1. law, govt and politics
2. politics
3. domestic policy

UNIVERSITY | NEWARK
Graduate School
DOCTORAL PROGRAMS
AND MASTER OF FINE ARTS
IN CREATIVE WRITING
HOODING CEREMONY
May 16, 2015
The Graduate School
Paul Robeson Campus Center
Newark
May 16, 2015
3 P.M.
RUTGERS UNIVERSITY-NEWARK ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICERS
Robert L. Barchi, Ph.D.
President
Nancy Cantor, Ph.D.
Chancellor
Todd R. Clear, Ph.D.
Provost
Shirley Collado, Ph.D.
Executive Vice Chancellor and Executive Vice Provost
Nabil Adam, Ph.D.
Vice Chancellor for Research and Collaborations
Roland Anglin, Ph.D.
Senior Adviser to the Chancellor
Arcelio Aponte, M.B.A.
Vice Provost for Finance and Administration
Marcia W. Brown, J.D.
Vice Chancellor for External and Governmental Relations
Sherri-Ann P. Butterfield, Ph.D.
Senior Adviser to the Chancellor
Peter Englot, M.A.
Senior Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs and Chief of Staff
John Gunkel, Ph.D.
Vice Chancellor for Academic Programs and Services
Diane Hill, Ph.D.
Assistant Chancellor for University-Community Partnerships
Gerald Massenburg, B.S.
Associate Chancellor for Student Life
Irene O’Brien, M.P.A.
Vice Chancellor for Development
Bonita M. Veysey, Ph.D.
Vice Chancellor for Planning and Implementation
THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
Kyle Farmbry, J.D., Ph.D.
Acting Dean
Kinna Perry, Ph.D.
Acting Associate Dean
Chengbo Yin, M.S.
Assistant Dean for Institutional Research
Adriana Afonso, M.P.A.
Assistant Dean for Finance & Strategic Development
Sandy Reyes
Senior Program Coordinator
Vasiliki Koukounas
Unit Specialist
Diane Fillipone
Administrative Assistant
DEAN’S WELCOME
Dear Graduates,
I am excited to join you for this 2015 Hooding Ceremony.
Some of you are receiving your doctoral degrees, while others
are receiving your masters in fine arts degrees. You hail from
15 academic fields across Rutgers University-Newark. Yet
what you share in common is that every one of you has
worked exceedingly hard over the past several years and is
exceedingly deserving of your degree and the accolades you
will receive in the years to come.
Today, you are receiving a terminal degree in your field. While this means that
there is no higher degree in your specific discipline, I am certain that today is not
the end but rather the next step on your path of continued intellectual growth.
The faculty, staff, and administration at Rutgers University-Newark are excited and
honored to have been part of your journey.
In addition to recognizing you as degree recipients, today is an opportunity to
recognize your families, friends, and colleagues. Over the years these people have
encouraged and supported you. They have watched you wrestle with the anxiety
of papers, portfolios, exams, and dissertations. They have celebrated alongside
you the completion of a major assignment, a final portfolio, the successful
defense of a dissertation. While we all celebrate your achievements, let us also
celebrate the graciousness of the people who played important roles in helping
you get to where you are today.
Your next several years will be exciting. People will acknowledge brilliance. You
will have numerous opportunities presented to you, as people will recognize that
you truly are specialists in your specific arenas. You will travel the globe, make
important discoveries, and write the novels that will shift thought. You will,
without a doubt, make a difference in the world. We at Rutgers University are,
and forever will be, proud to call you graduates of our university.
I encourage you to use this celebration and the celebrations over the next several
days as opportunities to begin thinking about yourselves not as students, but as
alumni of this great institution to which we are all connected. As alumni, your
ties to the university are lifelong. We look forward to building a new relationship
with you – one that supports your growth and creates new opportunities for
current and future Rutgers University-Newark students. Today’s recognition of
your success is only the beginning of our important work together.
We are all very excited for you and look forward to everything your future holds.
In celebration of your achievements,
Kyle Farmbry, J.D., Ph.D.
Acting Dean
PROGRAM
PROCESSIONAL
Roger A. Lalancette, Distinguished Professor
Gonfalonier
Rutgers University-Newark Jazz Mosaic
Robert P. Smith, Director
NATIONAL ANTHEM
DEAN’S WELCOME
Kyle Farmbry, J.D., Ph.D., Acting Dean, The Graduate School
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Alexis Rodriquez, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in Biology,
Faculty of Arts and Sciences
HOODING OF DOCTORAL AND MASTERS
CREATIVE WRITING STUDENTS
OF
FINE ARTS
IN
Doctor of Philosophy
Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing
CLOSING REMARKS
Kyle Farmbry, J.D., Ph.D., Acting Dean, The Graduate School
RECESSIONAL
Rutgers University-Newark Jazz Mosaic
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Rutgers University–Newark is proud to welcome Dr. Alexis
Rodriguez, assistant professor in RU–N’s Department of
Biological Sciences, as the faculty speaker for this year’s
hooding ceremony of the Graduate School.
Rodriguez joined the RU–N faculty in 2008. During his time
at Rutgers, he has overseen research, teaching, and outreach
programs and worked to increase student and faculty diversity in biomedical
research. His research in the area of mRNA translation regulation, including its
role in cell fate specification, has been published in The Journal of Cell Biology,
Cancer Research, RNA, and Trends in Cell Biology and has been the subject of
numerous seminars in cell and developmental biology. Additionally, his work in
the area of colon cancer has been presented at the National Institutes of Health’s
National Cancer Institute, the American Association for Cancer Research, the
RNA Society, Bronx SciFest, and the Mari Lowe Cancer Center Seminar Series at
the University of Pennsylvania. Notably, Rodriguez’s publication, “Visualization
of mRNA translation in living cells,” was cited in the 2008 Nobel Prize lecture of
world-renowned biochemist, Roger Y. Tsien.
Rodriguez’s many honors include: first place in the “Best Postdoctoral Poster
Award” category bestowed by the Minority Affairs Committee during the 45th
Annual American Society for Cell Biology Meeting in 2005; first place in the
“Best Poster Award” category at the Federation of American Societies for
Experimental Biology summer research conference in 2005; and first place in the
“Best Graduate Student Poster Award” given by the Minority Affairs Committee
during the 40th Annual American Society for Cell Biology Meeting in 2000.
Rodriguez has mentored 39 students, including 17 underrepresented minority
students. Students advised by Rodriguez have furthered their research or careers
at Yale School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Cornell Weill Medical
School, Dartmouth University, and New Jersey Medical School.
Born in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, Rodriguez is a longtime resident of New Jersey
and graduated from Dumont High School in Bergen County. He received his
bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from Yale University in 1994 and earned
his doctoral degree from RU–N in 2002. At RU–N, Rodriguez completed the
Cellular and Molecular Biodynamics Program funded by the National Science
Foundation. For his post-doctoral training, Rodriguez worked under the tutelage
of Dr. Robert Singer and Dr. John Condeelis at the Albert Einstein College of
Medicine until 2008.
CANDIDATES FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
AMERICAN STUDIES
Taylor H. Black j
Adviser: Frances Bartkowski
Time Out of Mind: Style and the Art
of Becoming
Samantha Johnston Boardman
Adviser: Timothy F. Raphael
Small Town Americas: Representing the
Nation in the Miniature Tourist Attraction,
1953-2014
Robin K. Foster
Adviser: James Goodman
The Age of Sail in The Age of Aquarius;
Preserving Memory and Identity at New
York’s South Street Seaport
Julian Gill-Peterson
Adviser: Frances Bartkowski
Queer Theory is Kid Stuff: A Genealogy
of the Gay and Transgender Child
Rosalie Uyola
Advisers: Clement Price &
Sherri Ann Butterfield
Newark Remembers: Memory and
Commemoration in America's 21st
Century City
BEHAVIORAL AND NEURAL SCIENCES
Matthew Robert Gielow
Adviser: Laszlo Zaborszky
Basal Forebrain Topography as Defined
by Afferents and Efferents
Mohammed Mustafa Herzallah
Adviser: Mark A. Gluck
The Cognitive Correlates of Major
Depressive Disorder and Administration of
SSRI Antidepressants
Kohitij Kar j
Adviser: Bart Krekelberg
Neural Mechanisms of Action of
Transcranial Electrical Stimulation
Jessica Mary Wright �
Adviser: Bart Krekelberg
Neural Mechanisms of Position
Perception
Harry S. Xenias �
Adviser: James M. Tepper
Optogenetic, Voltammetric, and
Histochemical Characterization of
Striatal Tyrosine Hydroxylase
Interneurons
María del Mar Quiroga
Adviser: Bart Krekelberg
Recurrent Network Dynamics Modulate
Orientation Tuning in Primary Visual
Cortex
BIOLOGY
Ying-Han Chen �
Adviser: Nihal Altan-Bonnet
Mechanisms of Non-Enveloped Viral
Exit from the Host
John Michael Jacques François �
Adviser: Claus Holzapfel
Hormesis: Fitness Effects, Mixtures, and
Comparisons Across Species
Natasha C. Gutierrez �
Adviser: Alexis J. Rodriguez
Contact-Localized B-actin Translation
Frives Epithelial Adherens Junction
Assembly
Kimberly Plank
Adviser: Claus Holzapfel
A Novel Defense? Understanding the
Role of Polyphenol Oxidase (PPO) in
Roots of the Highly Invasive Grass
Genus Bromus
Marianita Santiana
Adviser: Ann Cali
Host Cellular Cholesterol Distribution
and Dynamics During Enteroviral
Infection
CANDIDATES FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
BIOLOGY
Rajan Tripathee �
Adviser: Karina V.R. Schäfer
Controls Affecting Methane Fluxes in
Restored and Natural Tidal Wetlands
John J. Yarotsky
Adviser: Wilma Friedman
The Association of p75NTR and CoReceptors in Hippocampal Neurons and
Astrocytes
CHEMISTRY
Yan Cao j
Adviser: Elena Galoppini
Biofunctionalization and Surface Studies
of Semiconductor Materials for Sensing
Device Fabrication
Qihong Zhang �
Adviser: Richard Mendelsohn
Vibrational and Microscopic Imaging
of Skin I. Collagen Hydration in Type I
Collagen and Dermal Tissue II. Lateral
Diffusion of Exogenous Agents in Human
SC III. Ceramide Permeation into
Human Skin
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Rosalyn Theresa Bocker
Adviser: James O. Finckenauer
Examining Spatiotemporal Patterns of
Disorder at Bars in Newark, NJ
Liza Chowdhury
Adviser: Edem Avakame
Intersections of Race and Gender on
Prison Punishment and Adjustment
Patricia Gavin
Adviser: James O Finckenauer
The Massachusetts Quinn Bill: A Case
Study in the Quest for Quality
Shannon Therese Grugan
Adviser: Jody Miller
Campus Policing Practices and
Legitimacy in Different Community
Contexts: A Qualitative Analysis of
Student Perspectives
Bryn Ann Herrschaft j
Adviser: Bonita Veysey
Evaluating the Reliability and Validity
of the Correctional Offender
Management Profiling for Alternative
Sanctions (COMPAS) Tool:
Implications for Community
Corrections Policy
Yasemin Irvin-Erickson �
Adviser: Joel M. Caplan
Identifying Risky Places for Crime: An
Analysis of the Criminogenic
Spatiotemporal Influences of Landscape
Features on Street Robberies
Jeong Hyun Kim
Adviser: Ronald V. Clarke
Information Theft Within Different
Organizational Types: A Rational
Choice Analysis
Justine McDavid Madoo
Adviser: Mercer L. Sullivan
Positive and Negative Social Capital: A
Balancing Act? Labor Market and
Neighborhood Experiences of Young
Adult Offenders Reentering from Jail
Elizabeth A. Panuccio �
Adviser: Mercer L. Sullivan
Reentry from Incarceration During
Young Adulthood: The Impact of
Family Context on Youth in Transition
Lindsey Livingston Runell
Adviser: Jody Miller
Life-Course Engagement in Crime,
Post-Secondary Education and
Desistance for Formerly Incarcerated
College Students
Victoria Ann Sytsma �
Adviser: Todd R. Clear
Juvenile Offender Reentry in an Urban
Setting
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
Judith L. Robinson
Adviser: Lee Slater
Improving Characterization of Factured
Rock using Electrical Resistivity
Tomography
Guojie Xu j
Adviser: Yuan Gao
Characterization of Atmospheric Aerosols
over the Southern Ocean and Coastal
East Antarctica
GLOBAL AFFAIRS
Derin Akdeniz �
Advisers: James O. Finckenauer &
Norman Samuels
An Assessment of Conflict Management
Attitudes of Police Peacekeepers:
MINUSTAH as a Case Study
Chuck A. Baker
Adviser: Gregg Van Ryzin
Shades of Intolerance: What is the
Influence of Terrorism on Discriminatory
Attitudes and Behaviors in Britain and
Canada?
Ahmet Duran Bitmez
Adviser: Ariane Chebel d'Appollonia
The Impact of the United Nations on
Counter-Terrorism: The Role of CounterTerrorism Committee and Countering
Terrorism in Russia and Turkey
Meho Buljubasic
Adviser: Frank Fischer
Nation-building and Democracy
Promotion in Bosnia and Herzegovina:
The Role of NGOs Funded by the
National Endowment for Democracy
Maria Diamonte
Adviser: Alex Motyl
The Effect of Various Global Economic
Crises on ILO Standard Setting
Khamboly Dy
Adviser: Alexander L. Hinton
Genocide Education in Cambodia:
Local Initiatives, Global Connections
Eşref Ertürk �
Adviser: Ariane Chebel d’Appollonia
Islamophobia from the Inside: How
Turkish Immigrants Responded to the
Securitization of Integration in
Germany and the Netherlands
Elçin Haskollar �
Adviser: Stephen Eric Bronner
The Kurd Industry: Understanding the
Politics of Cosmopolitanism in the
Twenty First Century
Douglas Steven Irvin-Erickson �
Adviser: Stephen Eric Bronner
The Life and Works of Raphael
Lemkin: A Political History of
Genocide in Theory and Law
Sana Mahmandar �
Adviser: Kurt Schock
Islamic Revival in the Middle East
Eltion Meka
Adviser: Ariane Chebel d’Appollonia
European Integration, Democratic
Consolidation and Democratic
Regression in Central and Eastern
Europe: An Institutional Assessment
Patricia K. Nemeth
Adviser: Frank Fischer
The Basel Convention and the
Transboundary Movements of
Hazardous Waste to the Developing
World: A Study of Regulatory
Violations and The Problem of Legal
Compliance
CANDIDATES FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
GLOBAL AFFAIRS
John OttoManelli �
Adviser: Kurt Schock
Global Values and Environmental
Governance: Policies for Sustainable
Urban Development within the New York
City-Region
Melissa Rivera
Adviser: Gregg VanRyzin
Sex Tourism in the Dominican Republic
and Other Developing Countries: A Study
of Political, Economic and Social
Determinants
Yusuf Sarikaya
Adviser: James O. Finckenauer
A Comparative Analysis of Police
Corruption in the U.S. and Turkey
Hattan F. Shami
Adviser: Carlos Seiglie
FATF Recommendations vs. Political,
Economic, Financial and Risk
Environment
Michael Francis James Toomey
Adviser: Ariane Chebel d'Appollonia
The Normative Disconnect: European
Union Enlargement, Normative Power,
and Democratization in Hungary and the
Czech Republic
MANAGEMENT
Betul Acikgoz
Adviser: Paul J. Miranti
Capital Structure and the Cost of Capital
in the Pre-tax Era: A Case of U.S.
Railroads
Abdullah Alawadhi
Adviser: Miklos Vasarhelyi
Data Visualization and Its Applications:
Bridging the Gap in Auditing Research
Abdullah A. Aldousari j
Adviser: Geraldine R. Henderson
Exploring Consumer Behavior Under
Perceived Threat
Mohammed M. Alsuwaidi �
Adviser: Danielle Warren
The Spillover Effect of Employees’
Participation in Corporate Social
Responsibility Programs from Work to
Their Personal Lives
Paul Byrnes
Adviser: Miklos Vasarhelyi
A Three-Stage Approach to Customer
Profiling: Data Mining Implications
for Accounting and Auditing
Karina Chandia �
Adviser: Suresh Govindaraj
Option Prices and Accounting Choices
Ming Cheng
Adviser: S. Chan Choi
Following the Cyberspace
"Breadcrumbs:" Modeling Options
and Interactions among Consumers,
Advertisers and Search Engine
Providers
Jeongho Choi j
Adviser: Farok J. Contractor
Global Knowledge Sourcing Activities
Andreas D. Christopoulos �
Advisers: Robert A. Jarrow &
Douglas Jones
Comparisons and Extensions of
Structural and Reduced Form
Approaches to the Pricing of
Commercial Real Estate Securities and
Loans in the Financial Crisis (20072010) and the Recovery (2013-2014)
Julia Eisenberg �
Adviser: Nancy DiTomaso
Team Member Distance and
Innovative Team Performance – The
Influence of Leadership Styles and
Team Dynamics
Sitki Gülten �
Adviser: Andrzej Ruszczynski
Two-Stage Portfolio Optimization with
Higher-Order Conditional Measures
of Risk
Shuojia Guo �
Adviser: S. Chan Choi
Essays on Free Trials in the Presence of
Network Externality
Denis Hamilton �
Adviser: Petra Christmann
Change in Firm Technology Strategy In
Response to an Adverse Disruptive Event
Li He
Adviser: Bharat Sarath
Essays on Accounting Regulation and
Accounting Irregularities
Changhee Lee �
Adviser: Dan Palmon
A Close Look on the Impact and
Performance of Financial Analysts
Yubin Li
Adviser: Suresh Govindaraj
Financial Derivatives and Accounting
Information
Zhongmou Li
Adviser: Hui Xiong
Anomaly Detection in Large Scale
Financial Data
Chuan Ren Liu
Adviser: Hui Xiong
Sequential Pattern Analysis in
Dynamic Business Environments
Yuna Heo
Adviser: Darius Palia
Essays in Banking and Finance
Qi Liu �
Adviser: Miklos A. Vasarhelyi
The Application of Exploratory Data
Analysis in Auditing
Seokyoun Hwang
Adviser: Bharat Sarath
The Consequence of Managerial
Discretion in Pension Accounting
Sangsang Liu �
Adviser: Suresh Govindaraj
Portfolio Selection, Pead Anomaly
and Value Relevance of Earnings
Jing Jin
Adviser: Rose Liao
Essays on Multinational Firms and Crisis
David Lorenzi
Adviser: Jaideep Vaidya
Enhancing Security, Privacy, &
Usability on the Web - A Human
Perspective
Kihun Kim �
Adviser: Simi Kedia
Two Essays on Labor and Finance
Justin Kraemer �
Adviser: Chao C. Chen
Trust-building in PCN Expatriate-Local
Intercultural Relationships
Eric Ross Kushins
Adviser: Paul McLean
Landing Gear, Lettuce, Bouquets, and
Home Health Aides: Organizational
Culture and Change in Small Businesses
Catherine Magelssen �
Adviser: Susan Feinberg
Property Rights Theory and
Ownership of Firm-Specific
Advantages: The Implications of
Contracting and Licensing Within the
Multinational Firm
CANDIDATES FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
MANAGEMENT
Marina McCarthy
Adviser: Chao Chen
The Trade-off between Novelty and
Usefulness and Effects of Cultural
Differences in Cognition on Creativity
Genevive O’Connor �
Adviser: Sengun Yeniyurt
Management of Customer Access: Essays
on Service Marketing
Jamie Perry �
Adviser: Nancy DiTomaso
The Differential Effects of Status and
Power in Workgroups
Xin Xu �
Adviser: Yao Zhao
Essays on the Interface of Supply Chain
and Project Management
Kyunghee Yoon
Adviser: Miklos A. Vasarhelyi
The Relevance of Non-Financial
Information and Audit Risk Assessments
and Fee Decisions
Chen Zhao
Adviser: Suresh Govindaraj
Stock Market Anomaly and Informed
Trading in the Option Market
MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES
Raza Rafique
Adviser: Yao Zhao
Energy Supply Chain Design: Future
Energy Security of Pakistan
Akiko Shigemoto
Adviser: Michael Santoro
Technology and Corporate Human Rights
Responsibility
Leo Tang
Adviser: Bikki Jaggi
The Effect of Regulation, Access to Soft
Information, and Market Reliance on
Credit Ratings
Pritam Ghosh �
Adviser: Lee Mosher
Applications of Weak Attraction Theory
in Out(Fn)
Brad D. Isaacson
Adviser: Robert Sczech
On Character Sums of Lee-Weintraub,
Arakawa, and Ibukiyama, and Related
Sums
Zhiqin Shi
Adviser: William Keigher
Algebraic Studies of Symmetric
Operators
Tesfalidet Tukue
Adviser: Bharat Sarath
Essays on Innovations
NURSING
Emre Uzun
Advisers: Vijayalakshmi Atluri &
Jaideep Vaidya
Formal Security Analysis of Access
Control Models and Their Spatiotemporal
Extensions
Frances E. Iacobellis
Adviser: Lucille Eller
The Relationship Among Role Stress,
Empowerment and Burnout in New
Graduate Nurses Working In Acute
Care Hospitals
Xianjue Wang
Adviser: Simi Kedia
Essays on Hedge Fund Activism
Ann Marie Mazzella-Ebstein
Adviser: Lucille Eller
Coping, Occupational Stress and
Emotional Intelligence in Newly Hired
Nurses in an Oncology Setting
Karen Moosvi �
Adviser: Jeannie Cimiotti
Nurse Resources and Surgical Outcomes
in Elderly Patients: The Role of the
Safety Net
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
Rachael I. Simpson �
Adviser: Claudia Beckmann
Condom Use Self-Efficacy in the
Pregnant Adolescent Population
Lawrence R. Adamitis
Adviser: Marc Holzer
The Effect of Compstat on
Interjurisdictional Public Budgeting: A
Retrospective Comparative Analysis of
Crime-Rate Spillover on Neighboring
New Jersey and New York
Municipalities
Mary Ann Wafer
Adviser: Charlotte Thomas-Hawkins
The Relationship Among Organizational
Structures, Patient Safety Practices, and
Patient Safety Event Reporting Among
Nurses in Hospitals in the United States
Lourdes N. Alers-Tealdi
Adviser: Norma M. Riccucci
Institutionalization of Knowledge
Management in the Federal
Government: An Exploration of the
Mechanisms
PHYSICS, APPLIED
Hua-Yao Wu �
Adviser: Martin Schaden
A Field Theoretic Approach to
Roughness Corrections of Casimir
Energies
PSYCHOLOGY
Amanda Maria Dios
Adviser: Mei Fang Cheng
Pair Bonding: Is It Hierarchically
Structured and What Mediates Its
Formation?
Samantha DePasque Swanson �
Adviser: Elizabeth Tricomi
Motivational Influences on Feedback
Processing During Learning
Nan Ellen Wise �
Adviser: Barry Komisaruk
Genital Stimulation, Imagery, and
Orgasm in Women: An fMRI Analysis
Soojin Kim
Adviser: Marc Holzer
Toward Financially Effective Contract
Management: Comparing Perceptions
of Contract Managers in the Public and
Private Sectors
Shuyang Peng
Adviser: Gregg G. Van Ryzin
From Mandatory to Voluntary: A Study
of Nonprofit Information Sharing in
Public-Nonprofit Collaboration
Xiang Yao �
Adviser: Marc Holzer
Citizen Trust of Government in the
Context of Citizen-Centered
Administration: Performance,
Information Technology, Participation,
and Social Capital
Yueping Zheng
Adviser: Marc Holzer
Explaining Government Performance
on E-Participation in New Jersey:
Government Capacity and Willingness
CANDIDATES FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
URBAN SYSTEMS
Uchenna I. Baker
Adviser: Carolyne White
An Ontological/Phenomenological Model
of Leadership: Igniting Individual and
Collective Transformation and Catalyzing
Educational Reform
Joyvin L. Benton
Adviser: Jeffrey Backstrand
The Influence of School Climate,
Academic Self-concept and Motivation on
Academic Achievement of Ninth Grade
Students.
Elizabeth Iris Rivera Rodas
Adviser: Jason Barr
Do New Yorkers Vote with their Wallets?
The Impact of the Release of New York
City Teacher Quality Data on Housing
Prices and its Effects on School and
Residential Segregation
CANDIDATES FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF FINE ARTS IN CREATIVE WRITING
Andrés Manuel Cerpa
Adviser: Rachel Hadas
Elegy at the Treeline
Melissa A. Mott
Adviser: Jayne Anne Phillips
A Mile North of Cold Storage Beach
Anthony Kevin Cirilo
Adviser: A. Van Jordan
Error Begins a Joy Unknown
Athena Jay Pallotta
Adviser: A. Van Jordan
AFTER
Megan Maria Cummins
Adviser: Akhil Sharma
Tough Beauty
Andrew John Pryor j
Adviser: Jayne Anne Phillips
Blind Spots
Caitlin Reine Ferguson
Adviser: Rigoberto Gonzalez
Glossary for a Daughter or Noise
Kanika N. Punwani
Adviser: Alice Elliot Dark
Home: A Tale of Few Cities
Dinah Fay Finkelstein
Adviser: Rigoberto Gonzalez
Crocodilopolis
Katie L. Reilly
Adviser: Tayari Jones
How Alive She Was Once
Nicholas Fuller Googins
Adviser: Jayne Anne Phillips
Who Are You With?
Elena Schilder
Adviser: Jayne Anne Phillips
People Watching: Stories
Michelle Sarah Hart
Adviser: Akhil Sharma
Tentative Haunters: A Novel
Olvard Smith
Adviser: Alice Elliot Dark
Modern Brown
Keith Richard Huettenmoser
Adviser: A. Van Jordan
Seance
Michael William Smolinsky
Adviser: Rachel Hadas
The Sky Has No Idea
Safia Jama
Adviser: Rigoberto Gonzalez
Underpainting
Courtney Elizabeth Kelsch Ward
Adviser: Alice Elliot Dark
Those Who Had
Travis James Lancaster
Adviser: Tayari Jones
Huletts
Ines Isabel Lopes
Adviser: Rigoberto Gonzalez
My Disquieting Truths
�
j
October 2014 Graduate
January 2015 Graduate
Lists of graduates are correct as of April 17, 2015. Every effort has been made to ensure
accuracy in compiling the lists in this program.
AWARDS & HONORS
THE 2015 GRADUATE SCHOOL DEAN’S DOCTORAL
DISSERTATION AWARD
For outstanding doctoral dissertation.
Judith L. Robinson, Environmental Science
DISSERTATION FELLOWSHIPS
Highly competitive fellowships for pursuing doctoral studies.
Abdullah A. Aldousari, Management
Joyvin L. Benton, Urban Systems
Taylor H. Black, American Studies
Samantha Johnston Boardman, American Studies
Rosalyn Theresa Bocker, Criminal Justice
Yan Cao, Chemistry
Amanda Maria Dios, Psychology
Matthew Robert Gielow, Behavioral and Neural Sciences
Julian Gill-Peterson, American Studies
Shuojia Guo, Management
Douglas Steven Irvin-Erickson, Global Affairs
Yasemin Irvin-Erickson, Criminal Justice
Brad D. Isaacson, Mathematical Sciences
Jeong Hyun Kim, Criminal Justice
Soojin Kim, Public Administration
Zhongmou Li, Management
ChuanRen Liu, Management
Catherina Magelssen, Management
Marina McCarthy, Management
Eltion Meke, Global Affairs
Elizabeth A. Panuccio, Criminal Justice
Shuyang Peng, Public Administration
Jamie Perry, Management
Kimberly Plank, Biology
Elizabeth Iris Rivera Rodas, Urban Systems
Samantha DePasque Swanson, Psychology
Victoria Ann Sytsma, Criminal Justice
Leo Tang, Management
Rajan Tripathee, Biology
Tesfalidet Tukue, Management
Rosalie Uyola, American Studies
Nan Ellen Wise, Psychology
Xin Xu, Management
John J. Yarotsky, Biology
Qihong Zhang, Chemistry
Yueping Zheng, Public Administration
PI ALPHA ALPHA HONOR SOCIETY
Pi Alpha Alpha is the Global Honor Society for Public Affairs and Administration.
There are more than 160 chapters located around the world at Network of Schools of
Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration member schools. The purpose of Pi Alpha
Alpha is to encourage and recognize outstanding scholarship and accomplishment
in public affairs and administration. Its objectives, such as fostering integrity,
professionalism, and effective performance, promote the advancement of quality in
the education and practice of the art and science of public affairs and administration.
Master students must have a GPA of 3.7 or higher effective Fall 2014.
Lawrence R. Adamitis
Lourdes Alers
Soojin Kim
Shuyang Peng
Yueping Zheng
MINORITY BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH SUPPORT PROGRAM AWARD
Competitive award for minority students in biomedically relevant fields of research.
Natasha C. Gutierrez, Biology
Marianita Santiana, Biology
TRUMAN CAPOTE FELLOWSHIP
Awarded to full-time graduate students in the masters of fine arts in creative writing
program and is based on academic merit and financial need. Fellows are distinguished
by superior writing talent.
Athena Jay Pallotta
Elena Schilder
MASTER’S SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS
In recognition of outstanding achievement and potential for graduate study.
Dinah Fay Finkelstein, Creative Writing
Andrew John Pryor, Creative Writing
Olvard Smith, Creative Writing
GRADUATE SCHOOL
The Graduate School is dedicated to the advancement of scientific and human
knowledge in an environment that encourages scholarly inquiry and intellectual
growth. Students are expected to develop the analytical and creative skills required
for original scholarship, research, and problem-solving, as well as a thorough
understanding of an academic discipline. The school offers masters and Ph.D.
programs in subjects from the arts and humanities to the sciences and the social
sciences. It also offers joint degrees with the New Jersey Institute of Technology and
Rutgers University-New Brunswick. The school’s programs in psychology,
chemistry, mathematics, biology and earth sciences are all ranked nationally by U.S
News & World Report.
Rutgers University–Newark (RU-N) is a world-class urban research university with
12,000 students and nearly 600 full-time faculty members, an anchor institution
that is both in and of one of the nation’s oldest and culturally rich cities. Reflecting
this relationship, the university’s distinctive excellence is grounded in great
scholarship and teaching that take on the great questions and challenges of the
world, drawing together scholars from across the disciplines, partners in problemsolving from all walks of life, and a magnificent diversity of students. As part of one
of the nation’s great state universities—Rutgers, The State University of New
Jersey—these prodigious capacities are multiplied.
RU-N’s roots extend back to 1908, when the New Jersey Law School first opened its
doors. That law school, along with four other educational institutions in Newark:
Dana College, the Newark Institute of Arts & Sciences, the Seth Boyden School of
Business, and the Mercer Beasley School of Law, formed a series of alliances over
the years. A final merger in 1936 resulted in the establishment of the University of
Newark. A decade later, Rutgers University in Newark was founded when the New
Jersey State Legislature voted to make the University of Newark part of Rutgers
University.
RU-N leverages its pre-eminence as one of the most diverse universities in the
nation to spur innovation and creativity, perpetuating its legacy as a place of
educational opportunity for all, including first-generation college students, those
who commute to campus from their homes in the region, those who come to
Newark from across the nation or around the world, and those who work to stay in
college or support their families—in short, students who reflect in every dimension
the splendidly diverse tapestry of the Newark metropolitan region, New Jersey, and
the world.
Further information on Rutgers University-Newark is available at
www.newark.rutgers.edu.
THE ACADEMIC COSTUME
The wearing of academic dress dates back to the early days of the oldest
universities in the world. In the American Council on Education’s book entitled
American Universities and Colleges, it is suggested that “Gowns may have been
counted necessary for warmth in the unheated buildings frequented by medieval
scholars. Hoods seem to have served to cover the tonsured head…”
American universities established a code of regulations which today is followed by
almost all American institutions. The establishment of this code has made it
possible to distinguish the bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree recipients, and
at the same time, to recognize the university awarding the degree.
The colors of the lining of the hoods for the nine original colonial colleges are:
scarlet, Rutgers; crimson, Harvard; green-gold-silver, William and Mary; blue, Yale;
red and blue, Pennsylvania; orange and black, Princeton; light blue and white,
Columbia; brown, Brown; and green and white, Dartmouth. The bachelor’s gown
has pointed sleeves and is worn closed. The master’s gown has oblong sleeves,
open at the wrist. The rear part of its oblong shape is square-cut, and the front part
has an arc cut away. It is worn open or closed.
The hoods vary in size: 48 inches for the doctoral degree, 42 inches for the
master’s, and 36 inches for the bachelor’s. All hoods are lined in the academic
color or colors of the institution conferring the degree. If the institution has more
than one color, the colors are shown in divisions using chevrons. The binding or
edge of the hood is usually made of velvet in the color designating the subject in
which the degree was granted. Black mortarboards are worn for all degrees.
Some of the colors in the bindings of the hoods are: white, Arts and Letters; drab,
Business Administration; violet, Criminal Justice; light blue, Education; purple,
Law; apricot, Nursing; peacock blue, Public Administration; blue, Philosophy;
gold, Science; and citron, Social Work.
RUTGERS UNIVERSITY ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
Congratulations, Class of 2015!
Welcome to the Rutgers University Alumni Association (RUAA), the universitywide
alumni organization in which all Rutgers graduates are members—for free, for
life! You are joining a powerful network of more than 460,000 alumni worldwide,
a legion of scarlet enthusiasts who have shared many of the same experiences and
traditions that have made your time at Rutgers memorable.
As you embark upon this new chapter in your life, the Rutgers University Alumni
Association website will help you stay connected with Rutgers and fellow alumni in
ways that are meaningful to you. Networking events, social outings, exclusive
discounts, career resources, volunteer opportunities, and many diverse groups
across the United States and abroad await you.
Make sure you update your information on the RUAA website to customize which
news and updates you receive from the university and to ensure your alumni
benefits card and free subscription to Rutgers Magazine find you at your new
address: Ralumni.com/newgrads15.
Your days as a student are over, but as a Rutgers graduate, you are scarlet forever.
Rutgers and the RUAA look forward to being a part of the next exciting stage of
your life. Congratulations and welcome to the RUAA!
Rutgers University-Newark
Graduate School
Doctoral Programs and
Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing
Hooding Ceremony
U N IVER SIT Y | N EWAR K