Listen to the latest episode of the Heldrich Center’s Work Trends RU podcast, featuring featuring Aaron Fichtner, Ph.D., President of the New Jersey Council of County Colleges. Dr. Fichtner discusses the role New Jersey’s 18 community colleges play in expanding access to higher education, developing a skilled workforce, and meeting the evolving needs of students, employers, and local communities.
Topic
News
Prof. Andrews Interviewed About New Jersey’s Propane Emergency
“[It] can lead to frozen pipes, can lead to sick kids, it could lead to a whole variety of problems,” Prof. Andrews said.
He said that the whole situation underscores how problematic the use of propane can be.
Pfeiffer Ranks on List for Local Political Influence (Daily Targum)
“At the end of the day, (the) government has to make decisions. Some people are going to like it. Some people aren’t. It’s the nature of the beast,” Pfeiffer said.
NJSPL Report: Investor Acquisition of Residential Properties
Corporate ownership of single-family homes and other small residential properties has drawn growing concern from housing advocates and policymakers in New Jersey and nationally. Between 2012 and 2022, corporate ownership of 1–4-unit residential properties more than doubled in the Garden State.
Dean Shapiro: Another Blow to Regulatory Benefit-Cost Analysis
Stuart Shapiro argues that the Trump Administration’s new OIRA memo accelerates deregulation by sidelining rigorous benefit-cost analysis and elevating presidential preferences over economic evidence. He concludes that formally directing agencies to ignore analysis in key situations may signal the end of a decades-long norm that regulatory decisions should be grounded in objective economic evaluation.
Using Counter-Mapping to Promote Resilience in Urban Planning
Counter-mapping is discussed as an important tool for community-driven urban planning and urban design that leverages the preservation of local knowledge and cultural heritage, and challenges the hegemony of design promoted by platform urbanism
Civic Engagement in an Era of Artificial Intelligence
This talk draws on Dr. Renee Sieber’s research at the intersection of tech and civic engagement.
Ceu Cirne-Neves, MPA, FACHE Receives Lifetime Achievement Award
The Bloustein School is proud to share that colleague Céu Cirne-Neves, MPA, FACHE has been honored with the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award from the American College of Healthcare Executives New Jersey Chapter (ACHE-NJ). The award was presented at the chapter’s Annual Meeting and Awards Ceremony on December 4, 2025, at the Hyatt Regency in New Brunswick.
NJSPL: The Healthcare Affordability Crisis in NJ and Nationally
Nationally, and in New Jersey, healthcare spending accounts for 1 in 5 dollars of gross domestic product, with hospital care representing the largest category of healthcare spending. In order to address this ongoing affordability crisis, researchers recommend that the incoming gubernatorial administration continue to build on the work of the New Jersey Health Care Afforability, Responsibility, and Transparency (HART) Program.
Wolff and Lewis Pen Chapter on PSD and Trauma-Informed Care
This chapter provides a blueprint that recognizes the reluctance of the correctional system to address trauma, the lack of funding and staffing expertise to support and sustain a therapeutically sensible response to trauma, and the superseding public health imperative to treat and rehabilitate trauma in cost-effective ways.