SPIA in NJ

The New Jersey State Policy Lab and SPIA in NJ with the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs will be hosting the second annual #Policy Collaboratory at the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development on April 10th from 12pm to 5pm. This collaborative event will welcome graduate students from Princeton University and Rutgers University to work together and brainstorm various solutions to address #affordablehousing challenges in the Garden State. Registration is limited and required. Please only register if you intend to attend in person. Rutgers University Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy Rutgers School of Public Affairs and Administration

This afternoon, we partnered with Princeton’s Program in Law and Public Policy to engage students on pathways to public service law. This panel featured: 1. NJ Supreme Court Chief Justice Stuart Rabner 2. Andrew Bruci from the Department of Justice 3. Angela Cai from the Office of the NJ Attorney General 4. Joe Krakora, SPIA in NJ’s Faculty Fellow and NJ’s former Public Defender “When asking ‘what’s in it for me?’: the work is rewarding and impactful” ??

Today, President Christopher Eisgruber sent his annual State of the University letter to faculty, students and staff, calling on Princetonians to work together to “celebrate fresh beginnings and remarkable achievements, rise to meet difficult challenges, and energetically pursue this University’s mission of teaching, research, and service in the year ahead.” Read the full letter: https://bit.ly/3Cxtq4T

This is a very satisfying and important development for a few reasons: Firstly, after years and years of "everyone's leaving New Jersey!" hysteria that was mostly driven by anti-tax zealotry and firmly debunked by the growth of more than 500,000 people in the 2020 census, the state continues to grow and attract workers and businesses. This is happening not in spite of our tax policies, but due to them, because when the state has the resources to provide impactful, pro-family programs like 12 weeks of paid family leave, assert and enforce a now $15.49 minimum wage, and invest in vital public resources like schools, parks, and transportation, we are a state that helps to ensure folks have what they need to get ahead rather than undermine their ability to do so - something we unfortunately see in many other states around the country as they privatize and underinvest in public assets and programs while attacking civil and economic rights. Secondly, this is a valuable development as we head into a new presidential administration that will attack one of the most important sources of our growth: international immigration. The Statue of Liberty is in New Jersey waters. Immigration has contributed to the success of our economy and our culture since our founding. Efforts to both attack immigrants in our communities and make it harder for immigrants to come here will no doubt harm our economy, and we need to be clear-eyed about that reality as we prepare for the damaging and dangerous actions to come. https://lnkd.in/eCyGtSsX

With President Trump signing 10 administrative orders on immigration in his first week in office and pledging mass deportations and significant changes to border security, faculty at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs are providing expert insights into the situation. https://lnkd.in/eEXMwW3S?

Check out our Policy Fellow Amol Sinha’s Lost In Jersey Podcast episode!

??Attn. reporters and editors: Princeton SPIA faculty are coming to D.C. for an all-day media briefing on Jan. 31 to discuss current policy topics as the new administration takes over. Full agenda and registration details at https://lnkd.in/eGDUSTih Stay for one session or the entire day, including a lunch roundtable and reception to follow. We’ll discuss:? - Domestic Policy, including relations with the new Congress? - Climate, Energy and Industrial Policy? - Foreign Policy, including the current conflicts, migration, and global order? - American Democracy, Governance, and the 2024 Elections? - Artificial Intelligence and Policymaking Co-convened by Julian Zelizer, Frances Lee and Zach Vertin, participating faculty include Dean Amaney Jamal, Benjamin Bradlow, Filiz Garip, Heather Howard, Peter Henderson, G. John Ikenberry, Daniel C. Kurtzer, Razia. Iqbal, Sayash Kapoor, Denise Mauzerall, Deborah Pearlstein, Cecilia Elena Rouse, Rory Truex, and Hye Young You. Register now to secure a seat.

Join us this Thursday with Rutgers University, Princeton Public Library, NJ, Labyrinth Books, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton University’s Center for Migration and Development @ Labyrinth Books on Nassau St. Conversation moderated by Princeton University Sociology Professor Patricia Fernandez Kelly. Simultaneous English/Spanish interpretation will be available. See you there! ?? https://lnkd.in/eRbk27NQ

Read more about Ben’s work with NJ Coalition to End Homelessness ?? we are thrilled to have hosted a panel with the Coalition this fall semester.

We’d like to congratulate our Policy Fellow, Nedia Morsy, on her promotion to Executive Director of Make the Road New Jersey ?? “Morsy brings more than 10 years of social justice leadership—she began at the organization as a volunteer and member, then was hired as the organization’s first youth organizer and then organizing director, where she led some of MRNJ’s most successful campaigns—ranging from including youth in the $15 minimum wage hike to securing financial aid for immigrant students recipients and winning a fund for excluded workers.”