FDU’s William Schuber Among NJ Public Servants to Receive Awards from NJ ASPA
William “Pat” Schuber, clinical professor of homeland security, pictured with FDU President Michael Avaltroni and NJ ASPA President Dr. Lisa Mahajan-Cusack.
In celebration of Public Service Recognition Week (PSRW), five accomplished New Jersey public servants and eight outstanding public administration students were honored at the Annual Awards Reception of the New Jersey Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration (NJ ASPA) held on May 9 at Fairleigh Dickinson University’s Florham Campus.
Established in 1985, PSRW is a nationwide public education campaign honoring the men and women who serve our nation as federal, state, county, local, and tribal government employees. Each year the president and Congress designate the first full week of May as PSRW and activities are held nationwide to honor public employees who put service above self.
NJ ASPA award winners were nominated by association members or professors familiar with their students’ work, and the final selections were made by an NJ ASPA committee. The winners are:
- The NJ ASPA Distinguished Public Service Lifetime Award was presented to William “Pat” Schuber, clinical professor of homeland security in FDU’s School of Public and Global Affairs.
- The NJ ASPA Distinguished Public Service Award was presented to Jillian Barrick, Business Administrator of the Town of Morristown, NJ.
- Governor Richard J. Codey received the NJ ASPA President’s Award in honor of an extraordinary New Jersey public service career.
- The NJ ASPA Academic Excellence Award was presented to Pengju Zhang, Ph.D., Associate Professor, School of Public Affairs and Administration, Rutgers University-Newark.
- RaJade M. Berry-James, Ph.D., president of the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA), received the NJ ASPA President’s Award recognizing distinguished service to the field of Public Administration.
The recipients of the Public Administration Students of the Year Awards are students who have excelled in their public administration or public policy graduate studies at universities in New Jersey. These students have emerged as effective leaders among their contemporaries.
The students are:
- Carmen Acuahuitl, St. Peters University
- Nashia Basit, Rutgers University-New Brunswick
- Jessalyn Chang, Rutgers University-Newark
- Laura Natalia Castro Fuentes, Farleigh Dickinson University
- Melissa Maselli, Rutgers University-Camden
- Michael Oleaga, Kean University
- Kaitlyn Spitzer, Seton Hall University
- Eugene Wilkins, Jr., Thomas Edison State University
NJ ASPA president Dr. Lisa Mahajan-Cusack presented the awards.
NJ ASPA is the New Jersey affiliate of the American Society for Public Administration (www.aspanet.org), the largest and most prominent professional association for public administration, devoted to advancing excellence in public service. It provides networking opportunities to public and non-profit professionals as well as developing innovative solutions to the challenges of governance.
Check out the event photos below.