Rutgers SPAA NEWS – Spring / Summer 2018

SPAANEWS

SPRING / SUMMER 2018

Pairing Arts Education and Administration

Rutgers-NJPAC Partnership Supports Complementary Institutional Missions PAGE 3

Rutgers SPAA Commencement 2018

Commencement Caps Off Celebratory Week for 2018 SPAA Graduates PAGE 4

PHOTO BY ANTHONY ALVAREZ

Promoting Transparency and Governance

Rutgers SPAA Center Aims to Better Understand Open Government PAGE 10

DEAN’SNOTE As noted in this newsletter, we closed out the school year in fine fashion. Consistent with previous behavior, our students, staff, faculty, and alumni continue to do amazing things and these things have not gone unnoticed.

I came to SPAA one year ago with one overarching goal: advance the school professionally, locally, and within the university system. Building on past successes, our students and faculty continue to excel in the classroom and professionally. As you will see in the newsletter, several of our faculty won national, state, and Rutgers awards. These awards are a testament to the quality of our faculty as educators and scholars. More specifically, Dr. Norma Riccucci leads the list of awardees. She won a best article award from the Review of Public Personnel Administration and a best book award from the American Society for Public Administration’s Section on Personnel and Labor Relations. In addition, Dr. Alan Sadovnik won a Rutgers Faculty Scholar-Teacher award for his outstanding contributions in teaching and research. Dr. Gregg Van Ryzin was named the “Academic of the Year” by the New Jersey ASPA chapter (NJASPA). Our faculty continue to publish in the top journals in our field as

well as serve as editors and editorial board members for several journals. Our students also achieved much. Firstyear MPA student Francisco Vargas was selected as the “Student of the Year” by NJASPA. Also, Jung Ah Yun, a doctoral student, won the best paper award at the ASPA national conference.

With respect to the school, we created an Office of Public Engagement, led by longtime SPAA staff member Sharon Stroye. Her primary task is to create new opportunities for SPAA’s students, staff, and faculty to engage our Newark community.

During the upcoming year we plan to continue down this path. This includes starting a new Executive MPA degree program in the spring 2019 semester, restarting the SPAA Alumni Network (SPAAAN), and creating new opportunities for alumni engagement throughout the year. If you are an alum and want to be involved in the school, please reach out to me so that we can share in this journey together.

Thanks to all of you for your efforts in making our school the best public administration program in the country.

– DEAN CHARLES E. MENIFIELD

Rutgers School of Public Affairs and Administration and Texas A&M Launch First Behavioral Public Administration Open Access Journal

The Center for Experimental and Behavioral Public Administration (CEBPA) at Rutgers SPAA, in partnership with the Project for Equity, Representation, and Governance at Texas A&M University, has launched the Journal of Behavioral Public Administration (JBPA) – an interdisciplinary, open access, peer-reviewed journal that focuses on behavioral and experimental research in public administration.

Behavioral public administration has grown significantly as a subfield of public administration, with scholars applying new theories from the behavioral sciences and an experimental approach to better understand human behavior and decision-making in the context of public and nonprofit organizations and the citizens and clients they serve.

“Academic public administration has witnessed a steep rise in the use of behavioral science, while governments and nonprofits increasingly apply behavioral insights to improve administrative work practices and outcomes. Thus, a critical mass of this work now exists to justify a journal that reports and reflects on these important trends in this field,” said Sebas2 |

RUTGERS SPAANEWS

tian Jilke, assistant professor at SPAA and an editor of JBPA. Unlike many prominent open access journals, JBPA is free for both readers and authors who typically pay fees associated with publication. All costs associated with the journal are covered by Rutgers SPAA and Texas A&M. The journal’s editorial team is comprised of Jilke; Kenneth Meier, distinguished professor and Charles H. Gregory chair at Texas A&M University; and Gregg Van Ryzin, professor at SPAA. They are joined by more than 40 scholars on the board of editors from universities across the globe who have expertise in public administration and the behavioral sciences.

The journal will be published four times a year with diverse content that includes research articles, perspectives and practices, research letters, and research syntheses.

Due to its interdisciplinary focus, JBPA welcomes articles from across the behavioral sciences, including economics, public policy, political science, psychology, sociology, public health, education, law, and additional fields.

To view issues of JBPA, visit www.journal-bpa.org

Rutgers-NJPAC Partnership Supports Complementary Institutional Missions

Long revered for its place as an anchor institution of the arts, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) has recently taken center stage as an educational partner in Rutgers University-Newark’s classrooms.

NJPAC and Rutgers-Newark established a formal partnership last year through the creation of an arts curriculum that would provide students with an immersive experience into arts education and administration.

“It’s a very intentional relationship to ensure that the missions of each anchor institution are addressed from a collaborative perspective,” said Sharon Stroye, director of public engagement at Rutgers School of Public Affairs and Administration (SPAA).

Students enrolled in SPAA’s “Arts and Culture in Public Service” course spent the semester taking part in the pilot program. The course, taught by Lois Warner, an assistant teaching professor at SPAA, was selected for the partnership because its arts-focused curriculum intertwined with NJPAC’s mission of promoting arts education and civic engagement.

The program launched in January 2018 with a behindthe-scenes tour of NJPAC followed by a succession of guest speakers, including NJPAC president and CEO John Schreiber who spoke to the students about managing a world-class artistic and community-based cultural and educational center in New Jersey.

Each class focused on a different aspect of NJPAC’s mission and operations as the students learned about NJPAC’s approach to earning profits while serving the community – a mission that resonated with Warner’s students, many of whom dream of opening their own nonprofits.

“Professor Warner challenged me to shift how I perceived the public sector and its culture, and NJPAC’s involvement only heightened the experience,” said SPAA student Lissa Desrosiers.

During the semester, students attended themed sessions such as “Money Matters,” which featured presentations on NJPAC’s fiscal operations, and “Sheroes of NJPAC,” a panel discussion with NJPAC’s female executives about their career trajectories and the importance of developing the next generation of arts administrators.

“The students have been very excited and engaged. For

PHOTO BY TA'QUAN YOUMANS-STERLING

NJPAC president and CEO John Schreiber, left, Rutgers-Newark junior Simone Richardson, center, and Sharon Stroye, director of public engagement, Rutgers SPAA

some of them, this was their first time ever visiting NJPAC even though they are Newark residents,” said Stroye. “Other students have signed up for volunteer opportunities with children, and this program is really extending the RutgersNewark community into what NJPAC is doing.”

According to Stroye, the relationship is proving symbiotic as Rutgers-Newark provides its students with real-world applications of its curricula as well as exposure to volunteer, internship, and career opportunities, and NJPAC gains exposure to a strong talent base as well as the opportunity to generate interest in its programs for a new demographic.

“NJPAC is delighted and inspired to participate in the School of Public Affairs and Administration pilot project. It has been an important initiative for the arts center as we believe mentorship is critical to growing the next generation of dynamic leaders,” said Donna Walker-Kuhne, NJPAC’s senior adviser for community engagement. “We look forward to continued participation and welcoming the students, faculty, and administration to NJPAC events.”

Stroye said that the pilot course is the first phase of what will be a more expansive role for NJPAC in terms of Rutgers-Newark's coursework and university programs such as student orientation, which will incorporate NJPAC tours for parents and offer opportunities to attend NJPAC events.

“I’ve learned about the great things NJPAC is doing for Newark, like bringing more money into the city,” said SPAA student Ta’Quan Youmans-Sterling. “I’ve also learned how a nonprofit can stick to its mission even if it means making decisions that conflict with its budget. Overall, NJPAC is working hard to increase awareness of art and culture, which helps create a new way of living and appreciating Newark as the great place it was, is, and can be.”

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Commencement Caps Off Celebratory Week for 2018 SPAA Graduates

On Monday, May 14, 2018, more than 175 School of Public Affairs and Administration (SPAA) graduates received their degrees during Rutgers University–Newark’s (RU-N) commencement ceremony at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. SPAA Assistant Professor Lindsey McDougle led the procession as the ceremony’s marshal, with the Chancellor’s Office and RU-N faculty in tow. Associate Professor Stephanie Newbold carried the gonfalon for SPAA. The commencement address was delivered by award-winning actress, singer, rapper, and humanitarian Queen Latifah, who emphasized the importance of home and returning to the places that shaped the graduates into the people they have become.

Prior to commencement, SPAA recognized its graduates in a PhD Hooding Ceremony (held on May 11), Pi Alpha Alpha Induction Ceremony (held on May 12), and Graduation Celebration (held on May 12).

A total of 42 students were inducted into Pi Alpha Alpha, the national honor society for public administration, and the students and their guests joined SPAA faculty and staff in toasting the new inductees. Congressman Donald Payne Jr. of New Jersey’s 10th District was inducted as an honorary Pi Alpha Alpha member.

The SPAA Graduation Celebration that followed recognized all of SPAA’s graduates in addition to the 2018 SPAA Award Winners.

The celebration’s student speaker was Mohamed Abdelghany, who described the significance of his family’s support in driving him to succeed and urged his fellow graduates to support each other in their journeys.

“We are graduates of SPAA. That means we are driven by a greater purpose than money – whether it’s politics, policy, or people. I will hold myself, and all of you, to a higher standard. Brothers and sisters, remember that the table is big enough for all of us to eat. If it is not, promise me we will fight, together, for a bigger table,” Abdelghany said.

To see photo galleries of the ceremonies, visit spaa.newark.rutgers.edu/commencement-2018

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RUTGERS SPAANEWS

PHOTOS BY ANTHONY ALVAREZ

2018 SPAA Award Winners

•Outstanding BA Student: Mohamed Abdelghany (BA’18) •Outstanding MPA Student: Rabia Arikan (MPA’18) •Outstanding PhD Student: Dr. Andrew Ballard (PhD’18) •E. Drexel Godfrey Award: Bernadette Carter (MPA’18) and Anqiang Li (MPA’18) Distinguished Alumni Award for Academic Excellence: • Dr. Kaifeng Yang (PhD’03) •Distinguished Alumni Award for Practitioner Excellence: Virgil Simons (MPA’08) •Faculty Teaching Award: Dr. Rachel Emas, Assistant Teaching Professor Faculty Service Award: Dr. Madinah Hamidullah, • Associate Research Professor •Staff Award: Dr. Melissa Rivera, Associate Dean for Finance and Administration

ACCOLADES SPAA 2018 graduate ANDREW BALLARD (PhD’18) accepted a position of post-doctoral fellow at Rutgers SPAA.

DOMONIC BEARFIELD (PhD’04) accepted a

position as associate professor with tenure at Rutgers SPAA, effective July 2018.

Professor ARIANE CHEBEL D’APPOLLONIA was appointed as associated senior researcher for the Center for European Studies and Comparative Politics (CESCP) at Sciences Po Paris.

+ Chebel d’Appollonia was named a member of the editorial board of Immigration and Security (Peter Lang Publishing).

SPAA 2018 graduate INTAS HAN CHOWDHURY (BA’18) was ranked 48th in InsiderNJ's “The 2018 Insider 100: Millennials.”

YOLANDA JACKSON (BA’11, MPA’16) accepted the position of

assistant dean for undergraduate programs at Rutgers SPAA. LINDSEY MCDOUGLE was promoted to

associate professor with tenure at Rutgers SPAA, effective July 2018.

Dean CHARLES MENIFIELD was awarded the Conference of Minority Public Administrators (COMPA) 2018 Best Paper Award for his paper “Police Killings and Minority Groups: What Does the Data Really Show?”

+ Menifield, as principal investigator, and doctoral student CYNTHIA GOLEMBESKI and CLAYTON WALTON, assistant professor of professional practice, as co-principal investigators, were awarded a $10,000 planning grant from the Rutgers University–Newark Chancellor’s Office for “Disaster Recovery and Resilience in Post-Hurricane Puerto Rico.”

Board of Governors Distinguished Professor NORMA RICCUCCI won the 2017 Best Article Award by the Review of Public Personnel Administration for an article she co-authored, "Intersectionality in Public Leadership Research: A Review and Future Research Agenda."

+ Riccucci received the 2017 Best Book Award from the American Society for Public Administration’s Section on Personnel and Labor Relations for the sixth edition of Public

Personnel Management: Current Concerns, Future Challenges.

SPAA 2018 graduate SETH MEYER (PhD’18) accepted a tenure-track position of assistant professor at Bridgewater State University, effective Fall 2018.

MELISSA RIVERA (MPA’08), associate dean for finance and

administration, and JASMINE LYNCH, program coordinator, were elected as representatives to the Rutgers University–Newark Staff Council.

Board of Governors Distinguished Service Professor ALAN SADOVNIK was awarded the Rutgers Faculty Scholar-Teacher Award recognizing his outstanding contributions in research and teaching.

SPAA 2018 graduate CLAUDIA SAAVEDRA (BA’18) won a Resolution Fellowship through The Resolution Project's Social Venture Challenge.

CLAYTON WALTON was recognized by The Com-

mittee to Advance our Common Purposes at Rutgers for exceptional achievement in addressing sustainable living and public health inequities.

Professor GREGG VAN RYZIN was named Academic of the Year by the New Jersey Chapter of ASPA (NJASPA).

MPA student FRANCISCO VARGAS was named Student of the Year by NJASPA.

SPAA 2018 graduate ASHLEY VASQUEZ (BA’18) was named a Campus Compact 2018 Newman Civic Fellow.

SHILPA VISWANATH, doctoral student, was one of 14 young

scholars chosen by ASPA to attend the 7th International Young Scholars Workshop in Mexico.

+ Viswanath received the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management's 2018 Diversity and Inclusion Fellowship to attend the fall research conference.

SPAA 2018 graduate JUNG AH (CLAIRE) YUN (PhD’18) was awarded the Junior Asian Scholarship Award for Best Paper (First Prize) at the 2018 ASPA national conference. + Yun accepted an assistant professor position at Kean University, effective Fall 2018.

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For PhD Alumnus Kaifeng Yang (’03), Public Administration is Serious Business

Dr. Kaifeng Yang (PhD’03) was a businessman. With a bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree in business administration, he was well-positioned for success in China’s businessfocused economy that was largely grounded in state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Yang studied SOE management for several years and through his research developed a greater understanding of and appreciation for the field of public administration.

“SOE management was a management issue, but also a policy issue. I had to think about the role of government and came to realize the importance of public administration and policy,” Yang said.

Yang’s curiosity grew at a time when the study of public administration was practically unheard of in his home country of China. Despite its lack of recognition, he knew early proponents of the field and joined a small wave of those interested in the topic. This interest amounted to a mere hobby until Yang found himself at a professional crossroads while working as a senior manager at a business-consulting firm.

“I was asked to do a project that I did not feel comfortable doing,” Yang said. “The CEO wanted the profit, but the project had some bad public value implications and I felt that I had to listen to my ‘public service motivation.’”

Yang soon met with Dr. Marc Holzer, founding dean of Rutgers SPAA, and was impressed by Holzer’s innovative and collaborative efforts with public administration scholars in China. He joined Holzer’s program at Rutgers University–Newark on a full scholarship to earn his second doctorate.

Studying in the United States 6 |

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proved challenging at the onset because Yang struggled with English. In addition to his schoolwork, he devoted hours to reading newspapers and watching English television programs and movies in order to overcome his language barriers. Once the stress of worrying about his English subsided, Yang found that classes became an entirely different experience.

“Every time I took a new class, it seemed that I entered a wonderland. I fell in love with different subjects due to these great professors,” Yang recalled.

With an expertise in citizen participation and performance management, Yang cultivated his scholarship along with his professional development. He joined the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) and served on several committees and taskforces, including as chair of ASPA’s Center for Accountability and Performance and its Section for Public Performance and Management. He became a full professor at Florida State University and was elected as a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.

Yang’s rise in the field came full cir-

cle in 2014 when he returned to his alma mater, Renmin University of

China, as dean of the School of Public

Administration and Policy. Under his

deanship, the school was ranked by

the Chinese government as the best

public administration program in the

country and tasked with bringing the program to world-class status with

the government’s support.

His achievements are recognized

domestically as well, as Yang received

SPAA’s Distinguished Alumni Award

for Academic Excellence in May 2018. “[The award] made me feel some-

what reassured as I always fear that I

could let down my Rutgers professors and friends,” Yang admitted. “I feel the challenge and responsibility to work

even harder and to make SPAA more proud.”

In addition to his position as a

dean, Yang is the general secretary of

China’s National MPA Education Steer-

ing Committee, a role in which he is

working to incorporate positive

changes to all of China’s MPA pro-

grams, including an effort to establish a national accreditation system.

Despite his many obligations and

demanding schedule, Yang has no

intention of abandoning his scholarly endeavors.

“There are many interesting reform

stories in China, which constantly test the boundaries of public administra-

tion theories and models,” Yang said.

“My Rutgers gene always reminds me

PHOTO PROVIDED BY KAIFENG YANG

that I still need to find time for some rigorous research.”

Scholarships Spark Travel Bug for Arisleidy Nunez (BA’17, MPA’18)

PHOTO PROVIDED BY ARISLEIDY NUNEZ

Prior to attending Rutgers University–Newark, Arisleidy Nunez’s (BA’17, MPA’18) international travels were limited to trips to the Dominican Republic to visit her family.

During her freshman year, she took a trip to Tanzania as part of a service-learning program in which students transcended language barriers by engaging a Swahili-speaking village in a photography project that emphasized beauty and self-reflection, and in many cases showed Tanzanian children their pictures for the first time.

"Going to Tanzania was a transformative experience and one of the things that pushed me to do that was my Gala Anniversary Scholarship," Nunez said. “When you receive a scholarship, it reaffirms that there are people out there who believe in you and that the support is there.”

The Gala Scholarship is one of several scholarships available at the School of Public Affairs and Administration (SPAA) and provides financial assistance to undergraduates. Nunez said that the $1,500 scholarship emboldened her and set her on a path of opportunities that she would have previously shied away from, but now embraces in an effort to effect change for others on an international stage.

After returning from Tanzania, Nunez became a collegiate jetsetter, enrolling in programs and courses that took her to Mexico, Italy, India, and London.

Refusing to be deterred by cost, Nunez amassed support from various awards during her college career that helped alleviate the financial burden of travel as she immersed herself in global conversations ranging from Brexit and

"When you receive a scholarship, it reaffirms that there are people out there who believe in you and that the support is there."

– ARISLEIDY NUNEz (BA’17, MPA’18)

women’s economic empowerment to sex trafficking and children’s education advocacy.

"One of the things I advocate for is for more students to go abroad because those were the most pivotal moments in my life," Nunez said. "The world is much more connected now and programs like these provide a deeper global understanding.”

In addition to her travels, Nunez is a graduate instructor for the Honors Living-Learning Community as well as a mentor for the Newark City of Learning Collaborative.

Nunez uses her platforms to offer guidance and share her experiences to help students at the high school and college level identify and seize similar opportunities.

Upon graduation, Nunez intends to enroll in law school with the goal of becoming an advocate in either the nonprofit or government sector.

“I’m incredibly grateful for the support system at RutgersNewark and SPAA, specifically. It really has made a difference for me, especially as a first-generation college student. Thinking back, I can’t imagine this being possible anywhere else.”

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MPA Alumnus Virgil Simons (’08): Prostate Cancer Survivor Turned Health Advocate for Millions of Men

BY ROBIN LALLY / RUTGERS TODAY

It’s been more than two decades since Virgil Simons was told he had prostate cancer, a diagnosis that defined his life and spurred him to become a health care advocate for millions of men in the United States, Europe, India, Africa and Australia.

“This is my life. This is what I do.

This is who I am,” said Simons, 71, a Rutgers University-Newark alumnus who in 1996, a year after he was diagnosed with the disease, created The Prostate Net, a nonprofit organization that works to provide information and connect health care providers to men with prostate cancer and their families.

Today, his organization reaches men in 60 countries around the world.

Health education programs have been offered to thousands of men at barbershops and Harley Davidson dealers in the United States and internationally, and its website attracts 18,000 visits a month.

“I always believed that it was important to bring the information to where these men go,” said Simons.

“Too many men don’t take personal responsibility for their health. When disease hits them, it becomes a panic.”

It’s an emotion that Simons remembers all too well. He was only 48 when he learned that he had prostate cancer. He was scared. He was angry.

He wondered, why me? And he thought he might die.

“Then I said, I’m going to beat this thing,” Simons said. “I’m not going to allow it to control my life. I’m going to take my life back.”

The problem: Simons couldn’t find the information he needed to make an informed decision about what he should do to fight back and win.

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PHOTO PROVIDED BY VIRGIL SIMONS

"Too many men don’t take personal responsibility for their health. When disease hits them, panic sets in."

– VIRGIL SIMONS (MPA’08)

“I had been involved in corporate America and there was an insufficiency of information that I thought should have been available to me,” said Simons, a former marketing executive who received a master’s degree in public administration in 2008 from the School of Public Affairs and Administration (SPAA) at Rutgers University-Newark. “I felt that I had the best resources, good insurance and could get the best doctors but still didn’t feel like I could get the best quality care. If that could happen to me, I wondered what would happen to the average person.”

After undergoing surgery and successfully completing his own cancer treatment, Simons wrote a guide that provided needed resources including organizations, government agencies, support groups, health clinics and patient-friendly information those diagnosed with prostate cancer would need to navigate the system.

But he didn’t think that was enough. While prostate cancer often can have no symptoms for seven to 10 years, if it is diagnosed early it is highly curable. Since African-American men face an even higher risk of death from the disease, Simons, a 22-year survivor, knew he had to increase his outreach further.

For the past seven years, Simons has made his home in Barcelona, Spain, in part, because the organization was expanding internationally and he was traveling more often between the United States, Europe, India and Africa. When he is not doing a radio health program in Barcelona, it is not unusual for Simons to be in Prague one month giving a workshop to the pharmaceutical industry on patient advocacy, and the next meeting with doctors at a medical center in Naples.

Simons serves on a U.S. Department of Defense prostate cancer research program panel that reviews applications for prostate cancer funding, works to engage pharmaceutical companies to partner with researchers and is involved with training advocates making inroads into local communities in Africa that are beginning to offer screening and prevention programs.

His goal is to create better access to health care as he continues to lobby for more funding for prostate cancer and all cancer research.

“From my standpoint, a cure is going to be very difficult,” Simons said.

“I hope that we will be able to look at cancer like we look at diabetes and high blood pressure as something we live with and manage.”

SPAA Wins Big on Rutgers Giving Day 2018

Giving Day began at midnight on Wednesday, March 21, 2018 and was extended to 9 p.m. on March 22 because of a snowstorm on March 21. In two activity-packed days, SPAA students, alumni, faculty, staff, and friends collaborated in a dedicated wave of donations and social media challenge entries that yielded close to $11,000.

RUTGERS SPAA LAUNCHES NEW WEBSITE

This summer, SPAA launched a new website with features and functions that give users a better online experience. In addition to a sleek new design, the site is now fully responsive, meaning that it adapts to a user’s screen regardless of which device (e.g., desktop, tablet, mobile phone) is used.

Current and future students, faculty and staff, alumni, and members of the media will find the resources, stories, and information they need in just a few clicks!

Visit the new site at spaa.newark.rutgers.edu

Challenges Won by SPAA: • Cap and Gown Social Media Challenge: $500 • Lucky 21 Challenge: $200 • Lunchtime Crunch Time Challenge: $1,000 • Snowfall Challenge: $500 • Decades Challenge (40’s, 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, 00’s, 10’s): $500 • G.O.L.D. Challenge (Graduates of the Last Decade): $1,250

Donor Numbers and Gifts: SPAA's community rallied together and raised more than $7,000 from more than 80 donors!

These donations supported SPAA's Academic Excellence Fund, the Graduate Student Fellowship Fund, the Undergraduate Scholarship Fund, the Marc Holzer Fund for Doctoral Students, and the Diversity Fund. These funds provide students with scholarships, fellowships, compensation for internships, and assistance with expenses including books and international travel opportunities.

For more information on supporting SPAA, visit spaa.newark.rutgers.edu/give

ALUMNINEWS NATASHA HEMMINGS (MPA’16) was named chief executive

officer of Girl Scouts Heart of New Jersey (GSHNJ).

PATRIA DE LANCER JULNES (PhD’97) received the Chester

A. Newland Presidential Citation of Merit from the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) in recognition and appreciation of her service to ASPA throughout 2017-2018.

MIN-HYU KIM (PhD’17) accepted a position as a tenure-track assistant professor at Arizona State University-Hainan's School of Public Affairs.

HUAFANG LI (PhD’16) was awarded the 2018 Public Man-

agement Research Association (PMRA) Best Dissertation Award.

LISA MAHAJAN (PhD’16), adjunct professor, was elected to

serve on the University Senate at Rutgers as a PTL senator for academic year 2018-2019.

SHUGO SHINOHARA (PhD’16) accepted a position of assis-

tant professor at the International University of Japan.

Have news to share? We welcome SPAA alumni news about career, professional, and educational accomplishments. For more alumni information and to share updates, visit spaa.newark.rutgers.edu/alumni.

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SPAA Professors Actively Promote Public Sector Transparency and Governance Through Center Established in 2012, the Transparency and Governance Center (TGC) in Rutgers SPAA examines public sector transparency and governance through its research, projects, programs, and global network of scholars. We sat down with SPAA Associate Professor and TGC Director Suzanne Piotrowski and SPAA Assistant Professor and TGC Associate Director Gregory Porumbescu to discuss the center's impact.

PHOTO BY KUANG-TING TAI

Associate Professor and TGC Director Suzanne Piotrowski, left, and Assistant Professor and TGC Associate Director Gregory Porumbescu

What do you identify as the center’s primary purpose?

SP: The purpose of the Transparency and Governance Center is to better understand the impact of transparency on good governance. We do this through academic and applied research projects, educational outreach, and networking with other academics. We think of ourselves as a hub for different scholars – we’ve hosted a number of scholars from a wide range of countries including the Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland, and Italy. A strength of the center is that we are multidisciplinary. We have several affiliated faculty members from around campus.

What are some of the center’s current projects?

GP: Our new projects assess transparency from two perspectives: accessibility of information and usability of information. For the public, transparency is only transformative if the public is able to understand the information being disseminated. With that in mind, we are looking at different methods to communicate information in ways that are easier for citizens to understand. We’re kicking off a project to collaborate with government actors and public officials to explore methods of improving the usability of information that’s being made public. In terms of next steps, we want to work more closely with government agencies, especially in

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RUTGERS SPAANEWS

Newark and New Jersey, to explore ways of improving understandability and making sure that everyone has access.

SP: We’re going to start developing some courses for the classroom, as well as workshops to teach individuals how to access and use government information. It’s a new project but we see a lot of need, and it can really bridge our academic work with applied work and have a real impact on residents in the communities SPAA serves.

How does the center’s work transform public administration as a field?

SP: When we approach our work, we consider the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, specifically Sustainable Development Goal 16, which talks about ensuring public access to information. We’re thinking about ways we can move things forward in ensuring access to public information in both applied research projects and academic research. We think this has a real impact in the public sphere and in addition to our research, we try to move the field forward through our networking. We have the International Transparency and Secrecy Research Network that’s very active and has more than 450 members. I founded the Global Conference on Transparency Research and currently chair its executive committee. The center hosts transparency workshops at SPAA. We try to bring people together to present their research and hope these synergies make impact on the field at large.

What are some areas of the government where you think there’s a greater need for transparency?

SP: Some of the global trends that I think the United States needs to catch up on is in respect to beneficial ownership, in terms of who owns companies and who is benefiting financially from companies. Also, in terms of natural resources, the government could do a better job with respect to creating openness around who is benefiting from natural resources taken off of public lands.

GP: I think that’s accurate, but for different people there are general areas in which transparency can be improved and different segments of the population will need different types of information. In other words, it is about finding out the information that’s needed to empower certain segments of society because the value of information isn’t absolute, it varies.

For more information on the center, visit spaa.newark.rutgers.edu/tgc

Public Service Interests Set SPAA Graduate Mohamed Abdelghany (BA’18) on Path to Harvard

In Fall 2018, Mohamed Abdelghany will begin his studies at Harvard Law School – a stark change for the man who enrolled at Rutgers University–Newark (RU-N) with dreams of becoming a doctor.

Abdelghany wasn’t focused on public service when he joined RU-N as a student in the Honors Living-Learning Community (HLLC), a residential community with a curriculum based on social justice issues and advocacy. He admitted that when he joined the HLLC, he initially didn’t have a strong grasp or appreciation of what it meant to be a part of that community.

“It wasn’t until I had a conversation with HLLC Associate Dean Marta Esquilin that I started to understand the mission of the HLLC and began taking things more seriously,” Abdelghany said.

It was through the HLLC that he became exposed to individuals at all levels who worked in the interest of public service and showed him opportunities to grow as a student and a professional.

“One of the many joys of my career is to participate in and witness firsthand the magical ways that students evolve,” said Timothy Eatman, dean of the HLLC. “Mo has distinguished himself in that regard. His courage and willingness to learn and grow, characteristic of HLLC scholars, is admirable and inspiring. This, coupled with his hunger to be a positive change agent will serve him well throughout his promising career.”

Abdelghany eventually drifted away from biology and toward nonprofit and public administration under the School of Public Affairs and Administration (SPAA). It was through SPAA that he discovered a new niche with the debate team.

“On the debate team, I learned to speak at a fast pace, think at a fast pace, and research interesting issues and topics,” Abdelghany said. As a member of the team, he was a budding star, winning a Rookie of the Year Award from the RU-N debate program as recognition of his contributions.

Among his extracurricular activities, he served as a senator for RU-N’s Student Governing Association where he worked to reform the funding structure for student organi-

PHOTO BY COLLEEN GUTWEIN O'NEAL

zations to ensure that funding was awarded based on merit as opposed to frequency of events.

His early ventures into student politics led to an internship for Cory Booker’s office in Washington, D.C., which prompted him to pursue law school with the goal of becoming a politician.

He was a standout at RU-N, juggling a host of activities and raising his public profile at the university. His achievements earned him a place on the Chancellor’s Commission on Transformation and Diversity where he helped implement changes across campus that supported an increasingly inclusive and culturally competent environment for students.

Recently, he was selected as a Sponsors For Educational Opportunity Fellow with the law firm Kirkland & Ellis LLP. He will spend the summer with the firm before his term at Harvard begins.

When Abdelghany reflects on his accomplishments, he credits the support and opportunities that he received at RU-N as being critical to his successes.

“There’s an incredible bunch of people dedicated to getting you where you want to get to and you can’t put a price tag on that. You don’t recognize the importance of that until you get to that place and realize that it wouldn’t have been possible without that support,” Abdelghany said.

Abdelghany is excited to start this next chapter in his life and says after he earns his law degree, he wants to work for

a law firm, and then jumpstart his political career in New Jersey where he can serve the needs of the state.

SPRING / SUMMER 2018

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New Rutgers SPAA Course Provides Historical Context to Plight of Newark Public Schools At the center of debates around local vs. state control and charter vs. public schools sits Newark’s educational system. It’s a system whose challenges are often dichotomized and sanitized in media for the sake of a simpler narrative, but whose solutions are mired under complex historical, sociological, and political circumstances.

“Given that 2018 marks the transition from state control to local control of the Newark public schools, it made sense that I would offer a course that historically and sociologically examines the Newark public schools from before takeover to now,” said Alan Sadovnik, Board of Governors Distinguished Service Professor at SPAA. The special topics course titled “Education in Newark” launched its inaugural class this spring and explores issues that include urban educational reform, the relationship between economic poverty and schooling, efforts to raise high school graduation rates and college attendance, and Mark Zuckerberg’s $100 million gift to Newark’s public schools.

Sadovnik said that his students have been exposed to readings and films that provided them with a theoretical foundation and historical understanding complemented by guest speakers with unique insight and knowledge of the public school system as it’s currently operating. One such speaker was Lauren Wells who currently serves as a consultant to Newark’s public schools but previously served as a director of a Newark educational program that provided economic and social services for students before it was discontinued by former Superintendent Cami Anderson.

PHOTO BY AMANDA BROWN

Dr. Alan Sadovnik, left, chats with SPAA students in his “Education in Newark” course.

Many of Sadovnik’s students have been in the Newark public school system or have children enrolled in Newark’s public schools and expressed a personal interest in the material.

“My reasoning behind taking the ‘Education in Newark’ class was to help me build a more diverse knowledge on Newark’s school system. Through the many guest speakers and heart-tugging films, I began to want to make an impact in Newark in a way that I know could create change,” said SPAA student Iyana Odom. “I found that I wanted to help the children of Newark by giving them the same knowledge and respect that my professors at Rutgers gave me.”

Sadovnik says that while his class focuses on a host of issues, there is a key lesson that he wants students to understand.

“Although schools matter, the most important determinant of educational achievement or the most negative determinant is economic poverty, and much of what led to the decline of the Newark public schools was poverty,” Sadovnik said.

SCHOOL OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS AND ADMINISTRATION (SPAA) RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY 111 WASHINGTON STREET NEWARK, NJ 07102

RUTGERS SPAANEWS is published by SPAA Communications and Marketing in the School of Public Affairs and Administration (SPAA) at Rutgers University–Newark. Story ideas, news, and comments are welcome.

For more news, visit spaa.newark.rutgers.edu/newsroom Ginger Swiston, Director of Communications gswiston@rutgers.edu Jade McClain, Editorial/Media Specialist jade.mcclain@rutgers.edu