Congratulations to our first graduating cohort of grad students!

On May 4th, three of our dual degree recipients were inducted into Pi Alpha Alpha, the National Honorary Society for Public Affairs and Administration. It was a nice ceremony with reception, dinner, and formal induction. Attorney General Peter Harvey was the evening's speaker. Dual degree recipients complete graduate work in both criminal justice and public policy and receive two degrees. Shown to the right are inductees Sherri-Ann Goldberg and Dennis Sims. (Not present: Joelle Quail).
Then, on May 20th, it was graduation time! All eight graduates showed up in grand splendor, replete with caps, gowns and lovely hoods. Until we had graduating masters students of our own, I never noticed how nice the masters hoods look. Given camera flash issues, our photos of each graduate receiving his/her degree did not come out, but this photo shows Rutgers University President McCormick conferring the degrees on our graduates. He mentioned that two new graduate programs were graduating their first cohort-- our Masters of Arts in Criminal Justice program and the new Education Policy and Leadership track in the Master's of Arts in Public Administration program.
Then, it was party time! Right after graduation, all of the graduates and their guests came back to campus for a reception in their honor. It was food, folks, and fun as we met the graduates' friends and families. The mood was rather festive; some graduates left their robes on for the whole reception. This photo shows the CJ faculty and deserving graduates at the reception. Back row (left to right): Dr. Jon'a Meyer, Dr. Michelle Meloy, Dr. Jane Siegel, Dennis Sims, Kevin Murphy, Margaret Quern, Rahsan Mumcuoglu, Daniel Howard. Front row (left to right): Sherry-Ann Goldberg, Edna Galarza, Dr. Gail Caputo, and Dr. Drew Humphries. Not present in photo: Joelle Quail.	Thanks to Dennis Sims for sharing this photo since our camera still wasn't working. Click on the photo to see a larger version and click here to see a version with just the graduates.
Congratulations are definitely in order for our first graduating cohort. They came in as a group of individuals who barely knew one another or what we had in store for them. When they left, they were a solid group of lifelong friends who together survived methods, statistics, budgeting and finance, and a host of other academic challenges. They demonstrated their ability to engage in advanced research and to contribute in meaningful ways to their professional communities. They also taught us a lot; I for one, am glad I met (and was touched by) each of them.

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Jon'a F. Meyer, 856-225-6207
Page last updated 5/25/05