Symposia on Urban Poverty and Inequality series continues with its second installment

Rutgers University–Camden’s free public Symposia on Urban Poverty and Inequality series will continue with the second installment, “Poverty, Race and Educational Inequality: Implications for Policy and Practice,” from 9 a.m. to noon Wednesday, Feb. 19. This symposium will address poverty, race, and educational inequality, as a panel discusses the implications for policy and practice in the K-12 sector.

Arcelio Aponte, president of the New Jersey State Board of Education

Speakers will be Arcelio Aponte, president of the New Jersey State Board of Education; Eric Lerum, vice president of national policy for Students First; and James Jennings, a professor in the Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning at Tufts University.

The symposia series addresses the growing social, economic, and political inequality gaps in the United States’ most impoverished urban communities. The series, which is free of charge and open to the general public, is held in the Multi-Purpose Room on the main level of the Campus Center, located on Third Street, between Cooper Street and the Benjamin Franklin Bridge on the Rutgers–Camden campus.

Eric Lerum, vice president of national policy for Students First

The discussions bring together scholars, policymakers, and practitioners to address the problem of growing inequality and its serious ramifications in the United States.

The remaining symposia are as follows:

“Youth, Civil Unrest, and the Fate of Urban America: Addressing Urban Violence” will be held from 9 a.m. to noon Wednesday, April 2. This symposium will look at urban violence and youth, as the panel discusses how the Cradle to Prison and Grave paradigm can be shifted to one that leads to college, career, and prosperity.

Speakers will be Heather Thompson, an associate professor in the departments of African American Studies and History at Temple University; Scott P. Charles, MAPP director and trauma outreach coordinator for Cradle to Grave at Temple University Hospital; and Amy Goldberg, section chief of trauma and surgical critical care at Temple University Hospital.

James Jennings, a professor in the Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning at Tufts University

“Immigration Policy and Reform: The Imperative for Creating Pathways to Citizenship and Prosperity” will be held from 9 a.m. to noon Tuesday, April 22. This final symposium will address immigration reform and the policy imperatives to providing pathways for citizenships for thousands of undocumented residents.

Speakers will be Clarissa Martinez, director of civic engagement and immigration for the National Council of La Raza; Linda S. Bosniak, a distinguished professor at Rutgers School of Law–Camden; and Marisol Conde-Hernandez, co-founder of the New Jersey DREAM Act Coalition at Rutgers–Newark.

The symposia series is co-sponsored by the Community Leadership Center of the Department Of Public Policy and Administration at Rutgers–Camden. Registration is required. To register, contact Ana Rivera at 856-225-6348.

For directions to Rutgers–Camden, visit camden.rutgers.edu/resources/getting-to-campus.