July 2008

Lincoln Institute Awards Fellowship to Doctoral Candidate Bryan Grady
Third year doctoral student Bryan Grady has been awarded a Fellowship in Planning and Urban Form from the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, a private foundation whose mission is to improve the quality of public debate and decisions regarding land policy and land-related taxation both in the United States and abroad. The Dissertation Fellowship Program assists Ph.D. students whose research complements the Institute’s interests in land and tax policy. The Institute hosts a seminar each year where fellowship recipients present their research and share feedback with other fellows and Institute faculty members.

May 2008

Rutgers Names Hans Goff, Nicole Peter Among its ‘10 Graduates to Watch’
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, confered degrees to nearly 11,000 students during convocation ceremonies this month. Among those many students, Rutgers selected 10 as “Graduates to Watch.” Two of those, Hans Goff and Nicole Peter, studied at the Bloustein School and a third, Josh Ontell, took part in a senior seminar at the Bloustein School.

Hans Goff, of Trenton, was awarded a Master of Public Affairs and Politics, during the Bloustein School’s May 18 convocation ceremony. Hans gained extensive political experience working on campaigns and in policy shops in three states, and across several levels of government. While enrolled at the Bloustein School and as a Fellow at the Eagleton Institute of Politics, Goff took particular interest in affordable housing policy.

Goff landed his first political job after his sophomore year in high school, going to work for Trenton Mayor Douglas Palmer, answering constituents’ calls on the concerned citizens’ hotline. “My first day working for the mayor, I knew it was the field I wanted to be in,” he said. “I saw how government can work.” Hans then completed a series of summer and after-school apprenticeships as a paid intern for Congressman John Olver of Massachusetts, Virginia Gov. Mark Warner, New Jersey Govs. James McGreevey and Jon Corzine, the New Jersey Assembly Majority Office and the NJ Department of Community Affairs.

Nicole Peter, of Jefferson Township, majored in Public Health, an undergraduate degree awarded jointly by the Bloustein School and Rutgers College. A member of the Rutgers Catholic Student Association, Nicole spent two years studying spinal cord injuries and conducted research at the W.M. Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience which is known for its work with stem cells. “I really believe there will be a cure for spinal cord injuries, and I want to contribute,” Peter said. “I have no moral qualms about it, even though I’m very Catholic.”

Peter is trying to enlist scientists who are also practicing Catholics to speak about stem cell research at one of the Rutgers Catholic Student Association’s “Spirit Night” gatherings next fall. She wants the scientists to explain their research and what it means to be a Catholic who supports stem cell research. Even though she has graduated, Peter plans to return for the event.

“We need to change this disconnect,” she said. “Both sides really care about humanity, but are afraid the other side is limiting them. It’s a matter of closing this polarity.”

Josh Ontell, an Economics major from Clifton who graduated from Rutgers College, visited West Virginia and New Orleans while a student to help build housing. He took part this year in a Bloustein School seminar for undergraduate seniors on issues relating to the subprime mortgage and housing foreclosure crisis. 

May 2008

Five Graduates Honored for Outstanding Achievement During Convocation Ceremonies
The Bloustein School honored five graduates for outstanding achievement in the urban planning and policy development program, and in the public policy program during its 5th annual convocation ceremony held May 18. The urban planning awards were presented by Professor Clinton Andrews, the program director, to Alexander Barron for outstanding student academic achievement; Stephanie Luk for outstanding student service; and Amanda Kennedy, who received the annual American Institute of Certified Planners award for outstanding attainment in the study of planning. Professor Carl Van Horn presented the policy program awards to Umit Alsac for outstanding student academic achievement, and to Altaf Rahamatulla for outstanding student service.

May 2008
Senior Seminar Final Paper Presentations
Senior seminar final papers in public policy and planning, and public health were presented at the Bloustein School during May 6-9.  The undergraduate seminars were taught by University Professor Norman J. Glickman, Assistant Professor Kathe Newman, T. Patrick Hill, PhD, a Senior Policy Fellow from the Cancer Institute of New Jersey, and Judy Shaw, PhD with the National Center for Brownfield and Neighborhood Redevelopment.

Among the presentations delivered were “Tactics of Tenant Organizations in New York City,” by Sofia Del Papa, a Planning and Public Policy major from Douglass College and

“Stadium Development in Cities,” by Tynisha Beard, an Urban Studies major from Douglass College.

May 2008

Undergraduate Seniors Win Awards
Two graduating seniors in the Bloustein School's undergraduate program were presented awards for academic excellence. Danielle Wright, a public health undergraduate, received the Sydney and Mildred Greenberg Award for attaining the highest scholastic honors in the Bloustein School. Sophonie Joseph, a planning and public policy undergraduate, was presented with the Miriam Barker Award for academic excellence and outstanding community contributions.

April 2008

Bob Checchio Named to TRB Committee
Bob Checchio, a PhD candidate in the Public Policy program, accepted an invitation from the Transportation Research Board to serve on its Committee on Intergovernmental Relations in Aviation. The appointment will continue through April 2011.

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