SPAANEWS
SPRING / SUMMER 2019
PHOTO BY RONALD SCOTT
The Honorable Sheila Y. Oliver, NJ Lieutenant Governor, delivers the keynote address at 18th Annual Social Equity Leadership Conference.
SPAA Celebrates 2019 Graduates
Emphasizing the Importance of Social Justice
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More than 200 students received their SPAA degree
SPAA hosts the 18th annual Social Equity Leadership Conference
Recognizing Those Called to Serve
SPAA honors public servants in a week-long celebration PAGE 6
DEAN’SNOTE As we prepare for the next school year and reflect on the past year, SPAA has much to be proud of. The school continues to maintain a national presence on many fronts. One of the most significant events was the Social Equity Leadership Conference. The school co-hosted the conference in Newark with the National Academy of Public Administration in June. There were over 150 scholars and practitioners from around the world presenting papers on various facets of social equity. Additionally, many of our current students, alumni, and faculty were recognized for their professional service as well as scholarship. This included Mirae Kim (PhD’14) who won the 2018 best paper award in the journal Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly. Also, Rajade Berry-James (PhD’99) won the 2019 Outstanding Engagement Award at NC State for her work examining food inequity; Alicia Schatteman (PhD’09) won the Professor of the Year award at Northern Illinois University; and SPAA Associate Professor Cleopatra Charles was selected as a Fulbright Scholar in the Czech Republic. The school also bid farewell to several of our long-standing employees. This included Gail Daniels, assistant dean of
graduate programs, who spent more than 40 years at the university; Melissa Rivera, associate dean for finance and administration, who spent 17 years at SPAA; Yolanda Jackson, assistant dean for undergraduate programs, who was also a SPAA BA and MPA alum; and Kelly Robinson, our director of data, but more importantly for me, the one person who monitored all of our accreditation processes. We wish each of them the best in their new positions and in the case of Gail, retirement. There are many opportunities at our door and we are carefully creating a strategy moving forward. During the course of the upcoming school year we will fill vacancies in the school and work toward a new strategic direction. This new direction will guide SPAA’s bright future for years to come. As we endeavor to continue offering our students the best student experience at Rutgers-Newark, we encourage you to be a part of our activities. Please, help us to prepare the next generation of public servants and remember that you will always have a home at SPAA!
– DEAN CHARLES E. MENIFIELD
State of New Jersey Certified Public Manager (CPM) Program Graduates 120 Students at Annual Ceremony
The New Jersey Certified Public Manager (CPM) Program at Rutgers School of Public Affairs and Administration (SPAA) graduated 120 students at the program’s annual ceremony on Aug. 16, 2019. “I'm honored to have worked with dedicated public employees from federal, state, county, and municipal agencies. These individuals completed 300 hours of professional development over 10 months, while working full-time in demanding jobs and taking care of their families,” said Rutgers Director of the CPM Program Jane Sharp. “Each one completed a capstone project to benefit their organization and exemplifies what it means to be a noble public servant.” The graduation ceremony marked the end of 21 courses designed to instill the necessary skills for participants to advance within their organizations by becoming stronger leaders, more strategic thinkers, and more knowledgeable and experienced managers. Speakers included Chair and Chief Executive Officer of the New Jersey Civil Service Commission Deirdre L. Webster Cobb; SPAA Dean Charles Menifield; Retired Judge 2 |
RUTGERS SPAANEWS
John Futey; Assistant Director of the Bloustein Local Government Research Center Marc Pfeiffer; and Health Officer and Director of the Passaic County Department of Health Dr. Charlene Gungil. LaVida Stalsworth of the Civil Service Commission presented one of the graduates, Teaneck Township Manager Dean Kazinci, with the Askew Award in recognition of his exceptional capstone project, “Municipal Preparedness for a Bakken Oil Critical Railroad Incident.” Roughly 30 trains, each carrying between one to three million gallons of Bakken crude oil, pass through a densely populated section Teaneck Township each week. Mr. Kazinci’s Capstone project evaluated the readiness, preparedness, and resourcefulness of the Township of Teaneck as a municipality to handle a critical railroad incident involving the transportation of Bakken Crude Oil on the three-mile stretch of the CSX River Line.
To view 2019 CPM graduation photos, visit spaa.newark.rutgers.edu/cpm-graduation-2019
Rutgers SPAA Celebrates 2019 Graduates
On Wednesday, May 22, more than 200 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. Assistant Professor Jiahuan Lu carried the gonfalon for SPAA and the commencement address was delivered by nationally renowned scholar, teacher, and activist Dorothy E. Roberts, who emphasized the importance of imagination and always acting as if it were possible to radically transform the world. Prior to commencement, SPAA recognized its graduates at a Pi Alpha Alpha Induction Ceremony followed by a Graduation Celebration on May 16, and a PhD Hooding Ceremony on May 20 at the Paul Robeson Campus Center. A total of 37 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. Celia M. King, CEO of Leadership Newark Inc., 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 2019 SPAA Award Winners. The celebration’s student speaker, Randi I. Malman (MPA’19), discussed the importance of public service leaders as change agents. “There is a renewed sense of civic engagement that has taken shape, and as leaders in the field of public administration, it will be up to us to turn the calls to action into meaningful change. For some of us, making that change may be through elected office for others it may mean working in public policy, community organizing, or advocacy. But whether you are at the forefront of a major social movement or working behind the scenes, always know that this work matters. This work does make a difference,” Malman said. To view 2019 graduate profiles and commencement photos, visit
spaa.newark.rutgers.edu/commencement-2019
2019 SPAA Award Winners n Outstanding
BA Student: Sueann Gravesande (BA’19)
n Outstanding
PhD Student: Dr. Chengxin Xu (PhD’19)
n Outstanding n E.
MPA Student: Randi I. Malman (MPA’19)
Drexel Godfrey Award:
Dorothy Thompson Wilkes (MPA’19)
n Dean’s
Public Service Award: Joseph Maya-Rodriguez
(MPA’19) and Francisco Vargas (MPA’19)
n Student
Engagement Award: Diana P. Negron (MPA’19) SPRING / SUMMER 2019
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Rutgers SPAA Hosts 18th Annual Social Equity Leadership Conference
Experts Share Ways to Address Social Justice Issues at #SELC2019
The School of Public Affairs and Administration (SPAA) hosted the 18th annual Social Equity Leadership Conference (SELC) on June 5-7, 2019 at Rutgers University–Newark, cosponsoring the conference with the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA). The conference – with a theme of “Achieving Social Equality in Turbulent Times: A Grand Public Administration Challenge” – brought together more than 150 scholars and practitioners to share their expertise on the best ways to address social justice issues, including racial and gender disparities in education, health, housing, and treatment in the criminal justice system. On Wednesday, June 5, NAPA President Terry Gerton, SPAA Dean Charles Menifield, and Newark City Council President Mildred Crump opened the conference with welcoming remarks. The Honorable Sheila Y. Oliver, New Jersey Lieutenant Governor, then delivered the conference’s keynote address, discussing the importance of social justice throughout her career. Oliver was introduced by Anna Agbotse, a SPAA undergraduate student who has been recognized nationally and internationally for her social justice efforts.
PHOTO BY RONALD SCOTT
Ryan Haygood, president and CEO of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, left, speaks during the “Newark: A City Evolving and Moving Forward” panel at SELC 2019. 4 |
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Chancellor Nancy Cantor delivered welcoming remarks at the plenary luncheon on Thursday, June 6, where she introduced Rene Deida, the relationship manager for Prudential Retirement, Annuities, Human Resources and Global Business and Technology Solutions, to discuss what Prudential has done to promote social equity internally and outside of the organization, especially in Newark. Two plenary panel sessions were also held on June 6. The first, “Social Equity in Public Administration: 50 Years Passing and 50 Years Forward,” was moderated by Gary Glickman, chairman of NAPA's Social Equity Standing Panel. Panelists included social equity experts Brandi Blessett, associate professor and director of the MPA program at the University of Cincinnati; Alan Curtis, president and CEO of the Eisenhower Foundation; Susan Gooden, NAPA fellow and interim dean and professor at the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University; and Samuel Myers, NAPA fellow and professor and director of the Roy Wilkens Center for Human Relations and Social Justice at the Hubert Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. The second session, “Newark: A City Evolving and Moving Forward,” was moderated by Diane Hill, assistant chancellor, Office of University and Community Partnerships at Rutgers University–Newark. Panelists, all experts on the City of Newark with extensive experience working in the city, were Richard Cammarieri, director of special projects for the New Community Corporation (NCC); Ryan Haygood, president and CEO of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice; Raymond Ocasio, executive director of La Casa de Don Pedro, Inc.; David Troutt, distinguished professor of law and director of the Rutgers Center on Law, Inequality and Metropolitan Equity (CLIME); and Junius W. Williams, professor emeritus at RU-N and the Official Historian of the City of Newark. Over the three days, SELC 2019 hosted a total of 24 concurrent panel sessions that provided an in-depth look at the most critical questions related to social justice today, including racial and gender disparities in education, health, equitable growth, affordable housing, and treatment in the criminal justice system. Sessions continued themes from
earlier SELC conferences, but provided a unique perspective, such as the panel on "Slavery and its Aftermath," moderated by Dalton Miller-Jones, professor emeritus of Portland State University. Panel members were Richard Geffken, from the Shrewsbury Historical Society; Judy-Lynne Peters and Ned Benton from John Jay College of the City University of New York; and Stephanie Harris, executive director of the New Jersey Amistad Commission. The plenary luncheon speaker on Friday, June 7, was Valerie Lemmie, a NAPA fellow, who serves as the director of exploratory research for the Kettering Foundation. The conference concluded with a call to action by Blue Wooldridge, NAPA fellow and professor emeritus of the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at VCU, where he emphasized that we should be concerned about social inequities for a number of reasons including that "it renders government vulnerable to special interests seeking to maximize short-term interests…" and “lowers trust in government.” NAPA is a congressionally chartered, non-partisan,
nonprofit organization of more than 850 elected Fellows including former cabinet officers, members of congress, governors, mayors, and state legislators, as well as prominent scholars, business executives, and public administration scholars. Four SPAA faculty are NAPA Fellows: Dean Charles Menifield; Board of Governors Distinguished Professors Norma Riccucci and Frank Thompson; and Distinguished Research Fellow Marilyn Rubin. Established by NAPA, the Social Equity Leadership Conference is focused on advancing the knowledge and understanding of applied and theoretical research toward the promotion of social equity in governance. Initiated by the Standing Panel on Social Equity in Governance – a committee of NAPA – these annual conferences focus on issues of fairness, justice, and equity in a variety of public contexts, including but not limited to education, policing, welfare, housing, and transportation. To view SELC 2019 photos and videos, visit
spaa.newark.rutgers.edu/rutgers-spaa-hosts-selc-2019
ALUMNINEWS RAJADE BERRY JAMES (PhD’99) received the 2019
JAMIE HENDRIX (MPA'14) was awarded a 2019 Clement A.
Outstanding Engagement Award at NC State for her work to address food inequity in the North Carolina food system.
Price Human Dignity Award by the Rutgers Committee to Advance Our Common Purposes (CACP).
Achievement Award from the New Jersey Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration (NJASPA).
Raising Executive (CFRE) Designation.
MILDRED CRUMP (EMPA’09) was awarded the Lifetime
MIRAE KIM (PhD’14) was recognized with the 2018 Award
for Outstanding Article in the journal Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly (2017) by the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA) for her article “The Relationship of Nonprofit’s Financial Health to Program Outcomes: Empirical Evidence from Nonprofit Arts Organizations.” + Kim was elected to the ARNOVA 2019 Board as a Member-at-Large. FAYTH RUFFIN (PhD’12) received the Distinguished
Teacher’s Award from the University of Kwazulu-Natal.
ASHLEY HOWARD (MPA’11) was awarded the Certified Fund
ALICIA SCHATTEMAN (PhD’09) was named Professor of the Year as selected by students at Northern Illinois University Department of Public Administration, School of Public and Global Affairs. GARY WILLIAMS (MPA’12) joined the legislative affairs team
of Gov. Philip Murphy’s office in Trenton, NJ, as a senior legislative aide. 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. SPRING / SUMMER 2019
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SPAA Pulls Out All The Stops for Public Service Recognition Week 2019
From May 5-12, the School of Public Affairs and Administration (SPAA) celebrated Public Service Recognition Week (PSRW) – a nationally designated period to acknowledge, celebrate, and express gratitude to the nation's civil servants for their dedication, service, and stewardship. SPAA Director of Public Engagement Sharon Stroye, in collaboration with Distinguished Research Fellow Marilyn Rubin, put together a series of events and activities meant to engage all members of SPAA and Newark communities to show how #SPAAisPublicService. SPAA’s slate of PSRW events involved students, community partners, alumni, faculty, and staff in order to honor the federal, state, county, and local government and nonprofit employees who tirelessly serve our communities. On Monday, May 6, Central Ward Councilwoman LaMonica McIver kicked-off the PSRW celebration with remarks on the importance of being involved in the community – a perfect message from someone so heavily involved in her own community. Later that evening, SPAA partnered with the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) for a poster board presentation and reception. As two leading anchor institutions in the City of Newark, NJPAC and RU-N have formed a collaborative partnership to further enhance their relationship. One aspect of the NJPAC/RU-N partnership is to integrate NJPAC into a course every spring semester. Spring 2019 was SPAA’s second offering of that integrated course taught by Adjunct Professor Michael Dillard. During the “Public Service Organizations” course, SPAA students formed groups to act as a consultant to one NJPAC Department. As a part of their final assignment and exam, each group showcased their understanding of managing large nonprofit organizations with a poster board presentation to NJPAC’s executive leadership, including CEO John Schreiber. On Tuesday, May 7, SPAA hosted the New Jersey Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration (NJASPA) Awards Ceremony. Each year, NJASPA honors those who have made important contributions to public service. Newark Councilwoman and Council-President Mildred Crump (EMPA’09) was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award. Crump was the first woman to serve as Council President for the City of Newark and was recognized for her life-long service to the city. Chelsea Gioffre (MPA’19) was one of four individuals who received the Student of the Year award. During the afternoon of Wednesday, May 8, SPAA collaborated with The Dream Project, a nonprofit organization, to host an information session on a fundraising East Coast Bike 6 |
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Instashan Chowdhury (BA'17, MPA'19), left, and Stephen Lyman (EMPA’17), president of SPAAAN
Ride in summer 2020. The evening of May 8, SPAA hosted a Faculty Call to Service Roundtable. Adjunct Professor Michael Dillard, Assistant Teaching Professor Rachel Emas, Associate Professor Suzanne Piotrowski, and Associate Professor Yahong Zhang participated in a discussion on their call to service in the field of academia. They discussed what it means to work at SPAA, and engaging in and preparing future leaders for the field of public administration. On Thursday, May 9, SPAA hosted an Alumni Panel to engage alumni in a discussion on their career journeys after graduation. The panel participants represented a range of career options available in public affairs and administration and included alumni from each of SPAA’s academic programs. On Friday, May 11, SPAA hosted the first of two community service projects and invited 30 students from two Newark High Schools. Groups of students and high school staff participated in several interactive activities where they built their own communities and managed budgets and supplies for those respective communities. SPAA wrapped up PSRW 2019 on Saturday, May 12 with a donation drive for Three Stages Learning Center, a local daycare that experienced a fire on April 3. There were no injuries, but the learning center lost supplies and the building was damaged. SPAA partnered with Newark fraternity Kappa Alpha Psi to collect items to support the daycare’s recovery from May 1-11, and Dean Charles Menifield, local residents, and others delivered the supplies on May 12.
For more information and to view photos and videos, visit spaa.newark.rutgers.edu/psrw-2019
ACCOLADES CLEOPATRA CHARLES, associate professor, was
selected as a Fulbright Scholar in the Czech Republic for the academic year 2019-2020.
+ Charles and STEPHANIE NEWBOLD, associate professor, are co-principal investigators on a “Internationalizing the Curriculum” Rutgers Global Grant Award for $10,000 for 2019-2020.
MPA student ZACHARY CURINGA received an honorable mention for the 2019 Roseane do Socorro Gonçalves Viana Human Rights Award. JAMES DAVY, distinguished practitioner in
residence, was invited to be the Keynote Speaker for the State of New Jersey Employees Recognition and Awards Ceremony at the War Memorial in Trenton.
MPA student CHELSEA GIOFFRE was awarded a Student of The Year Award from the New Jersey Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration (NJASPA). DIANE HILL, assistant professor of professional
practice, was presented with the Outstanding Commitment to Education Award by the Newark City Mayor’s Office.
+ Hill was appointed by Gov. Phil Murphy to serve on the NJ Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Commission. SEBASTIAN JILKE, assistant professor, received
a fellowship with the Office of Evaluation Sciences (OES) in Washington, D.C. for the academic year 2019-2020.
+ Jilke received the 2019 Beryl Radin Award for Best Article in the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory for his article “Which Clients are Deserving of Help? A Theoretical Model and Experimental Test?”
PhD student DANBEE LEE received the Wallace O. Keene Conference Scholarship Award at the 2019 American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) conference.
REGINALD LEWIS, assistant professor of profes-
sional practice, was named co-chair of a working group to help NJ implement its new higher education plan.
LINDSEY MCDOUGLE, associate professor, was
re-elected as a Member-at-Large to the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA) Board.
CHARLES MENIFIELD, dean, was awarded the
Chester A. Newland Presidential Citation of Merit at the 2019 ASPA conference.
+ Menifield received the 2019 Jewell Prestage Award from the Conference of Minority Public Administrators of ASPA. + Menifield was appointed by Gov. Phil Murphy to serve on the NJ Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Commission.
BA student SIMONE RICHARDSON was selected as a 2019 ARNOVA Undergraduate Diversity Scholar. SPAA 2019 graduate JOSEPH MAYA-RODRIGUEZ (MPA’19) was named a 2019 ASPA Founders’ Fellow. MARILYN RUBIN, distinguished research fellow,
was awarded the Chester A. Newland Presidential Citation of Merit at the 2019 ASPA conference.
PhD student KAYLA SCHWOERER was a runner-up winner of the Digital Governance Junior Scholar Award from the Section on Science and Technology in Government (SSTIG) at the 2019 ASPA conference. PhD student KAREEM WILLIS and his team won the Dr. L. Frances P. Liddell Student Policy Debate at the 2019 COMPA conference.
SPAA 2019 graduate SHILPA VISWANATH (PhD’19) accepted a position as assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, effective Fall 2019.
+ Viswanath was awarded the 2019 John A. Rohr Scholarship from the Section on Public Law and Administration (SPLA) at the 2019 ASPA conference.
SPAA 2019 graduate CHENGXIN MICHAEL XU (PhD’19) accepted a position as assistant professor at the Institute of Public Service at Seattle University, effective Fall 2019. BA student MARIA ZAMORA-PORRAS was selected as a Newman Civic Fellow for the 2019-2020 cohort.
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Dean Charles Menifield and Assistant Professor of Practice Diane Hill Named to NJ’s MLK Commemorative Commission
School of Public Affairs and Administration Dean Charles Menifield and SPAA Assistant Professor of Practice and Rutgers University–Newark Assistant Chancellor for University-Community Partnerships Diane Hill were among the 14 new members appointed by Gov. Phil Murphy to serve on the New Jersey Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Commission. “While Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was taken from us all too early, his legacy is alive and well in New Jersey,” said Gov. Phil Murphy on April 4, 2019, the 51st anniversary of the death of Dr. King. “I am proud to announce 14 new members to our MLK Commission in order to ensure that his spirit lives on in New Jersey. By continuing to redress systemic inequality and poverty, increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour, and providing an on-ramp to the middle class for all, we can honor the man who gave his life fighting for values that we too often take for granted.” The commissioners are charged with developing and advising the governor and the legislature of activities in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday; establishing programs designed to educate the public about Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights movement; meeting with groups and organizations to coordinate events and seek volunteers who are willing to donate their talents; and receiving donations from individuals and public and private organizations to carry on the commission’s mission and address the needs of Dr. King's living memorial, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for
SPAA Assistant Professor of Professional Practice Diane Hill, left, and Dean Charles Menifield
Nonviolent Social Change. The new membership consists of leaders from faith and civil rights communities who represent New Jersey’s spiritual, geographic, and racial diversity. “I am excited to be a part of the commission honoring an American hero. Dr. King addressed issues that many people didn't want to talk about during his lifetime, and these conversations led to the passage of several laws that benefit me and many others like me. There is nothing more important than standing up for what you believe and advocating on behalf of those who don't have access to a space where their voice can be heard. I hope that the members of this commission view their role as one that is determined to bring about equity, diversity, and a more inclusive society,” stated Menifield. For more information visit spaa.newark.rutgers.edu/mlk-commission
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 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
