EJB Talks: Rutgers Bloustein School Experts

Stuart Shapiro welcomes Assistant Professor Kelcie Ralph from Bloustein's highly ranked Urban Planning Program to this week's EJB Talks to discuss her research on pedestrian and bike safety. Professor Ralph reveals that her personal experience traveling--sans automobile--made her determined to focus on safety in her research. She discusses how the use of certain language, and the shift to victim-blaming by the media when reporting crashes, changes the dynamic from a public health issue to a personal issue. Professor Ralph also explains the origins of the language the media uses in reporting bike/ped accidents, how simple but changeable safety aspects such as speed limits are developed, and how some localities have made positive policy changes to improve safety.

On our fourth episode of season 3, Professor Shapiro welcomes back Professor Carl Van Horn to discuss the newest survey from The Heldrich Center on Workforce Development. Surprisingly, survey results showed that the public shares widespread agreement regarding the state of the economy and what the response to joblessness should be.  There is also a persistent concern that for the first time in memory, future generations may be worse off than their parents.  Van Horn and Shapiro then delve into the priorities for economic policy at the federal and state level with regards to joblessness and economic security.

This episode of EJBTalks brings a fan favorite and an exceptional Bloustein faculty member back to the studio as Stuart Shapiro and Professor Dawne Mouzon have a second conversation on health and economic disparities.  They discuss the disparate impact COVID-19 continues to have on Black and Brown communities, why a community so greatly affected is the most apprehensive about taking a vaccine, and the necessity of an equitable response to this public health crisis. Dr. Mouzon also discusses how the Biden administration can most effectively craft its response to the pandemic and other issues affecting our most vulnerable populations.

In this season's second episode of EJB Talks, Stuart Shapiro welcomes dual Bloustein School alumnus Jacob Persily '16 (Health Administration), MHA '19. Jacob works around the corner from the Bloustein School as an acute care administrator at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. He and Stuart discuss the potential and the challenges associated with the critical rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine. Jacob also highlights how the disparate healthcare system in the U.S. has compelled the hospital sector, typically resistant to change, to embrace adaptability to better serve the public.

EJB Talks returns for its third season! Stuart Shapiro will kick off 2021 by looking forward after a year of tumult to the post-pandemic world in health, planning and policy. In this first episode, he talks with Associate Dean and Professor, Clint Andrews, about the future of urban planning and how smart building technologies contribute to safety and improving the environment. They also discuss how behavioral changes arising from COVID19 will likely affect building decisions and urban planning trends for decades to come.

For the season two finale of EJB Talks, Stuart Shapiro talks to Amy Cobb to give us a glimpse ahead at the political and policy prospects for 2021. From the good news of vaccine development and distribution to the more worrisome economic conditions to the first 100 days of the Biden presidency, Professor Shapiro gives a hopeful but reality-based forecast of what our country and the world has in store. The pair also give a quick peek at the third season of EJBTalks which will return in January.  Happy 2021 everyone!

Professor Shapiro welcomes Judge Paul Armstrong, Senior Policy Fellow and Judge in Residence at Bloustein, this week on EJB Talks.  COVID-19 has raised important ethical issues surrounding patient care and the distribution of vaccines. Stuart talks to Judge Armstrong about being the recipient of the Lighthouse Award from the New Jersey Commission on Professionalism and the Law, which reflects the Judge's incredible career achievements in ethics and the law.  They discuss ethical issues in health care that Judge Armstrong played a part in such as the Quinlan case and Baby M and how these incredibly important landmark cases have now prepared him to serve on New Jersey's Advisory Committee on COVID-19.

On this episode of EJB Talks, Stuart Shapiro welcomes Bloustein Alumnus and Advisory Board Member, Jason Redd, Esq. BS (Public Health) ‘01, MCRP ’04.  They discuss how public health, urban planning, and policy can interact to improve people’s lives, as well as how all three disciplines have impacted Jason's career.  Jason also shares his experience as a volunteer observing the 2020 general election absentee ballot canvas in Blair County, PA as well as and his thoughts on the controversies that have followed the election.

It's the day after the 2020 General Election. After a long night of watching returns, Stuart Shapiro talks with Amy Cobb about the what happened yesterday, the current state of results and where we may be in the coming weeks. 

This season, Stuart Shapiro has invited our newest faculty members to share their research.  In this episode, the last in this series of seven, he welcomes Professor of Public Policy Jermaine Toney, who studies the relationship between race, family wealth, parental income, and the income and prosperity of future generations. Professor Toney discusses the importance of understanding the past and the current systematic gaps that still weigh on Black households and talks about developing policy solutions for these inequalities.