Images of Rutgers-Newark

Rutgers Day 2011: Lego my Rutgers-Newark

2011-05-02T16:08:00.001-04:00

Who doesn't like Legos?

This past Saturday we participated in the annual Rutgers Day festivities with a tent on the College Avenue campus in New Brunswick. We shared a tent with Rutgers-Camden - who had some great giveaways and carnival games. Our theme was "Lego my Rutgers-Newark" and we invited the young and the young-at-heart to help us build a campus out of Legos. We had great weather and a lot of happy visitors stop by throughout the day to help us. Here are some of the highlights

One of our first little architects takes some creative liberties with our campus design.


Collaborating on a more colorful version of our campus quad, complete with students & teachers

This young Rutgers fan recreated our soccer field

For more photos, check out the Rutgers-Day gallery on our Facebook page. For more on the other Rutgers Day events, check out the official website at http://rutgersday.rutgers.edu/

Toni Morrison at Rutgers University, Newark

2011-04-29T10:45:00.002-04:00

On April 26, 2011, Toni Morrison read from a work-in-progress to a packed house at the Paul Robeson Student Center. She was the finale to the 2010-11 Writers at Newark reading series hosted by the MFA program and the Institute on Ethnicity, Culture and the Modern Experience.

Newark Mayor Cory Booker introduced Toni Morrison as one of his "living heroes" and told the audience that he considered it a great early birthday present to be able to meet her. Below, a snapshot from what looks like a very animated conversation with her in the green room before her reading. Don't they both look happy to meet each other?

Toni Morrison announced to gasps in the audience that she would read from a work-in-progress.

After the reading, Toni Morrison (right) answers questions from MFA director Jayne Anne Phillips.

Despite the large crowd, the night was relaxed and intimate. At one point during the Q&A, Toni Morrison even interrupted herself to acknowledge Amiri Baraka in the crowd with an "Amiri! You finally got here?"

After the reading she signed books for a half hour.

You can read more about the event at NJ.com and view the complete photo gallery on the Rutgers University, Newark Facebook page

Now Playing: An Island Vacation in Mid-Winter

2011-03-03T09:44:00.002-05:00

A cold front moved in to Newark last night, leaving us with a chilly high somewhere in the mid-30s for today (I don't know about the rest of you, but it feels even colder than that to me!).

Luckily for us, even if we can't get away to a sunny Caribbean island, we can at least temporarily escape the cold and imagine ourselves there - all without ever leaving Newark - with the Rutgers-Newark/NJIT Theatre production of "Once on This Island," a tale of love and class conflict set in the French Antilles. (But hurry, the final performance is Sunday, March 6)

Check out some behind the scenes of "Once On This Island" with words from director Michael Kerley about the production which opened yesterday. Video by Rodney Reyes.

The Rutgers-NJIT Theatre Program presents ONCE ON THIS ISLAND books and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens. Music by Stephen Flaherty. Based on the novel “My Love, My Love” by Rosa Guy. Directed by Michael Kerley.

Performances at the Jim Wise Theatre, Kupfrian Hall, NJIT Campus. March 2-5 at 7pm and March 6 at 2:30pm. Tickets $12 General, $10 Students/Seniors. Go to http://theatre.njit.edu/ for tickets and more info.

Muslims Confront Fundamentalism

2011-02-25T12:18:00.003-05:00

Law Professor and activist on behalf of human rights law & international women's rights Karima Bennoune was interviewed by My9 News last on the demonstrations and growing demands for democracy in the Mideast.

Karima has recently returned from Algiers, and says, "When I was at the protests in Algiers, people talked about what had happened in Egypt. They said, yesterday Egypt; today, Algiers."

Here's the video:

Most Want End To U.S. Aid To Arab Nations: My9TV.com

Karima's work has placed her in harm's way in countries from Afghanistan to Thailand. On March 3, she'll accept the 2011 Chancellors Distinguished Faculty Award and discuss the struggle waged within Muslim majority societies and populations against fundamentalism. The program is free and open to the public. More information on the event is available on the Rutgers-Newark events calendar

Find out more about Karima Bennoune on the Rutgers-Newark Newscenter

Remember Spring?

2011-02-17T12:30:00.001-05:00

It's an early spring in New Jersey - for a few days anyway - and the warm weather has inspired me to pull up some of the great campus photography taken over the past few springs. All the photos were taken by professional photographer Theo Anderson.

Check out the lush greenery and pastel blossoms all over campus (not to mention our great-looking students!)

Students walking on Norman Samuels Plaza

View of the Golden Dome and downtown Newark, NJ

Hula-hooping on the Norman Samuels Plaza

Students on the New Street Plaza

For more spring photos, check out our Facebook gallery

Beijing High School Visit

2011-01-26T12:51:00.002-05:00

File this one under Jersey Roots, Global Reach - on Tuesday, Jan 25th, Rutgers-Newark hosted a group of middle and high school students from the Yuncol School in Beijing, China. Led by 2 current undergraduates, they toured the campus and learned about math and computer science.

The program was organized by the department of Math & Computer Science in the hopes of starting an exchange program with the school. Dr. Chengwen Wang and Program Director Sue Tel put the day together for the 12 students and 2 teachers that participated.

Below, students look through their welcome bags filled with Rutgers gear.

Students listen to the presentations.

Students toured the campus, led by freshman Jennifer Somai (front, in the black coat) and Serafina Smith, a junior in the Business School (in the gray coat and hoodie).

Many thanks to Lois Catala for taking and sending these photos!

Rutgers in the Snow

2011-01-07T11:22:00.000-05:00

It's snowing again in New Jersey today. We're not supposed to get nearly the huge accumulation as we did a week ago - a mere 3-6 inches, they say - but it is sticking, so this morning I decided to take some photos walking through campus.

New Street Plaza and the Center for Law & Justice

The Rutgers-Newark arch on University Avenue

For a few more photos, check out our Facebook gallery. If you've got great snow photos that you want to share, please send them to me.

It's still coming down, so stay safe out there whether you're driving, walking, or taking mass transit!

Happy Holidays from Rutgers Newark!

2010-12-23T08:00:00.000-05:00

Campus is closed from December 24, 2010 until January 3, 2011. If you are taking Winter Session classes, please visit their website for more info

Mauricio Delgado on receiving the Presidential Early Career Award

2010-12-22T13:14:00.003-05:00

Only 85 researchers nationwide are chosen each year to receive the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, and this year Rutgers Assistant Professor Mauricio Delgado is one of the select few. Delgado is on faculty in the Psychology Department at Rutgers University, Newark.

Mauricio writes:
On December 13, 2010, I had the distinct honor and pleasure of meeting President Obama. There were 85 recipients of the Presidential Award and we were all eagerly awaiting the President's arrival. It had been a full day of ceremonies with our families and nominating scientific agencies, but at the auditorium at the White House that afternoon everyone was quite excited about the main event. The President arrived to rousing applause by the award recipients and gave a brief, yet passionate speech about science and society. He posed for the group shot and then took the time to shake everyone's hand. It was an unforgettable experience. I am very thankful for having shared it with my family as well as for all the support I have received at Rutgers.

President Barack Obama poses for a group photo with the 2009 Recipients for the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers in the South Court Auditorium of the White House Dec. 13, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

(Where's Mauricio? Right behind the president, slightly to the right. Click on the photo for a larger version)

Read the full press release on Delgado's award at the Rutgers-Newark Newscenter

Branch Brook Park in Winter

2010-12-06T14:58:00.000-05:00

Branch Brook Park, with a view of Sacred Heart Basilica in Newark, NJ

Photo by Helen Paxton

Mayhem visits Rutgers Newark

2010-11-29T10:26:00.002-05:00

You know those "Mayhem" commercials from AllState Insurance? Well, keep an eye out for a new ad in the series, filmed on our own streets of Newark, NJ. Brad Armstrong took some photos of the shoot for us to preview.

Mayhem's damage:

A couple of photos of the film crew working

No real humans were harmed in the making of this commercial. The dummy below looks like it's seen better days though.

Mayhem driving through Halsey St. the wrong way (note: Halsey is a one-way street). In the commercial, the GPS told the driver to make a turn onto the street, even though it's a one-way in the other direction. Anyone with GPS ever had something similar happen?

Ever wonder how they get the close up video while driving? Check out the camera set up below:

This isn't the first time Halsey St. was filmed. Check out photos from the filming of Cadillac Records where Halsey doubled as 1950s Chicago.

Fall at Rutgers Newark

2010-10-22T16:11:00.000-04:00

Getting brisk out there and the leaves are turning! Ryan Lagansoa, who is studying Information Systems and plans to graduate in 2011, sent some wonderful photos of foliage around campus.

Aren't the colors on these gorgeous?

Thanks Ryan!

Why do so many students in urban areas drop out of high school?

2010-10-15T13:42:00.004-04:00

Taimer Singleton, Program Coordinator for the Abbott Leadership Institute sent me this video.

It's a teaser to the documentary called Dropped created by the Youth Media Symposium under the Abbott Leadership Institute, which is under the leadership of Junius Williams. The documentary explores why students in urban areas drop out of high school in such disproportionate rates, compared to their suburban peers. In addition to documenting these causes, the students have pinpointed more effective ways to improve urban schools and keep students engaged to ensure a higher graduation rate.

The teaser below is about four minutes long, but you can also view the full 15 minute documentary at http://vimeo.com/15164113

Dropped... (teaser) from Abbott Leadership Institute on Vimeo.

The mission of the Abbott Leadership Institute, located on the first floor of Bradley Hall and directed by Junius Williams, is to empower parents, students, educators and community advocates of Newark Public Schools and surrounding urban communities with information and knowledge of effective methods for education advocacy and family engagement in schools. You can learn more by visiting www.abbottleadership.org

GlassRoots 10 Year Annniversary

2010-10-07T13:50:00.000-04:00

As the only non-profit “hot shop” for young people in the greater New York metropolitan area, GlassRoots provides a nurturing environment in which otherwise underserved children can achieve self-esteem and creative expression while also learning basic business skills and valuable life lessons through the exploration of the unique art forms of glass making.

Working in the hotshop. Photo by Arthur Paxton

The program's founder, Patricia Kettenring, was honored Oct. 6, 2010 on the occasion of the 10th anniversary celebration for GlassRoots, which began at Rutgers, and which provides multiple opportunities for at-risk youth, ages 10-18, to realize their potential through the creation of glass art.

Kettenring is a long-time member of the Rutgers-Newark community, former director of Rutgers Business Schools' Business and the Arts program and currently teaching at Rutgers School of Public Affairs and Administration.

For more info. on GlassRoots, visit www.glassroots.org/

For a full gallery of photos from GlassRoots go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/rutgersnewark/sets/72157625115130704/

Great Night Photo!

2010-09-28T08:00:00.000-04:00

Student Ryan Vance sent this photo with the message, "Bridge Street was made for moments like this."

Great thing you were there to catch it on camera! I love night photos.

Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign

2010-09-24T09:00:00.001-04:00

Farrukh Salikhov, a Program Coordinator for the Writing Program, sent in a batch of photos from all around campus. Here's a sampling:

Photo below; top row l-r: signage, Engelhard Hall. Bottom row l-r: FedEx pickup on New Street Plaza, the Center for Urban and Public Service (formerly the Management Education Center, which is what is says on the photo)

Below, top row l-r: Dana Library, The Rutgers Arch. Bottom row, l-r: The arch from a different angle, the Norman Samuels Plaza outside the library.

Keep the great photos coming! Look forward to seeing more of them.

A Rutgers Newark Student in Australia

2010-09-20T11:15:00.003-04:00

Check out these great photos from Down Under!

Natalie Cacace writes,

I'm a Senior with a degree in Marketing, graduating Fall 2010. I studied abroad for a semester during Fall 2008 to Sydney, Australia at Macquarie University. Thanks to Rutgers, I had the most memorable time of my life, meeting amazing people from all over the world, and meeting my boyfriend Jethro (who recently this semester transferred to Rutgers Newark to be with me and will be finishing his degree here!).

This first photo (above left) was in Canberra, Australia, which is the capital of Australia. I went on a Global Leadership Symposium and it took us on a tour of the capital for 4 days. At this trip, I met many international students, and 2 were from Rutgers New Brunswick!

Thanks for sharing your amazing trip with us! Love that you got to feed a kangaroo while you were there!

1 Washington Park

2010-09-13T13:22:00.002-04:00

Foong Soon Cheong, an assistant professor in the Rutgers Business School, sent me some photos of the new(ish) digs at 1 Washington Park, which officially opened last Fall. This one showing the Newark light rail in the foreground is my favorite:

Right next door to the Business School is the Newark Public Library. Did you know that library cards are not just for residents of Newark? If you're a students faculty or employee in Newark you're also eligible! I've gotten tons of great books here, and it's a beautiful building to visit.

Foong Soon Cheong has many more photos, not just of Rutgers, but also Jersey City and other locations, at http://www.panoramio.com/user/4586134

More on 1 Washington Park at http://www.business.rutgers.edu/files/rbs_highlight_1wp_issue_5_oct_09.pdf and on the Rutgers Business School at http://business.rutgers.edu/

The Newark Public Library's website and full catalog available at http://www.npl.org/

Law School Blood Drive in Honor of 9/11

2010-09-10T16:40:00.002-04:00

WHAT: Blood Drive
WHEN: Tuesday September 14, noon to 5:30pm
WHERE: Center for Law & Justice (map & directions)

I don't usually publish such long entries, but Dean Andy Rothman of the Law School sent this to my inbox earlier today and I thought it was worth reading. He wrote the following:

Photo by Stephanie Lazzaro

As you are all probably aware, Saturday will mark the 9th anniversary of the bombing of the World Trade Towers and the Pentagon, and the attempted bombing of a third landmark, using commercial jets as weapons, and using the horrific deaths of the innocent men, women and children they carried and that were on site at the targets to deliver a message of hatred and terror.

As I look around me today, I find our headlines filed with the news of our own, domestic brand of hatred, fear and intolerance, purportedly in reaction to those who brought such destruction to lower Manhattan, and I am saddened by what seems to me to be the worst in human nature. At the same time, as the anniversary of the attack approaches, I am reminded of what I personally observed here in the days that followed, and I am heartened by what I remember as the very best.

Many of us were here nine years ago, and remember not just the horror as we saw first hand the smoke rise over lower Manhattan, but also the subsequent coalescence of this community. As just one example, transportation into and out of Newark and New York was impossible that day, and almost all communications grids were stalled for hours, and yet by 1:30 that afternoon, every single law student and employee of the law school had secured either a means to reach home, or a place to spend the night. And across the campus, temporary housing arrangements were made for those students and staff in other units that were not lucky enough to be able to get home. And the generosity of spirit on this campus lasted for weeks thereafter.

Plaque in the Norman Samuels Plaza in memory of the men and women of Rutgers lost in 9/11

Rutgers-Newark became a staging ground for rescue workers in the days that followed, with the Golden Dome Gymnasium being converted into a center for housing workers in their down shifts, and amassing and distributing needed goods for the workers and survivors. The entire Rutgers Newark community became important contributors to the workforce at the Golden Dome, with student volunteers putting aside their studies a little to serve a bigger purpose, working side by side with their faculty and staff comrades in an enterprise that was (for once) not school related.

At that time, I was besieged with inquiries as to whether the Law School could organize an on-site blood drive, on the assumption that the survivors were tapping out blood supplies, and that we could help.

Thus began what has become an annual tradition at Rutgers Law School: the September 11th Blood Drive. (Actually, semi-annual: we do it again on or around Valentine’s Day.) Each year, our contribution has grown.

The victims and their families deserve our continued remembrance. And so I ask that you all observe a moment of silence at 9:45 on Saturday, wherever you are. But I also ask that you experience the positive energy this institution generated in the wake of the bombing, and come together in the Atrium on Tuesday afternoon between noon and 5:30pm, with your sleeves rolled up, ready to give a little of yourself. I hope to see you there.

Andrew J. Rothman, Esq., Sr. Assistant Dean
Rutgers School of Law - Newark

P.S. The process for giving blood is a bit more complicated than just taking your place on a cot and rolling up a sleeve. You must first fill out a one-page questionnaire, intended to establish whether giving
blood would pose a health risk to you, and whether your experiences may risk contaminating the blood supply and endangering recipients of your donation. There are many who have argued that the questionnaire, which is mandated by federal law, is itself discriminatory, as it precludes blood donations from, among other groups, sexually active gay and bisexual men, and from people who have recently traveled to certain countries.

I nevertheless encourage you all to welcome the Blood Bank on Tuesday, and to fill out the questionnaire, even if you are certain that you will be turned away. The Blood Bank is not the author of the regulations that require it to ask these questions, and I can think of no better means of protesting than to arm the Blood Bank with the stack of potential donors it had to turn away, as it lobbies for changes in the regulations. And blood supplies are once again low – for instance, right now, 0- blood is at a one day supply and b- blood is at a two day supply.

More Move in Day Photos

2010-09-10T12:43:00.001-04:00

Wow, (some) people actually do read those emails that get sent out. Thanks for all the great recent photos! If you haven't heard back from me yet, rest assured I've seen your submissions and am slowly getting to them all.

Recently I posted a photo of Mayor Cory Booker visiting the campus for move-in day (here)

Angie Bonilla sent me a link to the official Woodward Hall Facebook page with lots more photos like these:

No need for the gym after lifting these weights!

Friends and family:

The residence life crew:

Thanks Angie! You can see the full gallery here (you'll need a Facebook account).

Move in Day; Request for Submissions!

2010-09-03T16:24:00.002-04:00

Welcome back to school! Hope everyone had a fabulous and relaxing summer.

Just got this photo in from Angie Bonilla in Housing and Residence Life. Guess who stopped in to say hi on move-in day? Newark's very own Mayor Cory Booker!

What did you do this summer? If you took any great photos or (short!) video and would like to share your experience with the Rutgers community, send them over to eluongo@andromeda.rutgers.edu along with your name and a short description.

Blacklight Project: Art and Social Justice

2010-08-30T13:51:00.005-04:00

Thanks to the folks at Rutgers Today for creating this video!

The Blacklight Project brings together young people to express themselves through dance and other forms of art in the name of building community in Newark. Aimee Cox, who teaches African-American and African Studies at Rutgers-Newark, spearheads the project.

For more information, visit http://www.theblacklightproject.org/.

The Global History of Soccer

2010-07-06T12:54:00.004-04:00

If you've been reading the blog, you'll know that this summer a class on the Global History of Soccer is being offered for the first time at Rutgers Newark. (And what great timing! Students get to watch the World Cup while studying about it)

This class was featured yesterday on the front page of the MLS (Major League Soccer) website. Check out the article: Class is in for soccer-centric students at Rutgers-Newark

In the article the professor and creator of the class, Dr. Thomas McCabe is quoted as saying, “I get to teach the class I was never able to take.” and that “Going to the Scots-American Club and discussing religion and the Old Firm and getting to hear someone who grew up in Glasgow address the class on how the religious divide gets played out in Celtic Park or Ibrox or Kearny, N.J. ... It’s a real scratch-and-sniff history that you wouldn’t get sitting in an ordinary class.”

In case you missed the great video Rutgers Today created a couple of weeks ago, take a look at my previous post - Learning from the World Cup

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On an unrelated note, just because it's summer doesn't mean I'm not still looking for great photos/videos. You may have noticed we recently rebranded the blog as "Rutgers-Newark on - and off - the plaza", so let the world know what Rutgers is up to for summer vacation!

Learning from the World Cup

2010-06-21T11:02:00.001-04:00

Here's a summer class I wouldn't mind going to!

Students in the Professor McCabe's Global History of Soccer course are learning how the most popular game in the world has been part of global history.

The World Cup runs until July 11 - Come join them as they watch a World Cup game at the Sport Club Portugues social club in the heart of Newark's Portuguese community.

A Match Made at Rutgers

2010-05-26T08:03:00.004-04:00

The photo at left may well be my favorite photo submission since I started the blog and not just because of the cute smiling faces.

School of Criminal Justice masters' grad Brian O'Hara sent me this adorable photo taken at last Friday's ceremony along with this caption:

Adriana Garcia & Brian O'Hara, classmates in SCJ MA 2010, will be married October 2, 2010.

Congratulations to both of you on your academic achievements and your upcoming wedding!

Below, some fellow graduates pose with the happy couple:

Executive MPA and SPAA/Graduate School Commencement

2010-05-25T16:34:00.002-04:00

Terri Buccarelli sent these photos from last week's Graduate School and School of Public Affairs ceremony in the Golden Dome, and the Pi Alpha Alpha induction.

It was a very rainy, wet day, but that didn't stop some 400 or so Masters and PhDs from being conferred, as well as the first 2 Bachelors in Public Service.

At left, Dean of the School of Public Affairs and Administration Marc Holzer with two Pi Alpha Alpha inductees. Below, he's pictured again with another inductee (far left) and Associate Dean Judith Kirchhoff (center).

Getting ready for the ceremony:

The eMPA grads pose for a group photo before the ceremony:

Thanks for the great photos! Anyone nostalgic or curious on what the guest speaker, our very own Dr. Glenn Shafer, had to say to the new grads and their guests, the transcript is on our commencement website

Submit your Graduation Photos

2010-05-18T13:10:00.002-04:00

Congratulations to the class of 2010! Graduation ceremonies have been
underway since yesterday and will continue until the Law School ceremony
on May 28. If you took or plan to take great photos or video of any of the
ceremonies, send them over and I'll post a selection throughout the next
couple of weeks. Send photos to eluongo@andromeda.rutgers.edu.

For more photos, speaker and student bios and information on Commencement
2010, go to www.newark.rutgers.edu/commencement

2010 Open House

2010-05-12T10:17:00.001-04:00

On Saturday, April 17, 2010, Rutgers-Newark hosted the spring campus-wide Open House. We had a large turnout of enthusiastic potential students and their families, along with many student, faculty and staff volunteers from around the campus.

One of our admissions officers, Carrie Alesiani, sent these great photos and writes:

The Office of Graduate & Undergraduate Admissions would like to extend our sincerest thanks to everyone who came out in support. This event would not be possible without the countless volunteer hours our campus-community donates.

While the weather was a little chilly and dreary, we still hosted 731 students and 1,605 total guests at Open House! Combined with Alumni Relation's Reunion (view photos on Flickr), the campus was certainly bustling.

WE THANK YOU! This event is truly a team effort. We sincerely appreciate your participation and enthusiasm. The Admissions Office is busy planning a whole new season of recruitment events and already looking forward to future Open Houses.

For more photos of this and other events, please visit the Rutgers-Newark Photo Gallery.

Education in Times of Emergency

2010-05-05T10:50:00.008-04:00

DGA Director Simon Reich with Meryl Streep

Wednesday, April 21, 2010- Ambassador Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser of Qatar’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations hosted a book launch for Even Chaos: Education in Times of Emergency (Center for International Humanitarian Cooperation and Fordham University Press). Simon Reich, Director of the Division of Global Affairs at Rutgers Newark, was one of 18 panelists who were welcomed by over 65 guests.

"Even in Chaos," by Dr. Kevin Cahill (Fordham University) emphasizes the need for education in refugee camps, as well as the importance of safety from militia attacks. Reich’s chapter, ‘Establishing Safe Learning Environments,’ addresses the need for the protection and education of African children living in refugee camps due to conflict.

Actress Meryl Streep and panel discussant emphasized that, "young lives can be saved by the order and safety of school, It lets children know: here you are safe. Here there’s understanding. Here there is care. Here there’s a future and here’s how you’re going to get there.”

Other contributors to the volume included, Her Highness Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al Missned, wife of the Qatari Emir and legendary poet Maya Angelou, who contributed a closing poem to the volume. The issue of continuing education in crises, such as in conflict and in natural disasters, has become a central issue for UNDP’s Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery, UNESCO and within policy circles over last several years. This edited volume, the 8th of its kind, is an important resource for the international community to draw from with respect to employing greater advocacy and in effectively implementing best practices.

Meryl Streep listens attentively to DGA Director Simon Reich

Earth Day

2010-04-30T11:53:00.005-04:00

On April 21 and 23 over ninety students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends put on their gardening clothes and helped make Newark green and beautiful - and had a lot of fun doing it!

On the first day, the volunteers weeded and pruned the campus bird gardens. Yes, you read that right - we have over 100 types of birds visiting campus year round; in fact our resident expert, Professor Claus Holzapfel, is running bird watching tours every week in May.

Thank you to everyone for all their hard work!

Does this look like Newark? Well, it is!!

This year, we also installed a bird 'water feature' (aka a small pond) in the garden near Smith Hall.

NJN even stopped by to interview some of our students about the event.

On Friday everyone went over to the Newark Conservancy's Urban Education Garden on Prince St. and helped them with their compost heap - which according to Carlos, our liaison at the Conservancy, they save up special just for Rutgers every year.

Below, one of our students becomes a human sun dial.

Photos above are by Rebecca Yuschak, Helen Paxton, and myself. To see more photos, go to our Earth Day Photo Album

Honoring a Pioneer of Human Rights from Nigeria

2010-04-15T16:52:00.000-04:00

A remarkable group of women attended a special breakfast last Friday at Rutgers-Newark, to honor a pioneer of human rights, the Honorable Abike Dabiri Erewa, chairman, House Committee on Diaspora Affairs, Nigeria Federal House of Representatives.

The breakfast was jointly hosted by Rutgers-Newark Vice Chancellor Marcia Brown and the Honorable Sheila Oliver, speaker, New Jersey Assembly; and organized by Lorna Johnson, CEO of Global Linkages, Inc. and a alumna of Rutgers School of Law-Newark.

R-N graduate student Yetunde Odugbesan, whose family is from Nigeria, said:

"It was an honor to be in a room filled with such great and powerful women leaders that I admire. Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa is not only an inspiration to me but to Nigerians all over the world. She is leading the way for young leaders like myself to make a difference in their homeland and communities. City Council President Mildred Crump said at the breakfast meeting that, 'A powerful woman does not have to shout, she only has to whisper and the whole world will hear.' I believe this quote attributes to the hard work so many women are humbly doing all over the world and especially in our own communities. That our power is not in what we say but how we lead. It is our leadership, talents, skills, intelligence and so much more that speaks for us. This was a meeting filled with empowerment, motivation, and hope. It gave me the assurance that nothing can stop a women who has made up her mind to change the world, absolutely nothing. "

This event was a kick-off to a project that will promote and support economic and educational exchanges between New Jersey and Nigeria.

All photos are by Helen Paxton, director of Communications at Rutgers-Newark

Al Quds Palestinian Cognitive Neuroscience Team in Abu Dis, West Bank

2010-03-25T11:32:00.008-04:00

Mark Gluck, Professor of Neuroscience at Rutgers-Newark, has long been involved in building research and educational links between Rutgers and Israel, especially with Hebrew University, Tel Aviv University, and Haifa University. Additionally, he has as organized several Israeli-Palestinian cooperative programs in brain research. More recently, he has been working in the West Bank Palestinian Territories with Al Quds University Medical School to create a Rutgers/Al Quds Brain Research Exchange in which Rutgers-Newark Neuroscience faculty and students work with Palestinian colleagues and students in the West Bank to study cognitive deficits related to Parkinson's disease and depression. For more information on Gluck's Israel programs, see http://www.memory.rutgers.edu//memory/israel.html

Pictured in the photos below: Mark Gluck with students

The new exchange with Al Quds University is described at: http://www.alquds.rutgers.edu/

Spring Sports Retro Friday!

2010-03-19T16:27:00.001-04:00

Maybe it's the downright balmy weather we've been having or the fact that it's spring break and my classmates and teachers alike are updating their Facebook pages with messages about travel and relaxation, or maybe it's because I just spent a few hours in the Dana Library thumbing through old Rutgers Newark yearbooks, but I'm feeling a) like I need to go for a run outside after work today, and b) just a little nostalgic.

So I've dug out these old spring sport photos from our archives for your entertainment.

At left, baseball - unknown date.

Below:basketball, unknown date.

Runners on Bleeker Street (that's NJIT's Eberhardt Hall in the background). 1970s??

Tennis, anyone? This one's from Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries. Taken on Rector St. in the 1940s

GlassBook Project - new class, new collection

2010-03-12T12:37:00.011-05:00

You might remember a previous post by student Samantha Glovin, who travelled to a Hollywood awards ceremony with the first collection of glass books last fall and is in the process of filming a documentary about the project.

This semester saw the official launch of the national GlassBook Project, which started a year ago at Rutgers-Newark, who is again leading the way by presenting the first of the state collections. This project looks at the sometimes misunderstood ways trauma survivors cope with their experiences and attempts to remove the stigma and stereotypes that we often associate with them. The NJ project focused on changed relationships after domestic violence, and the collection was unveiled on March 4. Student Alicia Velicky posted about it on her personal blog, veliquified, and has graciously agreed to let me use some of her photos and words.

Alicia writes in her blog: Being a part of this project, well first off, I feel privileged. It's been an interesting couple of weeks in making these glass books. In class we have heard and read many stories from survivors of domestic violence, and I'm sure everyone in class can agree, it's been very emotional. My heart is aching for all those survivors who went through things they should have never gone through. We made books out of glass from the survivor's point of view. The healing process is not an easy journey and we wanted to carry this understanding through these books so that the public will be more aware of this.

At right; Fishbowl, by Heriberto Maldonado

from his Artist statement: Have you taken the time to view a fish in its bowl? So peaceful and yet very confined. One may simply stare at such a marvel of life and even tap the glass to get the fish’s attention. Now place yourself in that bowl, along with those visible bruises on your face.

Sorry my baggage brings you down, by Professor Nick Kline

Jenna Risano's piece

There are many more photos on Alicia's blog and the GlassBook Project Facebook group

Full disclaimer: I've been involved in the project from the beginning, creating a book for both the first class and this current one, so I'm far from unbiased on this one!

Sitar and Tabla Concert in Dana Library

2010-03-05T15:17:00.006-05:00

Yesterday afternoon the Dana Library was filled with the sounds of sitar and tabla. Indrajit Roy-Chowdhury and Dibyarka Chatterjee performed an hour long set of classical Indian music. I took a few photos that Mary Grace Oania (who also took these awesome Homecoming photos last year) edited for me.

The concert featured what's called an afternoon raga. A raga is traditional Indian music going back thousands of years. There are ragas for each time of the day. I hope to have a video on our YouTube channel once it's edited and approved.

Indrajit and Dibyarka were really great and down to earth and they taught the audience a few things about the instruments and music. Did you know that the big bowl part of the sitar is not made from wood, but rather from a hollowed out gourd? And that the frets on a sitar move up and down for each tuning?

The tabla is just as fascinating. For one, it can be tuned. Dibyarka played it more like a piano than a percussion instrument; his fingers flying all over the place.

Similar to jazz, there is a lot of improvisation and conversation back and forth between the musicians, which was very impressive and seamless. And all the more amazing when we found out that while Indrajit and Dibyarka are both highly accomplished performers, this was actually the first time they'd ever played together.

This concert was part of the Arts at Newark series; the next concert will be the New York Scandia Quartet performing at the Robeson Gallery on March 31. (More details)

Lessons from Iceland

2010-02-18T17:03:00.001-05:00

Law Professor Mark S. Weiner (pictured below) spent the fall 2009 semester as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Akureyi in Iceland, where he taught U.S. constitutional law and studied the country’s medieval clans, or kinship groups, and their relation to the growth of modern Icelandic law and society.

What he learned about the role of kinship in early Iceland shed light on efforts to develop the rule of law in current clan-based regions of the world, including those that nurture international terrorism. The Fulbright experience, says Weiner, “has fundamentally transformed my thinking about legal history and constitutional law in ways I hope to bring back with me when I return to Rutgers School of Law–Newark.”

Weiner will discuss kinship and the law in his February 23 Chancellor’s Distinguished Faculty Lecture and in a new book on the legal and cultural significance of clans.

He discusses his five-month Icelandic experience in this essay

For a slideshow of more spectacular photos from Iceland, go to
http://law.newark.rutgers.edu/files/u/WeinerIceland.pdf

Law Dean John Farmer on The Colbert Report

2010-01-22T16:15:00.003-05:00

Last night one of our very own was interviewed by Stephen Colbert on Comedy Central's The Colbert Report. Rutgers Newark Law School Dean and professor John Farmer went on the show to talk about his book, The Ground Truth: The Untold Story of America Under Attack on 9/11

You can view the full interview here (courtesy of hulu.com):

For more information on John Farmer, visit his profile on the School of Law's website.

Something in the way he moves: bringing the science of body language perception to Dr. Oz

2010-01-13T15:52:00.017-05:00

[ Today's post is written by Ashley Blanchard, Rutgers University graduate student. Ashley can be contacted at ablanchard@psychology.rutgers.edu ]

To what great lengths will men go to appease their wives or girlfriends? That question was recently answered when three men, in relationships of varying lengths, agreed to be on The Dr. Oz Show. (At left, Arthur Bakai suits up)

In preparation for the show, all three men came to the Motion Capture Lab in the Psychology department at Rutgers-Newark to have their walking motions recorded within our motion capture system. Each man had to wiggle into a tight fitting lycra outfit and stand still while James Thomas, another graduate student in Maggie Shiffrar’s lab, and I carefully attached 30 sensors to the joints of his limbs and head. In this thoroughly uncomfortable situation, each man sighed that he couldn’t believe what he let his partner talk him into. Aaah, what men will do in the name of love. (Below, Joe Zilder stands still while Dr. Schiffrar, John Franchek and Ashley Blanchard arrange the equipment)

After being suited up, the men were asked to walk casually within a 3 x 4 meter capture area while our system measured the 3D locations of each of the 30 sensors several times per second. After collecting these motion capture data, each of the men was freed from the sensors and lycra suit. Let me tell you, after an hour or two, these guys were happy to be done with motion capture technology. Our lab manager and technician extraordinaire, John Franchak, took the motion capture data from each man and used it to construct a point-light movie of each man’s gait. These movies show only the locations of the moving sensors and thus are devoid of the face and bodily form information visible in typical movies. Previous research has demonstrated that naive observers can determine a person’s gender, identity, mood, and even the intention to deceive from the movements of these points. The Dr. Oz Show plans on showing these point-light movies to the partners of these men to determine whether the women could identify their partner, and if so, whether women in longer relationships were better able to identify their partner’s gait. Past research on action perception from our lab suggests that this should be the case. (At right, the last participant of the day, James Davis, has a little fun in his suit)

Above, what the computer sees - these images will be cleaned up and an anonymous 'body' will be overlayed so that it will look like a person walking.

For more information on motion capture technology and our research on the visual perception of body language, please visit the ROAR (Research on Autism at Rutgers) website.

Note: This episode was taped on Jan 12th and has not yet aired. Visit The Dr. Oz Show for more information.

Fed Challenge Team Beats Harvard, Northwestern to Win 2nd Place

2010-01-06T15:56:00.009-05:00

On Dec. 2, 2009, students Lakshya Aeri, Sharissa Barrow, Victor Castaneda, Diego LaFuente and Michael Martins scored a second place finish - beating Harvard and Northwestern Business Schools, and winning a $15,000 award from the Moody’s Foundation - at the national finals of the ninth annual College Fed Challenge. Their coach is Economics Department Chair John Graham.

The team is pictured at left on the steps of the the Federal Reserve in Washington DC.

Just before the break, I managed to get in contact with Sharissa Barrow for her thoughts on the experience. (That's her smiling from her perch in Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke's chair!)

This is what she had to say:

"The College Fed Challenge is hard work. Preparation requires extensive and constant reading, analysis of data, and an understanding of both macroeconomic theory and the economic and financial systems. At the beginning of the semester, I knew very little about the Federal Reserve or about the intricacies of the economy. That has certainly changed; changed so much in fact that my daily routine now includes following the release of data for key economic indicators and reading the Wall Street Journal and speeches.

That said, participating in the Fed Challenge has been the most remarkable experience of my college career. Not only have I learned more in two to three months than I would have ever expected, but I was able to work as a part of a team that was made up of some very bright people. Professor Graham was fantastic—his patience and dedication to getting us through the competition were unbelievable.

The team poses in the boardroom of the Federal Reserve before the competition

Then there was Washington. Beating Harvard and Northwestern was certainly a feat. We didn’t win, but we did break a tradition—Harvard and Northwestern are no longer the only schools to have placed first and second in the competition. I am proud to have been a part of that! And being in the very room that the Federal Open Market Committee meets to discuss current economic conditions and sitting in Chairman Bernanke’s chair and shaking his hand weren’t so bad either :) !"

For more coverage of this story, see Rutgers Students Capture 2nd Place in National Contest

From the Archives: John Lennon

2009-12-08T10:10:00.003-05:00

29 years ago today, John Lennon was shot outside his hotel in New York City. In honor of the anniversary of his death, I'm pulling up a photo from our archives. But what does John Lennon have to do with Rutgers Newark?

(photo courtesy Special Collections & University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries)

A few years ago, I spent the better part of a day in the archives of the Alexander Library in New Brunswick, searching for photos from the Newark campus for our upcoming 100 year anniversary. One of the photos that immediately caught my eye, but that I was ultimately unable to use, was the one above, picturing, you guessed it, John Lennon (left, wearing his iconic glasses) with artist Al Hansen, who taught at Rutgers in Newark from 1967-74, according to the CV on www.alhansen.net.

As best I can figure it, John Lennon visited the campus sometime during that period (the photo, alas, was undated) - was he friends with Al Hansen? Did he perform here? Were any of you around during that time that can remember? I would love to hear from you!

The Art In Music

2009-11-20T12:55:00.011-05:00

This week the Robeson Galleries celebrated its 30th anniversary with several days of events and openings.

A free lunchtime concert in the gallery yesterday featured music celebrating composer/artists George Gershwin, Paul Hindemith and Edgard Varese, whose artwork can be seen on the poster at left. (you can enlarge the poster by clicking on it)

The concert also featured the world premiere of a piece by our very own Henry Martin called "A Gershwin Mosaic." It was a fantastic piece, and in case you missed it, I'm uploading the video to our YouTube channel as I type this. It's slightly over their 10 minute limit so I may need to cut it down, but I'll add a link here once it's up. [update: in the meantime, you can see Henry Martin explain his process for creating the piece]

Below, the musicians warm up before the concert. Henry Martin is sitting on the bench, listening intently.

Asmira Woodward-Page tells the audience about the first piece, Gerswhin's Lullaby.

Flutist Jill Sokol performs a solo

The musicians: Asmira Woodard-Page, Yuki Numata (violin), Soo Bae (cello) and Miranda Sielaff (viola)

A packed house!!

The artwork on the walls is also part of the gallery's anniversary exhibit, Exquisite Corpse, in which 39 artists from the NY/NJ area participated including several faculty and at least one alumna. The exhibit is up until April 18, 2010. Visit The Robeson Galleries web site for more information.

GlassBook Project Goes to Hollywood

2009-10-29T12:01:00.007-04:00

This week I'm giving over the reigns to student (and documentary filmmaker!) Samantha Glovin, who attended the celebrity-studded Voice Awards at the famed Paramount Studios in Hollywood earlier this month.

Sam was in Hollywood to continue filming a documentary about the GlassBook Project, which started right here at Rutgers-Newark last spring, as part of a book arts class offered by Instructor Nick Kline. I was also in that class with Nick and Sam last year, and feel particularly proud of how far we've come with what started as a class assignment.

Sam writes:

What an experience! My trip to Hollywood to film the Voice Awards with the GlassBook Project as the featured exhibit was something I never would have imagined when starting this project in January. The responses from people admiring the books I received from interviews, as well as filming the red carpet and the awards ceremony, although extremely nerve-racking, was a once in a lifetime experience and something I will never forget. Seeing the GlassBook Project in the center of the main foyer immediately next to the red carpet was mind-blowing. To imagine how far we've come in less than a year! The project has become so much more than just an assignment for class that has come and gone. We are truly making an impact with lasting effects. I am so thrilled to be given this opportunity and to be part of something that is truly spectacular.

Sam is pictured below with her trusty camera, filming part of the exhibit:
The project was introduced at the awards by actor Richard Dreyfuss:

GlassBook Project video. Branding was done by Rutgers-Newark professor Ned Drew and Brenda McManus

The people who started it all! Helga Luest, of Witness Justice, and Nick Kline

More photos of the books can be found on the GlassBook Project Facebook Group. Information about the project, including detail photos of individual books, can be found at www.glassbookproject.org

If you're on campus, the books are going to be exhibited at the Dana Library beginning Nov 6.

Latin Caucus Party

2009-10-20T10:20:00.011-04:00

Last Wednesday I attended the first Latin Caucus welcome reception at the Robeson Gallery. There was a great Latin jazz band led by Frank Villafañe, and also various latin foods for lunch, though sadly, the flan was all gone by the time I got there.

Amy Ortiz, who works with the MFA program, painted the image that appeared on the cover of the event program (left).

There was a short performance by Miguel Algarin, founder of the Nuyorican Poets Café, which, if you aren't familiar with it, hosts public performances of the many varieties of poetry emerging from New York City's Puerto Rican and African-American literature. (You can check out their website, www.nuyorican.org, for more info). He is also a former chair of the Puerto Rican Studies department at Rutgers. Unfortunately I missed his reading, though I did catch him dancing at the reception before he left.

Below are some photos of the event from Saskia Agustin of the School of Public Affairs & Administration. I'm working on getting some audio/video of the band that Claudio Mir of the MFA program sent me up on our YouTube channel as well. In the meantime, you can go to Frank's mySpace page to hear his music.

Miguel Algarin (right) with Vilma Perez:

Frank Villafañe (on piano) and his band:

One of the guests tries her hand at the conga drums:

Group photo:

At left, Amy Ortiz and Adela Diaz take a break to pose for a photo.

You can see Saskia's full set of photos from the event on Picasa.

Paint the City Scarlet! Homecoming 2009

2009-09-30T16:35:00.010-04:00

Last weekend was the Rutgers-Newark Homecoming. This year we went bigger and better with a full carnival theme including a ferris wheel, games, and bumper cars.

Luckily the rain held out and we were able to hold the kick off in the Norman Samuels Plaza last Wednesday during free period. At left is the giant (6 feet!) R cake that started the festivities.

The Benjamins, a well-known cover band, gave a free concert and many other events occured during the four day event, including a walking tour of the city, alumni mixers at MiSaVi and McGovern's, a basketball showdown between old and new alumni, and the Mr. & Ms. Rutgers-Newark pageant.

Below are a few photos that Mary Grace Oania took at Fall Fest on Saturday. I am not quite sure what's going on in this first one below, maybe someone can clue me in? At first I thought they were making an R... but doesn't look like it.

Below, the Benjamins rock the house... er, the Bradley Hall parking lot.

Two future Rutgers students, perhaps?

By the way, I have seen several people wearing my t-shirts the past few days around campus! I love it! Keep wearing them!

You can see many more photos of all the Homecoming events, including the basketball game and alumni events, on Facebook

Dharma Jazz Concert

2009-09-15T11:38:00.003-04:00

Hope everyone had a great summer and has settled into their classes and fall routine by now. Last week we had our first free concert at the Dana Library, up on the fourth floor where the Jazz Institute is located.

The concert featured our very own professor of Jazz and musician Lewis Porter, along with Dharma, a group that blends Middle Eastern music with jazz. At left is Freddie Bryant on guitar.

The set included songs that Porter has arranged along with some improvisation and jamming, and even audience participation for one piece.

I recorded video for one of the songs and even got permission to post it but unfortunately am having technical difficulties getting it transferred from the camera to my computer (it's a large file). Hopefully I'll have it resolved soon so you can all hear how great they are for yourselves!

In the photo below, Dr. Lewis Porter on piano and synth.

Below, Karttikeya plays miscellaneous percussion - as you can see from the photo, he had quite a collection of different instruments (most of which I can't name unfortunately), and he was constantly switching over from one to another during each piece.

Below, Badal Roy on tablas. He also contributed vocals to one of the songs (and got the audience in on the act too)

Several of the band members have their own websites where you can find out more and listen to clips at the locations below.

WEBSITES:

Lewis Porter: www.lewisporter.com and myspace.com/Lrpjazz
Freddie Bryant: www.freddiebryant.com

Karttikeya: www.TheRedHawkFly.com

Dharma Jazz: myspace.com/Dharmajazz

Urban Garden

2009-07-16T16:58:00.007-04:00

Maybe "sustainable bird garden" isn't the first thing that comes to mind when you think about downtown Newark, NJ, but did you know that we have not one, but two of them on the Rutgers campus here?

These gardens were planted and enlarged over the past several Earth Days with the help of student volunteers, the Greater Newark Conservancy, and campus staff. Our very own Professor Claus Holzapfel helped choose plants that would attract and feed the birds that regularly fly over campus on their migratory paths.

Right now both gardens are in full bloom in the Norman Samuels Plaza. Helen Paxton took these great photos of the plants (and bumblebees) this week.

The signage on our first garden, the smaller of the two, describes the project.

Our larger bird garden includes a sign with photos and descriptions of a few of the many bird species (over 100!) that have been spotted on campus.

Close up of a bumblebee on an echinacea plant - if you click on the photo for the larger version, you'll see some amazing detail on the wings. I love this photo (and no, I'm not just saying that because the photographer happens to be my boss!)

Staff Appreciation Day

2009-07-10T16:29:00.003-04:00

It takes a lot more than just students and professors to keep the university running, whether it's organizing student life activities, keeping the plaza landscaped, keeping the campus safe, maintaining budgets and records, cleaning your classrooms and offices, running the computer labs, delivering mail, writing grants and everything in between.

Every year the HR department puts together a staff appreciation event for all of these people and Chancellor Steven Diner hands out awards to some of the hardest working folks on campus. To the left, Henry Lionel Anderson holds up his award... can you believe he hasn't called out sick in 30 years?

In the top right photo below, the HR department smiles for the camera... they look relieved that all the planning is over, don't they? Director Elena Serra was so happy she can be seen dancing in the top left photo :)

Aside from the music, bingo, and chance to mingle with people you don't often see on a daily basis, one of the draws is that you get ice cream and food served to you by the bigshots on campus (as you can see from the bottom right photo above). It's a nice break from sitting in front of my computer all day!

You can view all photos from the event on the Rutgers Newark HR website

Staff vs. Students

2009-06-26T11:29:00.003-04:00

My office is right next to the athletic field, and yesterday as I was leaving work the annual staff vs. students softball game was just starting. I couldn't stay for very long, but below are some photos I snapped before I had to leave.

While I was there the students were pummeling the staff (sorry guys!) But there was still plenty of time for the staff to catch up after I'd left.

Unfortunately for the staff, I heard afterwards that even though they put up a good fight and managed to close the gap, in the end they still lost (I was told it was only by 1 point though!)

Congrats to the student team! At least everyone got to enjoy the bright sunshine for a few hours! It was a welcome break from this dreary rain we've been having all June.

Hello Rutgers...

2009-06-25T11:39:00.004-04:00

Students, staff, faculty, alumni: are you doing something fabulous with your summer? Or staying local but taking great pictures or awesome video? I want to hear from you!

Send me your photos and videos & I'll post the best ones here.

Btw, I just want to point everyone to a new addition to this blog - you can now easily send any post to your Facebook, Twitter, Digg or numerous other social media sites. Just click on the "Share" button at the bottom of any post and choose where you want it to go... easy peasy.

6th Annual Essex County Walk to End Hunger

2009-06-09T15:39:00.001-04:00

On May 1, various Rutgers-Newark student groups, offices and individuals walked from Washington Park to City Hall in Newark to help fight hunger in the city.

The groups included fraternities and sororities, the Chancellor's Office, Alumni Relations, Housing & Residence Life, Athletics, Paul Robeson Campus Center, and Student Health Services.

Rev. Deacon Diane Riley of the Apostles' House sent these photos.

Gerald Massenberg said, "We participated in the walk as part of the university wide initiative to combat hunger, Rutgers Against Hunger (RAH). We partnered with the Apostles' House which is a food pantry and shelter for those in need here in Newark. We've been collecting and donating food to the Apostles' House this year and we were encouraged to participate in the walk because of our relationship with them."

The walk was sponsored by the Emergency Food & Nutrition Network of Catholic Charities and Meeting Emergency Needs with Charity (MEND)

More Happy Graduates...

2009-05-29T16:59:00.008-04:00

I've been getting a steady stream of photos since graduation - it's getting hard keeping up with y'all! At left, Rosemary Kuria sent this photo (of herself?) from the Graduate School/SPAA graduation.

Below, a Social Work grad, Mitchell LaDean, sends in these two photos - look at that huge grin...

Robert Marasco sent in this group below of more MPA graduates. Clockwise from top left: Renotha & Kevin, Veronica & Phil, Joyce Lanier, Robert Marasco, and Melissa & Joyce.

Congratulations to all of you! Now my only question is: where are the Nursing, Criminal Justice, and Law graduates? I haven't heard from any of you yet...

Business School Grads

2009-05-28T15:54:00.003-04:00

Germaine Benemile sent me this great group of photos from the Business School graduation last week, where he was among the largest Rutgers Business School graduating class yet! It was sunny and warm, a great day for the walk to NJPAC, where the actual ceremony was held. Newark Mayor Cory Booker spoke at the ceremony this year (seen below, top left). Afterwards, I caught him tweeting about how proud he was of Rutgers-Newark (yes, our mayor is on Twitter!)

Thanks Germaine, for these photos! And thanks to the others who've sent me photos in the past few days. I'll be posting more! For more from the Business School graduation, check out our photo gallery.

SPAA Grads

2009-05-26T09:09:00.003-04:00

I've been getting quite a few photos from the School of Public Affairs & Administration (SPAA) grads over the past few days. Below are some from Joshua Holmes

This next one is from the Pi Alpha Alpha awards ceremony, sent in by Maite Rios

MFA Graduation

2009-05-20T18:27:00.004-04:00

Graduation festivities have been underway all this week at Rutgers.

Yesterday afternoon was the Graduate School and School of Public Affairs & Administration ceremony. This year, 17 students from the inaugural MFA class graduated as part of that group. Fittingly enough, the speaker was director of the program, Jayne Anne Phillips, who's been touring in support of her highly acclaimed novel Lark & Termite all semester. One of the grads in the fiction concentration, Paul Vidich, sent me some great candid shots of our classmates. (I took some of the podium shots).

Remember these faces, you never know who's going to become the next Pulitzer Prize winner.

Congratulations all of you!! The program is going to miss you next year...

Tomorrow afternoon is our big undergraduate ceremony at NJPAC, watch for me wandering around with our official photographer. And if you took/plan to take any great photos or video, be sure to send them over!

Ja Kunst!

2009-05-19T10:31:00.009-04:00

Last week the graphic design students celebrated the end of the semester with an art show and party at the Jajo Gallery. The best pieces from each design class were selected by a faculty jury and displayed for the night. I stopped by for a bit and saw amazing posters, illustration, and other work.

David Mizak, a Visual Arts student, sent me these photos. (Actually, I accosted him with my card when I saw him wandering around with a camera, but he was nice enough to oblige.)

At right, faculty and student teams line up in anticipation of the night's events.

Below, professors Manny Cacciatore, Ned Drew, and Nick Kline arrange the student artwork along the display wall.

The students and faculty teams came complete with team 'uniforms' like team Jar, in the purple underpants, and team Sand, ready for a swim in the kiddie pool (both pictured below).

You didn't expect designers to just show up in a boring t-shirt, did you?

Events included a mini-golf competition set up on a homemade course throughout the gallery space. Both students and faculty joined in on the fun.

The Jajo Gallery is on Orange St. in Newark and is run by two lovely ladies, at least one of whom is a Rutgers-Newark graduate. For more information on their shows and goings-on, visit their blog at www.jajoart.blogspot.com.

Open House

2009-05-14T16:40:00.005-04:00

Every April Rutgers in Newark holds an Open House for anyone interested in learning more about us or attending - we had a gorgeous day for it this year, sunny and very warm.

There was a large turnout of interested students, parents and friends, and Magdalena Kucharski, who works in Admissions, and her husband Marcin took these great photos throughout the day.

At left, a Rutgers volunteer leads a small group down New St. Plaza on a tour.

Below, volunteers gather underneath the Rutgers-Newark arch for a group photo.

Information tables were set up in the Norman Samuels Plaza by various campus groups and departments:

Another group of prospective students:

View of the New Street Plaza from above:

Spring Blosssoms

2009-05-07T08:06:00.000-04:00

It doesn't feel like it with all the cold and rain we're getting around here this week, but it's well into spring already. Brian Biglin took these photos a couple of weeks ago and sent them in with the following captions.

Easter Sunday morning on campus:

Spring arrives outside the dorms:

The pink tree blossoms look beautiful. Thanks for reminding us what the campus looks like in sunshine!

Nursing Student Research Day

2009-05-06T11:07:00.007-04:00

Just got these photos in from the College of Nursing's honors scholars research day on April 13. Thirteen outstanding students presented on a variety of topics to their faculty and peers. Photos were taken by Fred Stucker.

At left, one of the students presents on "BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 Effects on Colon Cancer." Below, student Jackie Kaczerski with Dr. Robert Atkins

Leigh Adams presents "Attitudes Regarding Prioritization of Familial Responsibilities Among Low Income Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Women"Group photo of the students and faculty mentors

There are more photos of the event on the Rutgers-Newark photo gallery: View entire set

Rutgers Day

2009-04-30T16:43:00.012-04:00

Last Saturday I went down to the College Avenue campus in New Brunswick to help celebrate Rutgers Day. Newark shared a tent with Camden (who was giving away some great stuff including metal lunchboxes and a magic 8-ball)

We spent the sunny Saturday creating a Lego version of Rutgers-Newark. Our stand was a big hit with the kids (and some kids-at-heart!) and we had a lot of fun building a colorful version of the campus.

Life Sciences Center (left) and Center for Law & Justice (right)

We even included the campus green and the Rutgers arch:

Hilary Demske Piano Concert

2009-03-27T13:35:00.011-04:00

This Wednesday, pianist Hilary Demske performed in Dana Library as part of the Arts @ Newark concert series. She played music composed by our very own Professor and pianist Henry Martin for a standing-room only crowd. It was a great concert. For those of you who missed her, I've uploaded two short videos from the concert. You can't see it in the one below, but if you view the video from her final piece on our YouTube Channel, you'll see how fast her fingers fly across the keyboard as she plays!

Hilary is the First prize winner of the "Citta di Barletta" International Piano Competition. An active solo, chamber, and orchestral musician, she has garnered numerous awards both in the United States and abroad.

An avid performer of contemporary music, Hilary has collaborated with George Tsontakis, Stephen Hough, and Michael Daugherty in venues that include the Dallas Symphony Orchestra Guild and the Da Camara of Houston. She is currently working on a recording project for Albany Records of the solo piano music of Henry Martin, including music heard in these clips.

The next free concert will be held next Wednesday, April 1st, at the Robeson Gallery, celebrating composer Felix Mendelssoh's 200th birthday: check the Events Calendar for more details.

A Little Green in Winter

2009-03-03T09:13:00.000-05:00

Ever wonder what's in those greenhouses on campus? You've probably walked by them dozens (or if you've been here a while like me, even hundreds) of times, and never been inside.

Germaine Benemile, RBS '09, sent these photos from inside the greenhouse, where plants are flourishing even as the rest of Newark is still covered in snow. (photo on the left is a view from above)

Germaine wrote: Most of these were taken during my General Horticulture lab, which is an undergraduate class in the Biology department. I just thought it might be interesting because most people walk right by the greenhouses (next to Boyden) but never get to see inside!

Below, the class learns how to create roots on the stem:

Some beautiful orchids (I used to have one of these at home, they're gorgeous, but flowers have a tendency to die around me and after a while mine stopped flowering)

Germaine wrote that You feel you're in a jungle when you're in here. The bottom photo really does look very jungle-like. It must be a welcome change from the freezing temperatures outside!

You can go to the entire set on flickr to see more.

Learning Outside the Classroom: Making Books

2009-02-25T16:16:00.000-05:00

This semester I'm taking a Photo and Book Arts class. Yesterday's class was held at the Center for Book Arts in New York. If you've never been there, and have any interest in books whatsoever, it's a small but wonderful space.

We learned how to make a traditional hardcover book (which we'll fill with photos and/or text of our own later) and got to look around at their current exhibits and stock of handmade writers chapbooks.

I took a few photos of the current exhibits. The concept of "book" is expanded quite a bit, especially in some of these more sculptural pieces like one above.

Our class is planning to go back near the end of the semester; really looking forward to it.

Campus Plaza, Infrared-Style

2009-02-12T10:54:00.000-05:00

If you're a fan of photography and haven't been to the Dana Room on the 4th Floor of the Dana Library in a while, you'll definitely want to head over to check out the set of photos on display there by librarian Ed Berger. Below are two of his campus plaza photographs:

Ed also has some beautiful black and white jazz photography on display in the Jazz Institute lobby, which you can view online at http://newarkwww.rutgers.edu/IJS/berger/

Winter Break in India

2009-02-09T10:31:00.000-05:00

Last month I posted photos from one of our professors who went to Africa for winter break. But it's not just the professors who are well traveled at Rutgers-Newark. Here are some gorgeous photos from Ronak Patel of his trip to India.

From top left: 1. Great shot at sunset from sunset point atop Mount Abu; 2. The hardworking yet lazy Sleeping camel...something seen everywhere in India; 3. one of the 4 towers surrounding the Taj Mahal, placed at 110° angle pointed away from the palace so that if an earthquake were to occur they would fall away from the taj mahal - also known for assisting people with psychological and financial problems to jump to their deaths...from their choice of door. (what a choice!); 4. View of the ''9th wonder of the world''-The Taj Mahal; 5. National Kite Flying day - Jan. 13-16. Where the sky is filled with colors of the various kites flown; 6. Shot of day before national kite flying day known as ''Utryan''...people everywhere selling kites on sidewalks and stores

From top left: 1. Indian style construction; 2. Cows are EVERYWHERE, which is something you actually miss seeing once you come back to the states; 3. closeup view of Jaipur from top of fort; 4 . line of camels along the highway; 5. Awa Mahel (Air Castle)..only building known at least in India which was built with no foundation at all. The building is supported by the two on its side and is not standing on its own.

You can view more of Ronak's photos of India on Facebook: Album 1 and Album 2

Liyana Concert

2009-02-05T15:31:00.000-05:00

Last Thursday we had a very special musical group perform at the Robeson Center. Liyana, and Afro-fusion group, comes all the way from Zimbabwe and made a stop at Rutgers-Newark for a free concert on their tour of the US.

Carol McLaughlin and Sarah Rahman from the Rutgers-Newark Observer submitted these great photos.

The members of Liyana range from 17-23 years old, and are extraordinary not only because of their musical talent, but also due to the fact that each member was born with severe disabilities. On their tour, Liyana performed at Disneyland, Stanford University, NJPAC, the House of Blues and MacWorld. Liyana performed their music to a packed audience at the Robeson Center.

You can read more about the members of Liyana at: http://www.newark.rutgers.edu/events/liyana.pdf

Tayari Jones' Winter Vacation

2009-01-27T11:43:00.000-05:00

Ever wonder what professors do when they're not teaching classes? Well, for Tayari Jones, this winter break meant more teaching, but in a very different location: Uganda.

Tayari said: On January 10-15, 2009, I visited Kampala Uganda in order to be a workshop facilitator for FEMRITE, an amazing women's writing organization!

View more of her photos on flickr

Tayari Jones is a writer and professor in the MFA program at Rutgers-Newark. You can read more about her and follow her blog at http://www.tayarijones.com/blog/

Celebrating the Inauguration in the Robeson Center

2009-01-22T11:44:00.000-05:00

A packed Robeson Center on Tuesday:

I didn't know the Multipurpose Room could fit so many people! It was great seeing the overflow into the downstairs lounge and cafeteria as well. (anyone get photos?) Students, faculty and staff all gathered to watch the ceremony.

There was food (really quite good) as well as patriotic cupcakes, which I didn't try because I had already loaded up on the spicy mini-burritos - but they certainly looked very festive.

Obama took the oath of office to a standing ovation and much photo-taking.

I've enjoyed reading all your comments on my previous post - keep them coming in, and send along photos/videos whether you were on campus or not.

A note about comments: Yes, I am moderating them, so keep them clean and on topic, please. This means NO profanity.

Your Thoughts on the Inauguration

2009-01-20T09:37:00.000-05:00

Hi All! As you should know by now, we're going to be broadcasting the Inauguration ceremonies live today in the Robeson Center starting at 10am. Please stop by and share this moment with the Rutgers-Newark community. (for location and details)

We want to hear your thoughts about this historic event, so please comment on this post!

Spreading the Word About Geology

2009-01-12T16:17:00.001-05:00

The Spring semester hasn't started yet, but not all professors go away in between semesters.

Last week Helen Paxton accompanied Earth Sciences Professor Alexander Gates to Science High School in Newark where he gave a special lecture about the field of geology. Did you know that geologists are in big demand these days? These students found out first hand what they could do with a geology degree.

Prof. Alexander Gates teaching a class at Newark's Science High School Jan. 5. With support from a grant from the National Science Foundation, Dr. Gates is engaging Newark students in the excellent career opportunities that await students who study geology and environmental sciences, at Rutgers and elsewhere.

Gates is the Department Chair and Graduate Program Director of the Earth and Environmental Sciences Department. He recently appeared on the Discovery Channel as part of a documentary about earthquakes in New York.

Happy Holidays from Rutgers Newark!

2008-12-24T11:30:00.001-05:00

The university will be closed from tomorrow until Mon, Jan 5th, so I'll be taking a break from this blog as well... feel free to continue to send photos and/or videos and I'll check them when I get back.
In the meantime, have a great holiday season and see you next year!

DeStress Fest: Drumming Circle

2008-12-18T15:53:00.000-05:00

The DeStress Fest that happens at the end of every semester always includes a lot of fun activities to take the edge off all that cramming for exams, and this year was no different. One of the activities this year was a drumming circle that took place last week in the Robeson Campus Center.

Check out this video taken by student Ronak Patel, who was nice enough to let me repost it here after I saw it on his personal page.

Norman the Campus Snake

2008-12-16T16:57:00.000-05:00

Biology Professor Claus Holzapfel sent this photo to us today along with these comments:

New addition to our urban biodiversity: Norman

We know by now that our urban campus is host to quite a number of wild migratory birds; our list topped 100 species a while ago. But who would have thought that we also share our space with reptiles? On this unseasonably mild Monday we found a small snake struggling with a wintering Hermit Thrush just outside Boyden Hall on Norman Samuels Plaza. The bird seems to have mistaken the snake for an earthworm. I initially thought the same, but I have never seen an earthworm putting up such a fight. I identified the snake as a northern brown snake (Storeria dekayi), a small snake species that used to be quite common even in urban environments. The advance of pollution and increased use of pesticides changed that and one has to be quite lucky to observe one today. We took the snake into our care and called it Norman (obviously). We hope tiny Norman, only about 7 inches long, gets settled into his new winter home and that we can release him (it) in spring. You can visit Norman, our one and only Rutgers Newark snake in Boyden Hall if you want.

End of the Semester

2008-12-09T10:16:00.001-05:00

It's hard to believe it's already that time of year again...

Luis Rosado sent me this photo yesterday of his friend Ed Wilkes right before taking an exam. He said: This is a photo of a part-time MBA student seconds before taking his Accounting final. You can see the joy in his eyes :)

I don't have finals this semester, thankfully, but I have been there and totally sympathize with that feeling.

For all you other stressed out students, DeStress Fest is going on all over campus this week and I believe tomorrow during free period they will have free massages, giveaways, and food at the Robeson Center... check out the full schedule.

Newark as 1950s Chicago for Cadillac Records

2008-12-03T11:57:00.000-05:00

For a few days in April, part of Halsey Street was transformed into 1950s Chicago for the movie Cadillac Records, which is opening this week and has gotten some good press so far. The movie is about the rise of Chess Records and the lives of its musicians, including Muddy Waters, Leonard Chess, Little Walter, Howlin' Wolf, Etta James and Chuck Berry.

Of course us common folk were not allowed anywhere near the stars, but with the help of a zoom lens I did get some photos of the street, the film crew, a few extras, and the cool cars.

Sorry, no Beyonce or Adrian Brody. I know, I was disappointed too.

Below is a photo of the huge film crew hanging out off to the side on New Street with all their equipment.
Below you can see all the signs that were hung over the existing shops and businesses, including the Chess Records label (right below the "Lucky's Mens Shop" sign)

Newark Goes Green with a Little Help From Its Friends

2008-11-25T11:33:00.000-05:00

This Fall, Sal Palatucci from Physical Plant worked with staff, students and the NJ Tree Foundation to plant trees 51 trees in our Newark neighborhood.

Shannon Buckley from the NJ Tree Foundation recently sent Rutgers a thank you letter along with photos, saying "Each tree that we plant through the Newark Renaissance Trees Program helps to restore the tree canopy in Newark, enhance the environment, improve air quality, improve aesthetic beauty of a neighborhood, cool off the community by reducing the effects of the urban heat island, and improve the overall quality of life."

In April '08, Rutgers worked with the Tree Foundation for the first time, planting trees along University Ave. from the Newark Broad St. train station to campus. Shannon wrote that she was proud to see these trees thriving and said "through this partnership, we have planted these 77 trees, saving the City of Newark and Rutgers over $40,000, and gained the support of more than 80 volunteers, students, alumni, and neighbors." Some of the trees planted include plum, lilac, zelkova and maple.

Who says Earth Day only happens once a year?

For more information on the NJ Tree Foundation, visit their website at newjerseytreefoundation.org

Small Business Expo at the Robeson Center

2008-11-21T15:21:00.000-05:00

Stephanie D. Burroughs of the Small Business Development Center sent me these photos from their annual expo. She writes:

"The entire second floor of Robeson Center was overflowing with the more than 400 participants at the NJSBDC 16th Annual Procurement Expo. Small business, state and federal government and major corporations were fully engaged.

"More than 300 small business owners attended the June 19, 2007 procurement expo held for the first time at Rutgers Newark. Co-sponsor Microsoft Inc. sent it's Microsoft Across America truck to train on its newest equipment and software for small business."

Thanks for the photos Stephanie! What is the Small Business Development Center, you ask? It's a non-profit organization that does a lot of great work with both start-ups and existing businesses (so if you're an aspiring entreprenour, you should definitely check them out) - they're right on campus and their website is http://www.rnsbdc.newark.rutgers.edu/

Election Night at Stonsby

2008-11-05T12:08:00.000-05:00

I think it's pretty safe to assume most of us were watching the election results last night. I know I was.

These photos are from Angie Bonilla, taken in Stonsby:

Everyone was still waiting for the final results there, I think... although if you look closely at the photo on the right you can see the person in the foreground has their hands raised in the air and someone else is clapping, so I might be wrong.

This next group was taken by Shigeo Iwamiya. Note the crowd outside in the bottom right photo... who would have thought campus would be hopping at that time of night?

It looks like I missed the big election party on campus (that's okay, because I made it home from class with plenty of time to pick up a really good pizza and watch the coverage on TV). I received these photos this morning, and even though they were taken on camera phones and are a little blurry you can tell the place was buzzing.

So, where were you last night? Anyone else take photos?

Celebrating Latin Culture

2008-10-30T11:00:00.000-04:00

Did you know that October was Latin Heritage month? Earlier in the month there was a big event celebrating Latin Culture on the Norman Samuels Plaza, with music, dancing, food and information about health and education. A few days ago Karla Ramos submitted some photos of the event, here's a little taste of what you missed if you weren't there.

In the left photo below are performers Manolo Basauri and Cynthia Hurtado. The right photo shows Maggie and Michelle Sialar of the group "Alma Peruana" who also performed at the event. (Looks like fun - I'm sorry I missed it!)

In addition to the performances, there were also fraternities, sororities, and groups from around campus that had informational tables, like the Red Cross (below, left photo), and a voter registration drive (below, right).

So... any other cultural events you guys want to share? Did any of you celebrate Diwali this week? We're the most diverse university in the nation, so I know there's got to be other photos you can send me... I'll be waiting...

Fall at Rutgers (and beyond)

2008-10-27T11:39:00.000-04:00

I was going to post these last week but apparently Blogger was having issues and wouldn't let me. Jackeline Vasquez, who's contributed to this blog before, wins the prize for the best classic fall photo, complete with scarecrow and apples:

Gopi Patel from Computing Services sent me this photo of fellow techies at an Open House event. Don't they look like a friendly bunch?

This one was sent by Jennifer Scalf, and feels more like winter to me, but it's got a dark, moody quality I like - not sure where it was taken, but you can see the Prudential Building way in the background if you look carefully, and what looks like Newark light rail tracks in the foreground.

Some of you may have seen me wandering around campus with a photographer recently - I just saw some previews of the photos he took and let me tell you they turned out great. Stay tuned for a little photo-essay piece on downtown Newark soon. Also, if I promised you a photo of yourself please email me (and describe what you look like and where we took the photo), because otherwise you might never receive it.

What do you think of when you think of Fall?

2008-10-13T12:53:00.000-04:00

Despite the fact that it's been sunny and 70 degrees the past several days, we're well into autumn - the pumpkins and scarecrows are out, the leaves are changing, and Halloween is only two weeks away.

So I'm wondering, what says "autumn" to you? Is it the leaves? Apple-picking? Send me some photos... it can be something as universal as a tree changing color or something more personal that you think of when you think of Fall... for me it's sweaters and boots, pumpkins, and this year, the yellow and orange mums I've got on my patio. What about you?

Happy Birthday to Rutgers-Newark

2008-10-08T18:08:00.000-04:00

Yesterday Rutgers-Newark celebrated its 100th anniversary in the Norman Samuels Plaza with a giant birthday cake and a few words honoring R-N alumns who are also faculty or staff (did you know there are over 200?). In case you missed the festivities and free cake, here's a couple of photos taken by our favorite event photographer, Shelley Kusnetz.

Group photo of the R-N alumns that work here:

And here's the giant cake, complete with historical photos and a big Rutgers R - no candles, but big enough to feed 600 people!

It was also my birthday yesterday, but strangely, my name seemed to be missing from the writing on the cake... I suppose since it's R-N's 100th and all, I can let it go this one time...

Campus Flowers and a Bicycle

2008-09-23T15:29:00.000-04:00

Samer Fouad sent this photo of "Rutgers Newark from a flower's view." He writes "Beautiful, ain't it?" Yes, Samer, very pretty!For a very different perspective of the same red and white flowers, Amir Mahmoud sent this of his friends Maha El-Samna and Valerie Dorfman walking to class. It looks like they're enjoying themselves - who knew walking to class could be so fun?I had quite a lot of photos in my inbox last night, but my favorite by far was this one by Sidrah Seikh, who said "I took this in front of Conklin Hall. I just love the combination of all the shadows and colors that show how bright the day was and how colorful the campus is." I agree - and I love the bike in the foreground. (also notice the red and white flowers make an appearance in the background, see how I'm tying them all together here?)

For those of you who haven't seen your photos posted yet, I'm still going through them - there's at least 2 more I want to post in the next day or so.

'S' is for Soccer

2008-09-22T11:59:00.000-04:00

Happy first day of autumn everyone! It seems fitting that this weekend, I received quite a few soccer-related photos. Here's a few of the womens' soccer team, sent to me by Suze Gabaud.

One of the entire team, showing their Rutgers pride:
Suze wants everyone to know that "we are not just a team but a family as well," and she sent me a few of the team having fun outside of soccer, like this one with the girls all dressed up:

And this more casual one:
And just in case the men feel left out, here's one of the men's team practicing on the field, sent to me by Jonathan Simbulan, who writes "Taken atop of the Rutgers parking deck 1, this picture shows the soccer team practicing on a beautiful, sun-filled day. The bright day also makes their white uniforms and green grass and trees stand out more."

I have a few more photos to go through today, so keep an eye out for another post soon.

Submitting Photos

2008-09-18T16:13:00.004-04:00

Do you have a great photo or short (5 minutes or less!) video of a campus event, fabulous trip or some other fun learning or teaching experience that you want to share with others at Rutgers-Newark? I'm looking for:

Campus photos
Events on and off campus
Interesting or cultural trips or vacations
Community Service
General fun or interesting times with others in the Rutgers community
Great photos taken by you!

Send me e-mail at occ@andromeda.rutgers.edu or eluongo@andromeda.rutgers.edu - include your name, major and year of graduation (if you're a student) and a few sentences describing your photo or video.

Please use good judgement when sending photos and videos! Remember that this is a public site - everything posted here can be viewed by anyone with internet access (that includes your parents, current and future employers and the rest of the world). We reserve the right to NOT post material that's offensive, vulgar or inappropriate. If there are people in the photos other than yourself, please be sure to have permission from those people to post their photos online.

(updated Sept 2010)

Newark at Night

2008-09-12T16:18:00.001-04:00

I sense a theme here. I recently got another nighttime photo of the campus and Newark, this time from Samuel Davenport, who is a 2010 J.D. candidate in the Law School. This was taken from the 12th floor (he didn't say from which building, but I'll take a guess that it's University Square). Very nice Sam!

Keep sending me photos, and tell all your friends to come on over too. By the way, photos of people are more than welcome (as long as you have permission from everyone in the photo) - just remember, this is a PUBLIC forum so don't send me anything you wouldn't want your mother (or professors or future employers) to see! I know you're all smart enough to know better, but well, just in case I figured I'd get that out there.

Our First Photos!

2008-09-09T11:17:00.001-04:00

So it turns out that people DO read those mass emails after all (well, a few of you do, anyway). Submissions started rolling in late last night, and there were some good photos in the group.

Unfortunately, I can't show 20 photos from the same person - you know who you are! - but I've picked out a couple that everyone might enjoy.

The first two photos below are by Tyler Weisbarth, a Biology major from the Class of '09. Tyler also tells me he takes photos for the Observer, so you might have seen his work. Most of you should recognize the Golden Dome in this first one - I love the patterns:

This second one is out of season, but I had to post it because it's just really cool. This was taken on the New Street Plaza during an ice storm (last winter?):

Thomas Arndt, who's working towards an M.A. in Political Science '09, sent me this very painterly photo of the CLJ staircase/atrium:

And last but not least, Brian Biglin, a Law student from the class of '11, sent me this fantastic night shot of the field and Newark:

As well as this one of the sun setting:

Keep them coming... and keep an eye out on this blog because I might start thinking up some themes for you guys in the near future.

Call for submissions

2008-09-05T13:46:00.000-04:00

Well, the first week of school is just about over, hopefully y'all survived and are ready for the real work to begin!

I'm very excited to announce this brand-new photoblog. I am hoping to showcase some great stuff from all of you that highlights Rutgers-Newark.

SOOO...

Got a great photo or video of Rutgers-Newark to share? Send your submission (no more than 2 minutes for video, please!) with up to a 25-word description, and we'll post our favorite entries on this blog.

Send your entries along with your name and (if applicable) school and year of graduation to occ@andromeda.rutgers.edu