EJB Talks: Rutgers Bloustein School Experts

We return to our regularly scheduled EJB Talks this week with Bob Gordon, a Senior Policy Fellow who joined the Bloustein School earlier this year. Dean Stuart Shapiro asks Bob, a former New Jersey legislator and BPU Commissioner, about his path to public service. Bob talks about his early days as a policy analyst and how he discovered he wanted to be less behind the scenes and move into the policymaking side. He discusses the successes, missteps, and side steps that eventually led to his 14-year legislative term and eventual BPU role, as well as some key legislation he helped pass to improve accountability and transparency in government. He explained how some of his greatest pleasures and satisfaction came from working with everyday constituents to help them solve their problems. Stuart and Bob wrap up by discussing how students interested in politics and public service should be aware of the negative aspects of public life and always have a backup plan for their future but also be willing to focus on the good they will accomplish if they pursue a career serving the common good.

In a special post-election episode of EJB Talks, Dean Stuart Shapiro and Elizabeth Matto, Director of the Eagleton Institute of Politics, offer post-election insights on the impact of Donald Trump's 2024 presidential win. They explore the reasons for the former President's victory, and whether the Harris campaign could have done anything differently.  Dr. Matto emphasizes the continued importance of supporting and engaging students and fostering democratic participation in politics to strengthen American democracy and representation. They explore shifts in voter demographics, such as increased support for Trump among Latino men and the implications of this trend for both parties. Dean Shapiro takes a few minutes to reflect on potential policy shifts under a Trump administration, including tariffs, tax cuts, immigration restrictions, and shifts in foreign policy, all of which could impact various segments of the population and students at Rutgers.  They close by highlighting the significant representation milestones that were achieved in this election as crucial markers of representation and progress.

Stuart Shapiro welcomes back Amy Cobb MPAP '18 for a political update in the final EJB Talks episode of the spring 2024 season. They discuss the potential consequences of Trump's guilty verdict for falsifying business records in New York, particularly the consequences for the 2024 election. Agreeing that the verdict could hurt Trump's popularity, Stuart also speculates on how other factors like the closeness of the race, how campaigns may use the verdict, and pending Supreme Court cases involving Trump's criminal charges and immunity claims could play important roles. Overall he predicts a close election hinging on swing voters and legal developments, with the potential for additional post-election unrest if the results are not in the former president's favor.

In this episode of EJB Talks, Stuart Shapiro interviews Professor Michael Smart, beginning with how he became involved in transportation planning and its impact on poverty and racial bias. Professor Smart shares his background in transportation, discussing how his work with people reentering society after incarceration and the transportation challenges they faced led him to focus on this area. The conversation also covers Dr. Smart's research on the impact of living in transit-accessible areas and racial bias in traffic stops, drawing from innovative data sources like traffic cameras and cell phone data. Some of his results may surprise you.  Professor Smart emphasizes the importance of meaningful research that addresses pressing societal issues and aims to impact real-world problems, and as director of the school's doctoral program, he encourages doctoral students to pursue research driven by curiosity and relevance to today's challenges.

Our EJB Talks podcast this week features Joel Cantor⁠, Distinguished Professor of Public Policy and Director of the Rutgers Center for State Health Policy and Kathe Newman, Professor and Director of the Ralph W. Voorhees Center for Civic Engagement. They are part of a new Rutgers initiative, the Housing and Health Equity Cluster, which aims to address health equity issues through interdisciplinary collaboration across university departments. Professor Newman discusses how, through her urban planning work, she became interested in the connection between lack of affordable housing and poor health. Professor Cantor's research into the health conditions of vulnerable populations utilizing Medicaid was often linked to long-term chronic homelessness. They explain how housing and health issues are deeply intertwined, with one constantly impacting the other in a cycle that is difficult to break. The work of the HHE cluster seeks to better understand these relationships and challenges through data analysis informing policy solutions for a better future for permanent supportive housing.

This week Stuart Shapiro talks to Assistant Professor Emily Parker about her research interests in community health centers and how they originated from her work assisting with Affordable Care Act implementation in New York state. In this EJB Talks episode, she explains what federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) are and their history in serving underserved communities. Parker discusses how FQHCs have avoided partisanship despite being government-funded, in part by appearing private and not emphasizing their government support. Her qualitative research has found that many patients were unaware and even surprised, of the government support of FQHCs. Shapiro also asks about Parker's place-based policy research on programs that target funding geographically, and how that fits in in her new surroundings at the Bloustein School. Having a health policy research background, Parker is looking forward to understanding her research from the different methodological approaches of her new urban planning colleagues.