Winter 2018 Stories

Daniel Kresmery in front of colorful graffiti wall
Features 

Setting the Stage

Why moviemakers turn to Korda Studios in Hungary—and alumnus Daniel Kresmery—for its sets and soundstages.

Fresh Perspectives

New faculty members are infusing Rutgers’ academic communities with new scholarship, typified by these four assistant professors. 

The Art of the Underground

Nancy Ruyle Dodge donates a collection of Soviet nonconformist art to the Zimmerli Art Museum—Rutgers’ biggest gift ever. 

100 Years—and Counting

In 1918, the New Jersey College for Women, today Douglass Residential College, began educating women at Rutgers—now championed universitywide.

 

Dan Richer LC’02 with pizza
On the Banks 

Pies in the Sky

The best pizza around New York City is found in Jersey City, New Jersey—Razza Pizza Artigianale—thanks to its owner and chef, alumnus Dan Richer.

A Decade of Display

Rutgers celebrates its 10th anniversary of Rutgers Day, the daylong exposition of the teaching, research, and outreach enterprise at the university.

Trusted Advice

How the Board of Trustees benefits from members' professional expertise and their unique perspectives.

Wise Counsel

The new governor of New Jersey relies on experts at Rutgers to help him formulate public policy positions.

Cat Woman

Alumna Jennifer Robertson is the keeper at the big cat exhibit at the Philadelphia Zoo.

Brain Gain

How a statistician complements her professional life  as an accomplished cellist.

An Acknowledgement Long Overdue

Rutgers dedicates landmarks honoring three important African Americans in the university's history.

A Solemn Tribute

The Rutgers Club of Washington, D.C., takes part in Wreaths Across America to pay respect to alumni who served the nation.

Food Needed for Thought

Addressing the prevalence of “food insecurity” among students at Rutgers.

Student Pay Raise

President Robert Barchi raises the minimum wage for student workers. 

The Sizzling Scarlet Knight

Rutgers finishes third in collegiate competition to serve the healthiest hamburger.

In the Name of Civility

Howard and Vicki Cabot establish the Cabot Family Scholarship.

NBS Sports host and reporter Kathryn Tappen
Scarlet Sports 

Her Winter Games

Alumna Kathryn Tappen is a rising star at NBC Sports in its coverage of the Olympics, the NHL, and football.

Leaders of the Links

Rutgers–Camden men’s golf team looking good to repeat as North Eastern Athletic Conference champs.

An Act of Will

All-Big Ten guard Tyler Scaife contributes to the resurgence of the Scarlet Knights women's basketball team.

85

Scarlet Knights athletics programs score big in an NCAA gauge of academic achievement for athletes.

Goals Oriented

Goalie Casey Murphy and forward Amirah Ali led the Scarlet Knights women's soccer team.

A Player to Emulate

How the late lacrosse great Bob Vencak personified the meaning of success.

One for the Record Books

The Scarlet Knights men’s basketball team beats Seton Hall in the Garden State Hardwood Classic.

We Are #1!

Rutgers–Newark men’s soccer team wins its first NJAC championship.

Illustration of Lola
The Arts 

Life of Lola

Junot Díaz, author of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, writes his first children's book, Islandborn. 

Passages

The 2018 Women’s History Month Film Festival addresses the theme of women in transition. 

Playing for Keeps

Fred Hersch, a distinguished artist at the Mason Gross School of the Arts, is on a prolific run.

The Healing Effects of Art

The student health services office at Rutgers–Camden brightens with a colorful mixed-media mural.

Bar Code

Law school alumna Lisa F. Smith writes a colorful memoir about her struggles with addiction. 

Baby Steps

Rutgers–Camden's Janet Golden makes the case that babies drove innovation in 20th-century America.

Notes About a Native Son

Alumnus Jules B. Farber recounts the last chapter of author James Baldwin’s life as an expatriate.
 

Spatial Considerations

Alumnus James Pearse Connelly brings his set design talents to leading television shows.

Great Performances

Rutgers teams up to build the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center, opening in August 2019.

Art for Veterans

Charles Evered is establishing the Charles J. Evered House, an artist residency named for his father.

The Honor of a Lifetime

Alumna Nancy Mercado receives the 2017 American Book Award for Lifetime Achievement. 

Trenton Makes, Zombies Take

Thriller writer Janet Evanovich returns with Hardcore Twenty-Four and her heroine, Stephanie Plum.

Love Story

Rutgers–Newark's Tayari Jones is the author of the much-anticipated novel An American Marriage.

Michelle Arent and Shawn Arent in gym
Health Matters 

Dynamic Duo

Shawn and Michelle Arent are the conditioning gurus at the Center for Health and Human Performance.

Curbing a Crisis

Rutgers gets funding to create the nation’s first apprenticeship program for alcohol and drug counselors.

Social Inequities and Poor Health

New initiative will prepare nurses to better serve people by recognizing social determinants and their impact on patients' well-being.  

Hope for MS?

Exposure to certain gastrointestinal bacteria may trigger multiple sclerosis, research suggests. 

Sleep: The Antidote for Fear

How REM sleep promotes the emotional resilience to withstand fear and distress. 

A Devotion to Motion

Jean-Francois Daneault, a professor who researches neurological diseases, is taking aim at Parkinson's.

Empathy and Depression

Rutgers–Newark psychology team determines that these emotions reside in the same region of the brain.

A Brake on Bigotry

Confronting somebody making an insensitive remark may impact the offending person’s thinking.

Home damaged by hurricane
Insights 

Damage Control

After an assessment of Hurricane Harvey, a Rutgers team recommends future safeguards.

The Reckoning

Rutgers–Camden assistant professor Kelly Dittmar is often sought to comment on sexually abusive politicians. 

Extreme Event

Geology professor Juliane Gross goes to the South Pole to find rare, well-preserved meteorites. 

Manners in the Court

Victoria F. Pratt, former judge and now Rutgers law professor, is a proponent of “procedural justice.”

Hazelnut Job

Rutgers researchers have developed a hazelnut tree resistant to a fungus, allowing the tree to thrive.

Standing, left to right: Reneé Evans DC’98; Zaneta Rago-Craft, director of the Center for Social Justice Education and LGBT Communities; and Geralyn Williams SAS’15. Seated, left to right: Filip Wojcik SAS’16, Ryan Filtz SEBS’16, Bill Matthews RC’81, and
Alumni Notes 

Working for Inclusion

Some RUAA chartered organizations reach out to alumni whose communities have been marginalized.

Mission Accomplished

Lynn Rakos, an Army Corps of Engineers archaeologist, leads effort to recover human remains in Laos. 

Scarlet Ties

Nicholas Gouverneur Rutgers IV, a descendant of the namesake of Rutgers, dies at age 92.

Alma Mater Matters

Alumni connections can make a huge difference in a job search.

Long Overdue Health Care

New health initiative at Rutgers provides comprehensive health care for transgender patients.

Going the Distance

Alumnus Jack Heath pens biography of his former mentor, distance runner, and Olympian, Browning Ross.

President Robert Barchi in an Active Learning Classroom with students
Letters 

Opportunity and Access

Message From the President: Rutgers’ commitment to financially assist students, many the first family members to attend college.

Leveraging Rutgers' Strengths

The State We're In: The new speaker of the General Assembly, Craig Coughlin, understands the university.

Dissident Art

Letter From the Editor: A bounty of Soviet art is given to Rutgers—its largest gift ever.