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July 2008
The John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development has won a $100,000 grant from Johnson & Johnson to manage two workforce initiatives designed to strengthen health care services in New Jersey and nationally. One is to expand awareness among high school students in the greater New Brunswick area of career opportunities in the life sciences; the other is to conduct a nationwide survey of American workers regarding their knowledge, awareness and use of workplace wellness programs and policies, such as stress management, weight loss and smoking cessation.
July 2008
The New Jersey Council on the Arts has awarded the Profesesional Development Institute (PDI) a $20,000 grant to create a "cultural vitality index" for the state of New Jersey. The index will be similar to the Center for Government Services' Legislative District Data Book, measuring indicators of cultural development and planning in the state’s 566 municipalities and 21 counties. PDI will also produce an annual report assessing cultural development trends and conditions, as well as identifying model practices in New Jersey.
June 2008
The New Jersey Department of Transportation has hired the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center (VTC) to help the state prepare for next year's scheduled reauthorization of the federal transportation program. VTC will research and recommend positions regarding key issues affecting New Jersey that Congress will address in the reauthorization. Federal funding typically covers about half of all New Jersey's annual highway and transit capital funding, amounting this year to nearly $1.6 billion.
June 2008
The New Jersey Department of Human Services has awarded the Bloustein Center for Survey Research (BCSR) a $135,970 contract to conduct a New Jersey Drug and Alcohol Household Survey. The survey will provide statewide estimates on the level of substance abuse and the need and demand for treatment services. In April, the state Department of Health and Senior Services (NJHSS) asked BCSR to conduct a Pregnancy Risk Assessment Management Study, part of a national effort to address issues of low birthweight and infant mortality. The study was funded at $155,017. In February, NJHSS awarded BCSR a $138,553 contract to modify the Birth Defects Reporting System it has been developing for the state by adding a component to specifically track the incidence of autism among children.
May 2008
The John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development will manage a mentoring program as part of the Economics Pipeline Project, an ongoing initiative to expand the pool of minority students interested in pursuing a PhD in economics. The mentors will help students handle critical stages in their career development, such as preparing for graduate school, completing core theory and field exams, initiating their dissertation research and ultimately, finding employment. The National Science Foundation has awarded the Heldrich Center $150,000 over two years to manage the program.
May 2008
The Harris County (TX) Metropolitan Transit Authority has contracted with the National Transit Institute to train its 2,000 Houston Metro bus and light rail employees on system security awareness, including terrorism activity recognition and response. In April, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) hired NTI to tailor a similar program sepcifically for its bus system employees. The two contracts total over $500,000.
April 2008
New Jersey Commissioners Joseph Doria of the Department of Community Affairs and Lisa Jackson of the Department of Environmental Protection headlined a daylong conference hosted by the National Center for Neighborhood and Brownfields Redevelopment on the role of brownfields remediation in community revitalization. Planners and community development professionals, researchers, and students were invited to learn about a program to build capacity in community-based organizations and CDCs to participate in brownfields redevelopments. Workshops were conducted with regional expert panels.
April 2008
The New Jersey Department of Transportation has renewed its annual contracts with the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center to continuing running the state's Bicycle & Pedestrian, and Safe Routes to School resource centers. NJDOT awarded $404,561 to VTC to manage the Bicycle & Pedestrian Resource Center for the seventh consecutive year, and year two funding of $250,000 to continue running the Safe Routes to School Resource Center.
March 2008
The NJ Board of Public Utilities has renewed its contract with the Center for Energy, Economic and Environmental Policy (CEEEP) for a third year to help develop the state's Energy Master Plan. CEEEP's work has included extensive data collection, modeling, and analysis of the the electricity, heating and transportation sectors. The third year contract is valued at over $200,000.
February 2008
The New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services has provided $562,799 to support the HIV Prevention Community Planning Support and Development Initiative (CPSDI), a joint program between the state and the Bloustein School. The project is designed to improve the state's HIV prevention capabilities by increasing the impact of planning body members in their advisory roles and providers in their service roles.
January 2008
Preservation Oklahoma Inc. has asked the Center for Urban Policy Research to document the economic contribution that historic preservation provides to the state and its local communities. The study will examine the economic contributions of historic rehabilitation and heritage tourism, as well as how historic designation impacts property values.
October 2007
The New Jersey Sustainable State Institute and the Rutgers Innovation Studies Initiative co-hosted a daylong conference on global warming solutions where they released the results of the New Jersey Energy Sustainability Project, a major research and stakeholder outreach process that developed indicators and targets to guide climate and energy policy. Dean James Hughes, Ralph LaRossa, president and CEO of PSE&G, NJ Board of Public Utilities President Jeanne Fox and Bob Ceberio, executive director of the NJ Meadowlands Commission, were among the featured speakers.
September 2007
Carl Van Horn, Director of the John
J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development was featured on NPR's "Day to Day" program in a segment titled "'Marketplace' Report: The State of U.S. Workers" Click here for the transcript. Click here to listen.
July 2007
Martin Robins, Senior Fellow with the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center, was an invited guest
of the Rockefeller Foundation and the Brookings Institution at an
Urban Summit held in Bellagio, Italy. Robins took part in a session
on metropolitan transportation and infrastructure reform in the
United States. Click here to learn more.
May 2007
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation awarded a $3 million grant to the John
J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development to honor the lifetime
service of John Heldrich. Click here to learn more.
February 2007
The Center for Urban Policy Research, in collaboration with the Center of Government Services, has assembled the first Local Public Finance Database, providing property tax and local spending data for New Jersey's 21 counties, 566 municipalities, and more than 600 school districts. The data can also be viewed for the municipalities comprising the New Jersey Meadowlands, Pinelands, Highlands, and Abbott school district areas.
Click here for Excel Spreadsheet (12 MB)
January 2007
Martin Robins, Director of the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center was included in an NPR report on the future of Amtrak and the Northeast Corridor. David M. Laney, Chairman of the Amtrak Board of Directors, who was a guest speaker here in December, was also featured in the report.
 Listen to "Amtrak Urged to Bolster Service in Northeast" on NPR site
Watch David M. Laney's "Amtrak and U.S. Intercity Passenger Rail: Prospecting for a Future"
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