Sharice Richardson, SEBS assistant dean for retention and student support, speaks at the 2025 Rainbow Graduation on May 6. Photo: Tara Smith.
Sharice Richardson, assistant dean for retention and student support in the SEBS Office of Academic Programs (OAP), was the recipient of the 2025 Dr. Zaneta Rago-Craft Award presented by the Rutgers Center for Social Justice Education and LGBT Communities.
Richardson, who has served the SEBS and Cook campus community for more than 30 years, was recognized with the Rago-Craft Award, which is given to “outstanding members of our community who offer exceptional leadership, campus involvement and commitment to campus change.”
They received the award on May 6 at the 2025 Rainbow Graduation that honors the achievements of Rutgers lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and nonbinary, queer, intersex, asexual, and other queer spectrum (LGBTQIA+) undergraduate and graduate students.
Richardson works closely with the Center for Social Justice Education to support Rutgers and SEBS students in the LBTQIA+ community. For more than three decades, Richardson has helped to provide a particularly welcoming environment for many classes as the assistant dean for first-year students on the Cook campus. They hold drop-in advising hours at the center, located on Bartlett Street, during registration each semester and frequently serve as a facilitator for programming for and about students.
Sharice Richardson, center, is flanked on the right by Keywuan Caulk, Director of the Rutgers Center for Social Justice Education and LGBT Communities. Al left is Dr. Zaneta Rago-Craft, former director of the center, for whom the award is named. Rago-Craft is currently the director of the Intercultural Center and advisor to the President on Diversity and Inclusion at Monmouth University. Photo: Tara Smith.
Keywuan Caulk, director for Social Justice Education and LGBT Communities, lauded Richardson for their commitment to “trans-visible and queer affirming advising; promoting an atmosphere of academic achievement, mutual respect, acceptance, and empowerment; infusing advising with love and compassion; and building a greater sense of community belonging and an understanding of our interdependence.”
In their remarks, Richardson explained their commitment “to ensure that every student regardless of their racial, economic or family educational background is an essential part of our community and is able to participate fully.” They noted that they always try to “lead with love” in all interactions with their students and that such empathetic leadership “serves to foster trust, open communication, and promote a more positive and inclusive environment for everyone.”
Richardson particularly noted that the SEBS community is one that is strongly supportive of LGBT students, ensuring in both language and outreach that students feel at home and a valued part of the school and community.
Additionally, they challenged the graduating seniors at the Rainbow Graduation to follow in their footsteps. “This is just what I do on a daily basis, as a part of who I am. I think of it as paying it forward. And I want to encourage you to think about how in your own lives as you’re all graduating and moving forward, how will you pay it forward to the next generation of students? How will you reach out a hand and take that step?”
Richardson was previously a recipient of the Dr. Cheryl Clarke Award, honoring a faculty or staff member who advocated for the LBGTQIA+ community within their roles on campus.
The Dr. Zaneta Rago-Craft Award is granted to graduate students, faculty, staff, alumni or other Rutgers community members who demonstrate positive changes on campus which advance LGBTQIA+ communities. The award honors the contributions made by Zaneta Rago-Craft, who was hired by the Center for Social Justice Education & LGBT Communities in 2012 as an assistant director. Rago-Craft’s leadership brought the creation of the center’s first thematic program series dedicated to trans experiences (Trans Visibility & Empowerment Week) and the first-ever LGBTQIA+ Welcome Week.
After being promoted to director in 2014, Rago-Craft supported the creation of gender-inclusive housing options on campus, implementing a preferred name system, and improving trans-affirming health care on campus. Under Rago-Craft’s leadership, the office repeatedly was recognized as among the top 30 LGBT-friendly campuses by Campus Pride.
