Rutgers Names Hans Goff, Nicole Peter Among its ‘10 Graduates to Watch’
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, will confer 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, will be awarded a Master of Public Affairs and Politics, during the Bloustein School’s May 18 convocation ceremony. Hans has gained extensive political experience working on campaigns and in policy shops in three states, and across several levels of government. Enrolled at the Bloustein School and a Fellow at the Eagleton Institute of Politics, Goff takes 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 the past 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 will have 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 will graduate 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 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.
April 2007 Matthew Ferguson Wins 'Above & Beyond'
Award
MCRP student Matthew Ferguson won an “Above & Beyond Award"
from the Rutgers Office of Sexual Assault Services/Crime Victim
Assistance. A resident director, Matt recruited his staff and residents
to attend the RU Safe? program and volunteered his services
in creating a Men Against Sexual Assault group and recruiting members.
March 2007 Sophonie Joseph Awarded Fellowship
Undergraduate student Sophonie Joseph has won a fellowship for the
2007-2008 school year from the Minority Academic Careers Program
at the College of Saint Elizabeth in Morristown.
March 2007 Kevin Henry Gains Internship with Federal
Reserve Bank
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York awarded Kevin Henry, the first
student enrolled in the Bloustein School’s dual MPP-MBA program,
a position in its Graduate Summer Analyst Program.
December 2006 Robert Checchio Receives Grant Robert Checchio, Ph.D. student studying transportation and economics,
has been awarded a $2,000 grant by the Alfred L. and Constance C.
Wolf Aviation Fund to study the regional economic effects of new
aviation technology. The Wolf Aviation Fund was created to help
individuals work together in support of general aviation.
October 2006 Philip Ashton Receives Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) Barclay Gibbs Jones Award for Best Dissertation in Planning
Dissertation Title: "Advantage or Disadvantage? The Changing Institutional Landscape of Central City Mortgage Lending." David Listokin, Faculty Supervisor.
This award recognizes superior scholarship in a doctoral dissertation completed by a student enrolled in an ACSP-member school. The committee seeks a thesis that is original, well written, employs methods elegantly, offers lessons pertinent to central issues in the field of planning, and provides guidance about how planners or governments should make choices. Nominees must have received the doctoral degree in the two years preceding the deadline (May 2004 through June 2006). The work is expected to be presented at the 2006 ACSP Conference where the award is presented.
Past winners include: Kurt Paulsen (2005). Dissertation Title: "Land Use and Locational Justice: Land Use and Fiscal Policies of New Jersey Municipalities”. Donald Krueckeberg, Faculty Supervisor
Anna Laura Wolf-Powers (2004), Dissertation Title: "The Effect of Labor Market Intermediaries on Career Opportunity for Non-College-Educated Workers: A Supply-And Demand-Side Analysis". Ann Markusen, Faculty Supervisor.
Hans Goff, of Trenton, will be awarded a Master of Public Affairs and Politics, during the Bloustein School’s May 18 convocation ceremony. Hans has gained extensive political experience working on campaigns and in policy shops in three states, and across several levels of government. Enrolled at the Bloustein School and a Fellow at the Eagleton Institute of Politics, Goff takes particular interest in affordable housing policy.
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 