Public Housing Summit: A Conversation Between Scholars and Housing Directors Hosted at Rutgers University-Newark

General notes:

At this one day conference there was a good mix of academics and practitioners. The discussions that took place were very helpful and informative to everyone. Beyond my expectations, the conference did not focus solely on Newark or New Jersey. This was really great, especially for someone like me who isn’t from New Jersey.

Another plus was that most officials at the conference knew each other. Academics knew practitioners and practitioners knew them. This created a trusting environment where all parties were able to share their knowledge, experiences, and thoughts and everyone else listened.

The recurring theme was that the partnership between academics and practitioners needs to be increased. Several times throughout the conference it was emphasized that the two worlds do not exist independently. The general idea was that academics and practitioners should collaborate more on research and that time should be allotted for practitioners to bring those projects to life in practice.

One other thing I liked was that several participants gave practical ideas for collaborations to exist and perform well. The thing that sticks out most for me was that one retired practitioner recommended other practitioners to reenter academia as adjuncts. This way they could collaborate on research but they could also help students as mentors and they can help students and graduates establish those connections in the real world that would prove invaluable to them. This was a great idea because students need more guidance from experienced practitioners who know just how dirty it gets in the trenches.

As other similar conferences come up, I will post them here as well. I hope this and my other soon to come posts help fill you in on the happenings at this conference.

The Conference Website is: http://www.newark.rutgers.edu/housingsummit/

Jose Luis Irizarry, MPA
PhD Student, School of Public Administration and Affairs
Rutgers University
Mobile: 646.229.7882
Alt. Email: [email protected]

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FYI….

The 2009 National Academy of Public Administration’s Social Equity and Leadership Conference will be held from June 17-19, 2009 in Newark, NJ. The theme for the 2009 conference is Social Equity and Regional Disparities. The host institution is The School of Public Affairs and Administration at Rutgers University – Newark.

The website for this conference is: http://www.socialequity09.org/