be made to IFH Director. The committee members may rotate every 2 years and call for ad hoc assistance as needed. This committee may also recommend changes to membership policies and procedures.