The Graduate School

THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
Margaret Marsh, Dean
Marie Cornelia, Associate Dean

The Graduate School had a highly successful year in 2002-2003. It enrolled 400 students in the fall semester, its highest number ever. It admitted its first students to the new Criminal Justice program which is expected to be among its most popular offerings. It saw two of its programs, English and Liberal Studies reach close to full capacity and saw renewed student interest in History and Mathematics. What is more, as the numbers have grown, the quality of the students in these programs has also increased.

The Graduate School is especially happy to announce a unique new program in Educational Policy and Leadership, as a track within the Department of Public Policy and Administration. Thanks to months of hard work by Gloria Bonilla-Santiago, James Dunn, and the MPA faculty and Dean Marie Cornelia, we now have a signed contract with the Camden City School Board to educate fifteen of their teachers as principals for the Camden schools. This is a state funded project and a unique partnership which will enable Rutgers to do what it does best: train professionals who will possess both the expertise and the credibility necessary to tackle the problems facing the Camden schools and their children. This is a program which is expected eventually to serve the whole of South Jersey and make a substantial contribution to education in this part of the state.

Our Master’s degree students continue to find excellent jobs upon graduation, and also to go on to PhD programs in increasing numbers. Substantial fellowships were awarded to three of our graduates by Syracuse University, the Executive Women of New Jersey and the Rutgers Board of Trustees.

Despite facing budget cuts in the next Academic Year, the Graduate School will continue to thrive, increasing its numbers, improving its quality and expanding its programs.

GRADUATE PROGRAM IN BIOLOGY
Joseph Martin, Director

During the 2002-2003 academic year, members of the Graduate Program in Biology continued in numerous research and outreach activities and expanded recently developed programs.

Three new students have progressed through the new Dual Degree Program in Biology to the point of matriculating into the Masters Program in Biology. An additional two students matriculated into the program for the 2002-2003 academic year. This program is meant to attract outstanding undergraduate Biology majors to the Graduate Program by allowing them to complete both a Bachelors and a Masters degree within five years.

The research initiative for Information Processing in Complex Biological Systems (IPCBS), which includes researchers in biology, chemistry, computer science and psychology, has continued to expand. This initiative, directed by Joseph V. Martin (co-director: J.W. Whitlow, Jr.) received new funds ($50,000) from the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education Capacity-Building Funds for Biomedical and other High-Tech Research and from the National Science Foundation ($165,100). The NSF grant has been used to buy a scanning electron microscope for collaborative use by IPCBS members.

During the 2002-2003 academic year, there were a total of six full-time men, two full-time women, fourteen part-time men and fourteen part-time women enrolled in the Graduate Program in Biology. These statistics are similar to those of previous years. Eight students received Masters degrees in the current academic year and two were in the Plan A option which requires laboratory research and a written thesis.

GRADUATE PROGRAM IN CHEMISTRY
Paul Maslen, Director

Students and Faculty are enjoying the fruits of major renovations to the laboratories and facilities in the Science Building. Alex Roche's research group are making extensive use of the new Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectrometer (funded through an NSF-MRI grant) to characterize novel fluorinated cyclophanes, while the new unix computer (also funded through an NSF-MRI grant) is being used to tackle computationally intensive molecular-modeling projects in areas ranging from Biochemistry to Polymers. The new facilities have spawned a number of innovative research projects, ranging from the synthesis of light-emitting polymers to the development of software for simulating complex systems.

This year the department offered four new graduate courses, including a course in fluoro-organic chemistry taught by Alex Roche, a course in quantum-chemistry taught by Paul Maslen and a highly sought-after two-semester course in Industrial Chemistry taught by Thomas Colacot. Graduate students in the department have been active at several regional conferences and Peter Clifford received an award for his presentation at a graduate research conference at Drexel. Over the summer several high-school teachers participated in a Partners in Science summer research program sponsored by the Dreyfus foundation.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Drew Humphries, Director

As of Fall 2002, there were nine matriculated students enrolled in the MA in Criminal Justice Program. We have no graduates, this being the first year of operation.

The program completed its first year of operation, a major curricular development.

Two of our graduate students received honors. Graduate student Edna Galarza received a $5,000 Trustee Fellowship for Minorities, the first on this campus. Another of our graduate students, Kevin Murphy, presented a research paper at the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences in Boston (March 2003).

Dr. Jane Siegel was appointed to a second three-year term as an Assistant Professor based on an exemplary record of scholarly achievements. First year faculty, Drs. Michelle Meloy and Gail Caputo, as well as Dr. Siegel received funding from the Research Council for projects relating to children of imprisoned parents, female sex offenders, and shoplifters. The senior faculty, Dr. Drew Humphries and Jon'a Meyer continue to publish and present papers at national conferences.

Graduate student research includes papers on criminal justice policy, e.g., the effects of boot camp on juveniles and etiology of identity theft. This research has been conducted in the context of seminars.

Our students are not involved in internship programs.

Senior Faculty members are heavily involved in University, Campus, and Departmental service. Dr. Drew Humphries chairs the Research Council and sits on the Research Advisory Board, the Appointments and Personnel Committee for the social sciences, and directs the M.A. program in Criminal Justice. Dr. Meyer sits on the Faculty Senate, serves on seven University committees, has continued to serve as faculty advisor for the Criminal Justice Organization, and is active in student advising.

Selected community involvement includes Safer Cities, a project supported by the Attorney General's Office and the Police Institute on the Newark Campus (Dr. Humphries); Navajo Nation criminal justice (Dr. Meyer); and New Directions, a residential program for female offenders (Dr. Siegel).

In the short term, the graduate faculty plans a series of workshops on basic skills for graduate students and will incorporate features of the workshops in our web-enhanced curriculum.

The original plan for the Master of Arts program had three stages. The first stage was to create the program. The second was to stabilize it. And the third was to develop funding sources. We plan to meet with our consultant and Camden agency heads over the summer to explore the prospects for securing training grants and conducting evaluative research.

GRADUATE PROGRAM IN ENGLISH
Tyler Hoffman, Director

The Graduate Program in English completed another successful year. Sixteen students graduated with the English M.A. in May 2003. Of these, six wrote either a scholarly or creative thesis to fulfill the requirements of the degree.

Three of our graduate students were awarded prizes at the end of the year. Tara Timberman, who is going on to the Ph.D. Program at Syracuse University on a full tuition scholarship, received the Alumni Award for Academic Achievement. Emily Beach and Kate Delaney shared the Sanderson Award for the best essay written in a graduate course.

We also had a very successful year recruiting teaching assistants for AY 2003-2004. Indeed, the teaching assistantship remains a powerful tool to help attract to our program the most talented and gifted students.

The quality of the teaching assistants will assure that our composition courses are giving undergraduate students the finest instruction possible and helping to ensure their academic and worldly success.

Our faculty’s numerous accomplishments have been summarized in the Chairman’s report.

The Spring Writer’s Conference, now in its seventh year, again attracted a large audience and brought a range prominent authors to campus for workshops in which our graduate students participated, and the Painted Bride Quarterly and The Mickle Street Review, under the umbrella of the Camden On-Line Poetry Project, provided graduate students with opportunities to publish and edit on-line creative writing and academic journals.

Finally, we continue to enjoy a fruitful relationship with Camden County College, where some of our students teach basic composition, and, with the addition of Holly Blackford to the graduate faculty, we are further developing our track in the Teaching of Writing, which has become a popular option for our students.

GRADUATE PROGRAM IN HISTORY
Philip Scranton, Director

The Master’s in History program has shown stable growth in recent years toward our goal of stabilizing enrollment in the 40-50 total students range. In Fall 2000, even following an intensive recruitment effort, the program enrolled just over twenty-five candidates. By Spring 2003, forty-four students were pursuing graduate studies in history. Nine are poised to graduate in May and we expect 12-15 new students to commence degree work next fall. Moreover, the quality of the students we are now admitting has increased notably. To be sure, our door remains open to individuals wishing to “try out” graduate studies in history, but now, without fearing for enrollments, we can counsel out of the program those whose capabilities do not match their ambitions. As applications have been arriving steadily this spring, as of 1 May we have a virtually full cohort admitted and confirmed for fall. Any later applicants will be offered enrollment only on a space-available basis.

We remain committed to serving the continuing education needs for a sizable pool of New Jersey secondary school teachers (public and private), but their share of places in the program has dropped slightly, to roughly 50%. Teachers are complemented by a rising number of Public History candidates (up from 2 to 12, 2000-2003), a cluster of non-career-oriented scholars, and a small number of individuals who regard our program as the first step toward completing a doctorate. This year a recent graduate, Hannah Kim, secured admission and a full fellowship for Ph.D. studies at the University of Delaware, and one of our Spring 2003 finishers is expecting to continue work toward a doctorate at Temple University. Two, perhaps three of those completing MA’s in 2004 anticipate following this path as well. In Public History, Patricia Vignola secured a much-sought-after internship at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Summer 2002 and translated research she did there into a March 2003 conference paper that will be revised for inclusion in an essay collection. She will apply to a Ph.D. program that joins her interests in American Studies and Public History. Jill Horner has interned at the Alice Paul Memorial Foundation this term and plans to link her research on historical issues and her work in public television. Both have been nominated for New Jersey Executive Women Awards to support completing their graduate studies. Master’s research papers from this year’s graduates addressed a range of topics, including race, civil rights and the “Trenton Six” case (1948-53), a history of Mt. Holly’s 200-year-old Baptist Church, wartime reconstruction of conquered southern states (1861-65), and Philadelphia’s progressives’ summer camps for working class children (1880-1929).

Our Public History collaboration with Temple University continues to mature. This coming fall from eight to ten of our PH track MA candidates will be enrolling for Temple’s graduate course in museum management and practice, offered at TU-Center City. We will reciprocate by opening our advanced PH course in Spring 2004 to Temple graduate students. We look forward to deepening this relationship over time, as resources and opportunities afford.

GRADUATE PROGRAM IN LIBERAL STUDIES
Robert Ryan, Director

Enrollments: As of Fall 2002 there were fifty-five students registered in the program, three of them non-matriculates. Since last June we have admitted seventeen new students, as well as two dual-degree undergraduates, and we have five pending applications. As of May 23 we will have graduated ten students in the 2002-2003 academic year.

Curriculum: This year we offered courses on a variety of topics including "German Literature since 1945," "Women in Music," "Rational and Irrational Minds," "Myths of Modern Individualism," and "Psychology of Religion." To emphasize the interdisciplinary character of the program we also mounted two specifically cross-disciplinary courses: "The Age of Napoleon," in which the instructor was assisted by four faculty members from the departments of History and Fine Arts; and "The Idea of Freedom," team-taught by members of the English and Philosophy faculties. We have continued cooperating with other departments and programs, this year cross-listing nine courses.

Honors: One of our alumni had an article published in the Journal of Graduate Liberal Studies, a paper she was invited to present at the annual meeting of the Association of Graduate Liberal Studies Programs. In her article, Adeline Tomasone, who plays first flute in the orchestra of the Opera Company of Philadelphia, describes her experience in the MALS Program at Rutgers-Camden and reports how that experience changed her life and her attitude toward her music.

Student Research: The Capstone Projects completed by students under faculty supervision include research papers on Pauline Bonaparte, Religious Movements in the Age of Feminism, Beethoven and the Eroica Symphony, Body Changes and the Workplace, History vs. Shakespeare in “Richard III,” Police Brutality and African Americans, Native Americans in the French and Indian War, and The Rise and Fall of Willow Grove Park. The variety suggests the program’s range of interest.

Service: In addition to our instructional programs, we continued to contribute to the intellectual life of the campus with another series of lectures and faculty-student colloquia, the theme this year being “War and Peace.” We offered six colloquia by our own faculty and two sessions with outside lecturers. Much of our budget goes to providing honoraria for those speakers who aren’t Rutgers faculty and food and beverages for the participants.

Outlook: The program seems to be thriving. We have reached our optimal numbers, new applications are more than replacing graduates, the faculty keep creating exciting courses, and the Student Instructional Rating Forms give their professors very high marks. All in all, students seem more than content with the program, and many are reluctant to leave it.

GRADUATE PROGRAM IN MATHEMATICAL SCIENCE
Mahesh Nerurkar, Director

The Graduate Mathematics program has seen a substantial increase in the student enrollment during the Academic year 2002-2003. The enrollment as of Fall 2002 stands at twenty-seven and another ten students have been accepted and will join the program in the fall of 2003. Unlike the previous year there is a significant increasing in the teaching track as well. The number of students graduating this academic year is nine.

We are also happy to announce the introduction of a new track in the Graduate Mathematics Program-the Industrial Applied Mathematics track. This track will be functional from the fall semester of 2003. New core courses are being developed for this track and the Department of Mathematics has received an internal course development grant (Rutgers Dialogs Grant). The Mathematics Department has acquired the state of the art software package (MATLAB) crucial to the new courses in this track. Our graduate track in Mathematical Computer Science is one of the special features of our Graduate Program with an ever-increasing enrollment. These two tracks are serving the needs of students who are planning to have, and already have, careers in the high tech sector of the industry. Due to the increased enrollment in the teaching track we are planning to introduce new courses in History of Mathematics and Teaching Methodology.

From the point of view of student enrollment, quality of students, breadth and depth of our Graduate Program and its effectiveness in finding employment, the future looks very bright.

GRADUATE PROGRAM IN NURSING
Marie O'Toole, Director

The College of Nursing’s Graduate Program on the Camden Campus continues to offer students in the southern portion of the State of New Jersey the opportunity to pursue a master’s degree in nursing. Students may study in the traditional classroom or participate in online study through the College’s online offerings. It is also possible to combine classroom and online study. The students enrolled on the Camden Campus have a 100% pass-rate on the specialty certification examinations. They are employed in hospitals, private offices, clinics, and Schools of Nursing. Fifteen students completed the program on the Camden Campus during the Academic Year 2002-2003.

The use of distance technologies has enabled the College to extend its expertise in graduate level curriculum throughout the state. An extensive review of the curriculum was undertaken this year. Dr. Marie O’Toole RN, Ed.D., administers the program on the Camden Campus for the College of Nursing. Dr. O’Toole is the editor of the Miller-Keane Encyclopedia and the Dictionary of Medicine Nursing and Allied Health. The seventh edition of this work was published in the spring. Dr. O’Toole was also awarded the Excellence in Online Teaching Award by the Teaching Institute of eCollege.

Faculty teaching in the Program include Dr. Claudia Beckmann RN, Ph.D., Dr. Mary Hughes, RN, Ph.D. and Dr. Joanne Robinson, RN, Ph.D. Dr. Beckmann is a certified nurse midwife, whose research on the effects of asthma on pregnancy and perinatal outcomes appeared in the April issue of the Journal of Asthma. Dr. Beckmann also presented a poster at the Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Research Congress. Dr. Robinson pioneered new teaching strategies in the Theory and Research courses taught on the Camden Campus with great success. She also organized a poster presentation session for students in her research class. Dr. Robinson is the recipient of a Summer Research Development Award and published a research commentary in the Journal of Wound, Incontinence and Ostomy Care. Dr. Hughes is a certified pediatric nurse practitioner. She oversaw the clinical placements of students in a wide variety of settings in southern New Jersey.

GRADUATE PROGRAM IN PHYSICAL THERAPY
Marie Koval Nardone, Director

MPT Program
Jointly Sponsored by UMDNJ-SHRP

Students: There were 27 matriculated students as of fall 2002. Three completed requirements for October, 2002 graduation. Nine completed requirements for May, 2003 graduation. Two withdrew from the program. Two were matriculation continued. Sixteen entered the second year of the program in May. A new class of thirteen students began on May 27, 2003; one student returned to full-time status.

Curricular Developments: This fall, the DPT option with UMDNJ’s transitional DPT Program in Newark was initiated. Individuals who graduated from the MPT Program from1998 on may apply to the t-DPT Program in Newark and earn the DPT with 4 additional courses beyond the MPT. There is a trend towards doctoral preparation in Physical Therapy and this provides our graduates with an option to obtain such a degree. The American Physical Therapy Association’s vision for 2020 is that physical therapy will be a doctoring profession.

Honors:
Prof. David Kietrys received one of two Excellence in Teaching Awards by UMDNJ-SHRP.

Prof. Patricia Gillardon (Kluding) was awarded the Nicholas DeProspo Award for Outstanding Service at the doctoral hooding ceremony at Seton Hall University.

Prof. Gillardon and Marsico completed their doctoral degrees this past year.

Michael Connors, Class of 2003, was selected as Outstanding Student of the Year by the Society of Allied Health Professions of New Jersey.

Susan Gonnam and Michael Connors, Class of 2003, were awarded the MPT Program Academic and Clinical Excellence Awards, respectively, by UMDNJ-SHRP.

Brandi Feinberg, Class of 2003, was awarded the Rutgers-Camden Alumni Prize.

Dr. Joseph Martin was awarded a Dean’s Citation at the SHRP Annual Recognition Program in May.

Graduate, Alli Soowal, Class of 1996, was recognized as an Orthopedic Clinical Specialist by the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties at the American Physical Therapy Association’s Combined Sections Meeting in Tampa.

Research Faculty:
Patricia Gillardon published “A proposed strategy to facilitate clinical decision making in physical therapy students” in the Journal of Physical Therapy Education 16(2): 57- 63.

David Kietrys, Patricia Gillardon, and co-author, Mary Lou Galantino, published, “Contemporary issues in rehabilitation of patients with HIV disease: Part III: The effects of exercise on individuals with HIV disease,” in Rehabilitation Oncology 20(2): 10-14.

Patricia Gillardon and co-author, Genevieve Pinto-Zipp, presented a poster, “Sit-to-stand ability following ankle joint mobilizations in a patient with hemiplegia,” at the Combined Sections Meeting of the American Physical Therapy Association in Tampa, Florida. The abstract was published in Neurology Report 26(4): 199-200. The poster was also presented at the American Physical Therapy Association of New Jersey Annual Conference in March.

Robert Marsico and co-authors, Jill Wecht, Ronald DeMeersman, Joseph Weir, Ann Spungen, and -William Bauman, presented, “Heart rate recovery after maximal exercise in individuals with paraplegia,” at the American Paraplegia Society 48th Annual Meeting. The abstract was published in The Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine 25 (3): 231-232.

Marie Koval Nardone presented a poster, “The development of professional competence in physical therapy clinical education,” at the American Physical Therapy Association of New Jersey Annual Conference in March.

Faculty and students:
David Kietrys and student co-authors, S. Chica, B. Dennis, D. Ortiz, C. Robertson, and R. Weiss, presented a poster, “The effects of exercise on individuals with HIV disease,” at the Pennsylvania Physical Therapy Association Conference in Harrisburg in October.

David Kietrys mentored High School student, Richard Hubler, in the development of a poster for the UMDNJ-SOM Poster Day in March. The poster was “Arthroscopic knee surgery: A comparison of menisectomy and meniscal repair.” Marie Koval Nardone mentored Joseph Fraietta, whose poster, “Genetic basis of cancer,” was also presented.

MPT faculty and students presented 3 posters at the American Physical Therapy Association of New Jersey Annual Conference in West Windsor in March. Aparna Deshpande, Brandi Feinberg, William Pfister, and faculty member, Robert Marsico, presented a poster, “Manipulation of strength training variables: Single set, multiple set and periodizatoin. A review of the literature.” Michael Connors, Veronica Danielian, Nathan Woollard and faculty member, David Kietrys, presented “Efficacy of conservative interventions for lateral epicondylitis.” Susan Gonnam, R. Christopher Robinson, David Wright Jr. and faculty member, Dennise Krencicki presented “The influence of financial incentives on the delivery of healthcare: A literature review.”

Internships:
MPT Program students complete a minimum of 4 full-time clinical internships as a component of the curriculum. Over the past year, students completed 46 internships at the following institutions:
A. Harry Moore, Advanced Physical Therapy Associates, Bancroft Neurohealth, Bergen Special Services School, Burke Rehabilitation Center, Capital Health, Comprehensive Sports Care Specialists, Inc, Cooper Hospital/UMC (2), Delaware Valley PT Associates (2), Georgetown University Hospital, Graduate Hospital, Hanover Hospital, Helen Hayes Rehabilitation Center, Inglis House, JFKMC/Johnson Rehabilitation Center (3), Kennedy Memorial Hospital (Cherry Hill, Stratford), Magee Rehabilitation Hospital, Medford Care Center, MedSport at Ann Arbor Ice Cube, Monmouth Medical Center, Moss Rehabilitation Center, NovaCare Outpatient Rehabilitation (Medford - 3, Sicklerville - 2, Stratford, Turnersville), Obicki Hospital, Paragon-Whiting, Pennsylvania Hospital, Rancocas Hospital, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, Sports Care and Physical Rehabilitation, St. Agnes Medical Center, St. Barnabas Medical Center, St. Lawrence Rehabilitation Center, St. Mary’s Medical Center (Langhorne), Shore Orthopedic and Rehabilitation, Underwood Memorial Hospital, and University Hospital. The internships ranged from one week to twelve weeks.

Service provided to the campus and the community:

MPT faculty and students screened 44 migrant farmworkers on June 13 in Cumberland County. Two hundred seven children of migrant farmworkers were screened on June 28 in Port Norris and 168 children were screened on July 3 in Winslow Township.

Dennise Krencicki served as a member of the Board of Physical Therapy in New Jersey. She was elected secretary in November and serves on the BPTE Rules Committee.

David Kietrys provided physical therapy services to clients of the Early Intervention Program (EIP) of Kennedy Health Systems. He received a $2000 grant from BMS Virology for the NJ-Fit-for-Life project for the EIP clients. He presented “Progressive resistive exercise” at the MANNA Food for Thought Conference in Philadelphia in October. Both of these services were for individuals who are HIV positive.

In October, faculty and students provided public service activities for physical therapy month. They walked in the AIDS walk in Philadelphia and set up an informational booth at the Reading Terminal Market.

Dennise Krencicki represented the program at the Rutgers-Camden Graduate Admission Fair in October.

G. Edward Flickinger presented “Physical therapy” at the Hempfield High School in Landsville, Pennsylvania in November.

Robert Marsico attended the Rutgers-New Brunswick Career Fair in November.

G. Edward Flickinger participated in the “Jingle bell run” in December in Lancaster to raise funds for rheumatoid arthritis and networked with pre-health students from local universities.

Patricia Gillardon and David Kietrys represented the MPT Program at the Science Preparation Alliance of Rutgers and Camden in January.

Dennise Krencicki, G. Edward Flickinger, and Marlene Burrell attended the Annual Health Career Fair of the Minority Association of Pre-Health Students at Rutgers-New Brunswick in March.

Marie Koval Nardone attended the Rutgers-Camden Graduate Information Session in April.

David Kietrys presented, “A career in physical therapy,” at the Medical Arts High School in April in Camden.

The MPT Program faculty and students hosted Open Houses for prospective applicants in November and February. They hosted “Meet and greet” sessions for prospective students in September, October, January, March, and April. Local clinicians were invited to participate in two meetings of the MPT Program Clinical Advisory Committee in November and March.

Dennise Krencicki presented a Clinical Instructor Credentialing Workshop at Concentra Medical Center with Jeannette Elliott in December. In January, she co-presented the Clinical Instructor Credentialing Workshop with Lee Ann Guenther at Virtua Health Systems in Marlton.

Patricia Gillardon coordinated the Student Conclave for the American Physical Therapy Association of New Jersey in November.

David Kietrys presented “Rehab for individuals living with HIV disease.”

Robert Marsico presented “Exercise principles for acute care patients.”

Dennise Krencicki and Marie Koval Nardone provided resume reviews for interested students.

Patricia Gillardon presented, “Total body fitness” at the Second Annual Life After Stroke Conference for Stroke Survivors and Families presented by the American Stroke Association in November. Student, Brandi Feinberg, assisted with the presentation.

Faculty, David Kietrys, Patricia Gillardon, G. Edward Flickinger, and Dennise Krencicki, participated as team members in an interdisciplinary team simulation experience for the UMDNJ School of Osteopathic Medicine Department of Family Medicine. David Kietrys presented “Implications of lifestyle diversity to family practice” to UMDNJ-SOM Family Medicine Physicians in March, 2003.

MPT Program faculty mentored local high school students who participate in the High School Scholars Program, which is sponsored by UMDNJ-School of Osteopathic Medicine (SOM). Faculty, G. Edward Flickinger, Patricia Kluding (Gillardon), David Kietrys, Dennise Krencicki, Robert Marsico, and Marie Koval Nardone supervised the students’ research projects. Two of the high school projects were presented at SOM’s Annual Research Day in March, 2003. The students who presented were supervised by Marie Koval Nardone and David Kietrys. Marie Koval Nardone made presentations to the Scholars group and coordinated the Scholars course.

David Kietrys, Robert Marsico and co-presenter, Mary Jane Myslinski presented a continuing education workshop “Current concepts in exercise testing and prescription: Implications for PT practice” for local clinicians. Dave Kietrys, Robert Marsico, and Dennise Krencicki served as the planning committee for the conference.

David Kietrys was an item writer for the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy for the National Physical Therapy Examination.
Marie Koval Nardone was appointed to the University Committee – South to represent UMDNJ’s Schools of Health Related Professions, Nursing, and Public Health.

Marie Koval Nardone served as an abstract reviewer for the Section for Education of the American Physical Therapy Association (Combined Sections Meeting). David Kietrys served as an abstract reviewer for the Pennsylvania Physical Therapy Association Annual Conference. Ms. Nardone was also a member of the Section for Education Awards Committee.

David Kietrys and alumnus, David Schuld, developed an alumni newsletter, which was distributed to all MPT Program alumni.

Outlook for the future: The overall market for the hiring of physical therapy graduates improved markedly this past year. The pool of qualified applicants for admission to the program remained stable, however. The faculty worked diligently in assisting qualified students to choose the MPT Program and in assisting matriculated students in completing the program successfully. Although we recruited a full complement of twenty students, we were successful in having only thirteen matriculate. We had attrition from the class of 2004. Three members of the class of 2004 left the program this past year for academic reasons. One took a leave of absence and has joined the Class of 2005.

The addition of the DPT option for graduates was a positive recruiting tool. We plan to market that option more heavily over the next year. In addition, we will be exploring the establishment of articulation programs with undergraduate institutions to increase our pool of qualified applicants.

The MPT Program had faculty and staff transition over the past year. Prof. Robert Marsico left the program in December. Profs. Patricia Kluding (Gillardon) and G. Edward Flickinger left in May. The faculty search committee has been actively recruiting faculty for the three vacant positions. The faculty shortage in physical therapy education and the perceptions about pending change in higher education in New Jersey has made this process a challenge. We expect to have a full complement of faculty on board for the fall term. We have utilized additional adjunct faculty in order to offer the courses that are necessary for the completion of each student’s program plan for graduation. Both secretarial positions were vacant this past year and filled. Beverly Fraietta and Marlene Burrell joined the Program staff.

During the past year, we established a clinical advisory committee. We have held two meetings and we believe that this will strengthen the ties that the program has with its clinical instructors and provide us with a marketing advantage with those institutions.

The biggest challenge that the program is facing at the present time is the declining applicant pool for physical therapy. Our colleagues at peer institutions are facing the same shortages. Although the market for graduate employment appears to have recovered, the applicant pool has yet to do so. Other health care professions, e.g., nursing and medical technology, have faced similar difficulties in the past and have rebounded well. We are hopeful that physical therapy will do the same.

GRADUATE PROGRAM IN PUBLIC POLICY AND ADMINISTRATION
James Dunn, Chair

New Education Track Launched in Partnership with Camden School Board
The MPA faculty, the Graduate Directors, and the Dean approved the creation of a track in Educational Policy and Leadership. The new track will initially be launched in partnership with the Camden City School Board and the Superintendent of Schools. Fifteen Camden teachers were selected from over 50 applicants to be the first cohort of students in the track. Beginning in the summer of 2003, these teachers will follow a two-year curriculum which includes all the MPA core courses and also specialized courses and internships in educational leadership, school management, and organizational change to enhance student learning. Upon completion of the program, the teachers will receive their MPA degree and their principal’s certificate, making them eligible to assume leadership in Camden’s schools. Dr. Gloria Bonilla-Santiago, Director of the Education Policy and Leadership track, worked tirelessly to forge the partnership with the Camden School District and to reach agreement on the contract between the university and the district.

New Faculty Member Hired
Dr. Christine Brenner will join the department faculty in 2003-2004 as Assistant Professor. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Texas - Arlington in 1999, and subsequently taught at Texas – El Paso, where she was also Associate Director for Policy at the Institute for Policy and Economic Development. Dr. Brenner has published a number of significant policy-relevant articles on topics such as female labor force participation, fiscal federalism, and partnerships between government, business, and higher education.

Faculty Service and Scholarship
Dr. Gloria Bonilla-Santiago also served as Director of the Center for Strategic Urban Leadership, which among its many other activities will organize a Principal’s Academy offering non-degree seminars for current Camden district principals. Dr. James Garnett was awarded the Rutgers-Camden Alumni Association’s 2003 “Outstanding Faculty Award.” He also served as Associate Department Chair and as liaison with the School of Public Health and the School of Osteopathic Medicine. He made presentations on coping with change to the South Jersey Regional Leadership Institute, and gave a paper on crisis communication to the International Conference of the Public Administration Theory Network. Dr. Jainaba Kah served as Director of the International Public Service and Development track.

Dr. Michael Lang spent the fall semester studying the planning history of the Russian capital cities of St. Petersburg and Moscow, and presented some of his research at the London conference of the International Planning History Society. Dr. Patrice Mareschal published two articles on dispute resolution techniques in the International Journal of Public Administration. Dr. Sanjay Pandey served as Director of the Health Policy and Management track. He published articles on health policy in Social Science and Medicine and the Journal of Aging & Social Policy, and an article on red tape in the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory. Dr. Jon Van Til served this year as Director of the undergraduate Urban Studies program. He published a chapter on the Third Sector in a book, Viable Utopian Visions: Shaping a Better World, published by M.E. Sharpe, and continued to be a contributing columnist to The Nonprofit Times. The activities of our faculty members who hold joint appointments with Political Science are discussed in that department’s report.

Students: Greater Numbers, Same High Quality
The department awarded 40 M.P.A. degrees in the academic year 2002-2003, the most in our history. The total number of full-time and part-time graduate students officially enrolled in the M.P.A. program stood at 118 in the fall semester, also the highest in the department’s history. In addition to our own students, many of our classes are also taken by the students from the M.A. in Criminal Justice program, from the Master of Public Health program in UMDNJ’s School of Public Health, from the D.O. program in School of Osteopathic Medicine, from the Rutgers – Camden School of Law, and by students in the B.A./M.P.A dual degree program with the Political Science Department.

The quality of our graduates continues to be demonstrated by the awards, honors, and acceptances they receive from outside organizations. Chad Hanneman won a prestigious Presidential Management Internship with the Department of Defense, a full-time, full-salary fast track executive trainee position. Robert Allen received an executive internship with the Department of State and Michelle Bynoe will intern at the Department of Agriculture. Seventeen M.P.A. students qualified for induction into Pi Alpha Alpha, the national honor society for public administration graduate students. Six of our 2003 M.P.A. degree recipients will graduate with 4.0 grade point averages. Deanna Malatesta was accepted in the Ph.D. program at Harvard, joining two of last year’s graduates who received acceptances this year into Ph.D. programs at George Washington University and the University of Georgia.