Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning & Public Policy

Bloustein Honors Research Oral Thesis Defense
2025-05-01 11:30 - 14:00 (America/New_York) | Gov. James J. Florio Special Events Forum, CSB, 33 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, United States
The members of the 2024-25 Bloustein Honors Research Program cohort will be presenting their individual research projects in a Research Poster Session on Thursday, April 24, from noon to 2:00 pm
The Bloustein Honors Research Program Poster Session will be held April 24 @ 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm in the Gov. James J. Florio Special Events Forum, CSB
During the oral thesis defense, each student will give a 15-minute academic research presentation about their project and answer questions from the faculty, leadership, and others in the audience.

Listening Session with Dean Stuart Shapiro
2025-05-01 16:30 - 17:30 | Bloustein School, Civic Square Building, 33 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, United States
Bloustein School students are invited to an open forum with Bloustein School Dean Stuart Shapiro to hear your thoughts on challenges facing higher education in today’s national climate.

TOD in Your Downtown: Gentle Density--Unlocking the Missing Middle in Housing
2025-05-29 09:30 - 12:00 | NJ Transit Headquarters, 283-299 Market Street, Newark, 07102, United States
Hosted by NJTOD, Downtown New Jersey, and NJ TRANSIT’s Transit Friendly Planning (TFP) Program, the event will feature a timely discussion on gentle density and missing middle housing in New Jersey. Experts from public agencies, nonprofit organizations, and local governments will share their experiences and strategies for expanding diverse housing options while preserving neighborhood character.
Middle Housing—ranging from duplexes to buildings with up to 12 units—have been largely sidelined since the mid-20th century, as zoning regulations prioritized suburban single-family homes or urban high rises. Reintroducing Middle Housing into single-family and transitional neighborhoods offers a practical approach to advancing Gentle Density.
As municipalities work to address the state’s housing shortage, gentle density provides a realistic and context-sensitive solution. This panel will highlight real-world approaches for developing Middle Housing, the role of public transit in supporting these efforts, and best practices for creating livable, affordable, and sustainable communities.
Registration, Networking & Refreshments at 9:30 AM. Panel at 10:00 AM.

Dissertation Defense: Municipal Orientations to Warehouse Development in the Chicago Region
2025-07-25 10:00 - 12:00 | Virtual
Presented by Lauren Nolan, PhD candidate

NJ State Policy Lab Internship Presentations
2025-08-06 10:00 - 12:00 | Bloustein School, Civic Square Building, 33 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, United States
We invite you to attend the 2025 New Jersey State Policy Lab Summer Intern Presentations on Wednesday, August 6th. Each NJSPL intern selected an area of policy research that was of interest to them in order to investigate and study at the beginning of the summer. These presentations serve as a capstone to the ten-week internship.

The students, Abigail Asante-Amoah, Malachi David, Tiffany Flax, Tricia Harris, Avianna Peterson, and Sami Shaikh, will present on a range of subjects including education, the environment, health, and more. The event will be held in person and virtually on August 6th from 10:00am-12:00pm at the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy. Interested attendees are welcome to register here.

Intelligent Informatics @ Bloustein: AI AGENTS to the Rescue!? An Overview of the Opportunities, Risks and Economics of Agentic AI
2025-09-15 18:00 - 19:15 | Virtual
Rutgers Informatics Forum on Agentic Artificial Intelligence
This webinar will host an eminent expert on agentic AI, and will also provide insights into the advanced data science, informatics and AI education, and preparation needed for informatics, DS and AI jobs and careers.
Justin Trugman is Cofounder and Head of Technology at BetterFutureLabs, a venture studio focused on Multi-Agent Systems and the future of work. He was VP of Software Development and an early engineer at Caregility, worked at Google X’s Project Loon, and co-founded BlinkCDN and the non-profit SecureMeeting.
Facilitator: Professor Jim Samuel, Ph.D., Bloustein School, Rutgers University
PROGRAM

6:00 PM – Welcome and opening comments.
6:05 PM – Agentic AI Overview, Justin Trugman, Cofounder, Head of Technology, BetterFutureLabs

6:55 PM – MPI Studio on AI Agents and Generative AI, Prof. Samuel, Bloustein, Rutgers

7:00 PM – Career Discussion and Q&A on Agentic AI

Hosted by the Master of Public Informatics (MPI) program at Rutgers University
Special Thanks to our Collaborators:
Public Informatics Student Group, Journal of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence, New Jersey Big Data Alliance, and The Rutgers Artificial Intelligence and Data Science (RAD) Collaboratory
REGISTER AT go.rutgers.edu/informaticsF25
Questions? Email informatics@ejb.rutgers.edu. Join the Intelligent Informatics forum on LinkedIn https://go.rutgers.edu/rutgersinfx

A Celebration of Bloustein Book Publishing
2025-09-26 14:00 - 17:15 | Bloustein School, Civic Square Building, 33 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, United States
Learn more about book writing and publishing from Rutgers faculty and alumni. Includes discussion with Carmelo Ignaccolo, Bloustein School Assistant Professor; Akira Drake Rodriguez PhD’ 14, Assistant Professor at University of Pennsylvania; Laura Wolf-Powers, PhD ’02, Professor, Hunter College Urban Policy and Planning; and Andrew Zitcer, PhD ’13, Associate Professor and Program Director, Drexel University Westphal College of Media Arts & Design
AGENDA
2:00 – 3:00 Book Publishing 101: A Round Table Discussion with Doctoral Students and Early Career Faculty about the book publishing process.
3:10 – 4:45 Book Discussion: Author Presentations and Doctoral Student Reflections
4:45 – 5:15 Reception

LOCATION: Room 261

REGISTER: https://go.rutgers.edu/bookparty

Navigating Policy-Focused Career Pathways: Exploring Graduates' Policy-Focused Careers
2025-10-21 17:00 - 18:30 | Bloustein School, Civic Square Building, 33 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, United States
You are invited to join the New Jersey State Policy Lab to listen to and meet several of the many former students who have worked with NJSPL over the years. These alumni have gone on to pursue a variety of public policy-focused careers in areas including healthcare, housing, and economics.
In the four years since the NJSPL’s inception at Rutgers University, it has employed more than 100 graduate and undergraduate students as part of specific research projects and/or in the annual summer internship program. Many of their former interns and research assistants have stepped into professional careers in assorted policy arenas at the local, state, and federal levels.
This event will feature former interns, teaching assistants, and research assistants who worked with the NJSPL. They will discuss their policy interests, research, and career paths, followed by time for networking, where current students will learn more about careers where they can make a difference in assorted policy arenas. This event will help current students envision and navigate the transition from theory to practice, operationalizing their ideals in their career choices.
Light refreshments will be provided. Register for our event today.

Dissertation Defense: Black in Planning: The Tenuous Rise of Transportation Equity and Justice Since the 2010s
2025-10-28 16:00 - 18:00 | Bloustein School, Civic Square Building, 33 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, United States
Presented by Angela Johnson-Rodriguez.
To attend virtually, use the Zoom link provided via email.

Dissertation Proposal: Vacant Windows, Active Streets: Zoning, Policy, and Spatial Dynamics of Storefront Vacancy in NYC
2025-10-30 14:00 - 16:00 | Bloustein School, Civic Square Building, 33 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, United States
Presented by Sean Andrew Chen
Please use the Zoom link provided via email to attend this virtually.

Civic Engagement in an Era of Artificial Intelligence
2025-12-02 16:00 - 17:30 | Virtual
Renée Sieber is an associate professor at McGill University. Since she graduated from the Bloustein School, she has investigated the intersection of civic empowerment and computational technologies. She is best known for her research and practice on public participation geographic information systems and also has conducted research on participatory climate modeling. She currently researches civic engagement related to artificial intelligence. She co-hosts the monthly Al in Canadian Municipalities Community of Practice, now in its sixth year, where cities exchange best practices on Al use. She has collaborated
with numerous federal agencies and organizations in Canada on Al policy. She has advised on the design of two Al risk assessment tools and served on the IEEE working group on Al procurement. She sits on the executive boards of GIScience and Computational Urban Planning and Urban Management.
Artificial intelligence is sold as a miraculous cure to many of the ills of cities, one of which is a lack of civic (local) engagement. Al can summarize and translate civic participation and even synthesize participants if desired. Add to that, cities may be reluctant to engage citizens on Al-its deployment, impacts, and overall policy-because engagement supposedly slows Al adoption and because the tech contains all these contradictions. It’s opaque and can only be understood by data scientists. But it seems effortless to use, with chatbots and software libraries. Humans can and should be in the loop but autonomous agents will save cities time and money. On top of all of that, Al, especially generative Al, exerts an enormous impact on people’s lives so citizens should be involved. But governments exist in a FOMO (fear of missing out) world, where they feel the need to optimize with Al, less they miss their competitive advantage. This lecture will discuss these challenges and explore numerous ways that citizens can engage with cities on Al. It will also cover the dark side of Al with regard to civic engagement.
This talk draws on Dr. Sieber’s research at the intersection of tech and civic engagement. This interest developed in her dissertation with PhD supervisor Lyna Wiggins, who emphasized local adoption by planners of GIS, which at the time was hard! Throughout her career, she has been driven to investigate the potential for civic engagement using hard tech, especially as the discourse moves towards tech as the engine of innovation, for example in smart cities. In this she will draw on her six years co-hosting Al in Canadian Municipalities Community of Practice as well as 20+ years researching public participation GIS.
RSVP AT go.rutgers.edu/meck2025
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The Stuart Meck Distinguished Speaker Series on Land Use Law and Affordable Housing was established in 2018 by the family of the late Stuart Meck, Associate Research Professor and director of the Center for Planning Practice at the Bloustein School, and a professional planner for more than 45 years. The series highlights experts and practitioners of planning and policy development, offering diverse insight into topics under public and academic debate. This year’s lecture is dedicated to the memory of Lyna L. Wiggins, a longtime professor and program director in Rutgers’ urban planning program who retired in 2019 and passed away in November 2024. A pioneer in Geographic Information Sciences (GIS), Lyna taught its intricacies to generations of students at the Bloustein School. Most currently practicing planners in New Jersey took one of her courses. All are invited to join us in honoring her memory.

Participatory Mapping of Social Determinants of Health: From Local Knowledge to Public Health Action
2025-12-03 12:00 - 13:00 | Virtual
Dr. Wansoo Im serves as a Professor at Meharry Medical College’s School of Global Health where he manages the Public Health Exposure Database and directs the National Center for Community Mapping. His work leverages big data and social/crowd networking approaches to generate deep insights into demographic and health patterns, social and health determinants, and related business opportunities. Dr. Im received his PhD from the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy.
RSVP HERE
Event presented by the Health Administration program.

Plan4HealthNJ Studio: A Diagnostic Approach to Incorporating Public Health in Master Plans
2025-12-09 17:00 - 21:00 | Gov. James J. Florio Special Events Forum, CSB, 33 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, United States
Sponsored by the American Planning Association-New Jersey Chapter with a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, this Plan4HealthNJ studio enabled students to collaborate with officials and practitioners, engage in research and beta test ideas for APA-NJ to work with select municipalities to update their master plans, zoning ordinances and capital improvement programs to incorporate public health outcomes. Areas of focus included access to healthy food and agriculture, environmental health and sustainability, healthcare access, mobility, housing and community design and policy and public engagement. Students engaged in research, tested toolkits created by APA-NJ, explored how these toolkits could help urban, suburban and rural towns in New Jersey incorporate public health outcomes into their plans, ordinances and investments, and provided findings and recommendations that may prove helpful when APA-NJ works with municipalities in 2026 to update their Master Plans, ordinances and CIPs to incorporate public health concerns.
A light reception will follow the event. For more information about Plan4HealthNJ, visit https://njplanning.org/plan4healthnj/
RSVP to go.rutgers.edu/plan4healthnj

Intro to Urban Planning & Design Lecture Series: Jesse Hirakawa
2026-02-10 14:00 - 15:00 | Bloustein School CSB, Room 261, 33 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, United States
The lecture series “Introduction to Urban Planning & Design” is made possible by a Rutgers Teaching Enhancement Grant from the Vice Provost for Experiential Learning awarded to Assistant Professor Carmelo Ignaccolo.
This week, the speaker is Jesse Hirakawa, Senior Urban Designer, NYC Department of City Planning.
The series will feature an incredible lineup of speakers from public agencies, design NGOs, leading design firms, and international organizations. It is open to both undergraduate and graduate students and will also include a spring class site visit with AECOM’s Landscape Architecture and Urban Design Studio to their award-winning climate-resilient parks in Newark and Lower Manhattan.
Each event is open to the public, subject to seat availability.

Intro to Urban Planning & Design Lecture Series: Einat Lubliner
2026-02-17 14:00 - 15:00 | Bloustein School CSB, Room 261, 33 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, United States
The lecture series “Introduction to Urban Planning & Design” is made possible by a Rutgers Teaching Enhancement Grant from the Vice Provost for Experiential Learning awarded to Assistant Professor Carmelo Ignaccolo.
This week, the speaker is Einat Lubliner, Senior Urban Designer, Bjarke Ingels Group.
The series will feature an incredible lineup of speakers from public agencies, design NGOs, leading design firms, and international organizations. It is open to both undergraduate and graduate students and will also include a spring class site visit with AECOM’s Landscape Architecture and Urban Design Studio to their award-winning climate-resilient parks in Newark and Lower Manhattan.
Each event is open to the public, subject to seat availability.

Dissertation Defense: Expanding Participation in Computing: Navigating Power and Privilege on the Pathway to a Computer Science Degree
2026-02-19 15:00 - 17:00 | Virtual
Presented by Elaine Zundl.
To attend virtually, use the Zoom link provided via email.

Intro to Urban Planning & Design Lecture Series: Kristen Reardon
2026-03-03 14:00 - 15:00 | Bloustein School CSB, Room 261, 33 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, United States
The lecture series “Introduction to Urban Planning & Design” is made possible by a Rutgers Teaching Enhancement Grant from the Vice Provost for Experiential Learning awarded to Assistant Professor Carmelo Ignaccolo.
This week, the speaker is Kristen Reardon, Principal, Starr Whitehouse.
The series will feature an incredible lineup of speakers from public agencies, design NGOs, leading design firms, and international organizations. It is open to both undergraduate and graduate students and will also include a spring class site visit with AECOM’s Landscape Architecture and Urban Design Studio to their award-winning climate-resilient parks in Newark and Lower Manhattan.
Each event is open to the public, subject to seat availability.

Dissertation Defense: Sensing Walkability: Insights from Wearable Sensors on Pedestrian Stress and Safety
2026-03-06 13:00 - 15:00 | Virtual
Presented by Shiyu Ma.
To attend virtually, use the Zoom link provided via email.

Dissertation Defense: The Evolving Role of Economic Developers: How Economic Resiliency is Redefining the Profession
2026-03-06 13:00 - 15:00 | Bloustein School CSB, Room 113, 33 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, United States
Presented by Jessica Paolini.
This is a hybrid event. To attend virtually, use the Zoom link provided via email.

Intro to Urban Planning & Design Lecture Series: Jun Ahn
2026-03-10 14:00 - 15:00 | Bloustein School CSB, Room 261, 33 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, United States
The lecture series “Introduction to Urban Planning & Design” is made possible by a Rutgers Teaching Enhancement Grant from the Vice Provost for Experiential Learning awarded to Assistant Professor Carmelo Ignaccolo.
This week, the speaker is Jun Ahn, Senior Urban Designer, SOM.
The series will feature an incredible lineup of speakers from public agencies, design NGOs, leading design firms, and international organizations. It is open to both undergraduate and graduate students and will also include a spring class site visit with AECOM’s Landscape Architecture and Urban Design Studio to their award-winning climate-resilient parks in Newark and Lower Manhattan.
Each event is open to the public, subject to seat availability.

The Art of Immersive Space
2026-03-11 12:15 - 14:00 | Gov. James J. Florio Special Events Forum, CSB, 33 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, United States
RSVP IS NOT REQUIRED TO ATTEND THE DISCUSSION, WHICH WILL BEGIN AT 1:00 PM. Pizza will be served beginning at 12:15 p.m. at the Civic Square Building for registered guests. RSVP at go.rutgers.edu/immersiveart if you will be attending lunch.
Ever wondered how the world’s most immersive theme parks and attractions come to life? Join us for a behind-the-scenes talk with Jeff DuVilla ’12, Creative Director of Adirondack Studios, who has shaped some of the most renowned themed environments across the U.S., Asia, and the Middle East. From early concepts to fully built experiences, Jeff will talk about how his work blends storytelling, design, and human-centered thinking to shape how people move through and connect with spaces.
If you’re into urban planning, placemaking, art, or designing environments that leave an impact, this talk offers real-world insight into how story-driven entertainment is designed, built, and experienced.
An additional session of this talk will also be held from 10:20-11:40 a.m. Victoria J. Mastrobuono Theater, Nicholas Music Hall, Douglass Campus 85 George Street, New Brunswick, NJ

Intro to Urban Planning & Design Lecture Series: Candelaria Mas Pohmajevic
2026-03-31 14:00 - 15:00 | Bloustein School CSB, Room 261, 33 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, United States
The lecture series “Introduction to Urban Planning & Design” is made possible by a Rutgers Teaching Enhancement Grant from the Vice Provost for Experiential Learning awarded to Assistant Professor Carmelo Ignaccolo.
This week, the speaker is Candelaria Mas Pohmajevic, Associate Director, Resilient Cities Catalyst.
The series will feature an incredible lineup of speakers from public agencies, design NGOs, leading design firms, and international organizations. It is open to both undergraduate and graduate students and will also include a spring class site visit with AECOM’s Landscape Architecture and Urban Design Studio to their award-winning climate-resilient parks in Newark and Lower Manhattan.
Each event is open to the public, subject to seat availability.

Crisis Management and Leadership in Healthcare Organizations
2026-04-02 12:00 - 13:00 | Virtual
Aram Dobalian, PhD, JD, MPH is Professor and Division Chair of the Division of Health Services Management and Policy. His research and consulting focus on access and quality of care during disasters and other crises, including work on community health resilience, crisis leadership, inpatient and outpatient quality metrics, healthcare facility evacuation, information technology in disasters, disaster behavioral health, and workforce readiness. He is a member of the “Standing Committee on Medical and Public Health Research During Large-Scale Emergency Events” of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
RSVP HERE
Rutgers Health Management Perspectives Distinguished Lecture Series is presented by the Health Administration program.

Planning Without a Blueprint: A Case of Treasure Hill, Taiwan
2026-04-06 16:00 - 17:00 | Bloustein School CSB, Room 261, 33 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, United States
Please join the International Development Interest Group (IDIG) and Bloustein Urban Planning Program for a discussion with Dr. Elke Krasny, Professor for Art and Education and Head of the Art and Education Program, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna and Dr. Mi Shih, Associate Professor and Director, Urban Planning and Policy Development Program at the Bloustein School. The discussion will be moderated by Megha Jhawar, President of IDIG.
View the Treasure Hill StoryMap: https://arcg.is/W9DvS

Intro to Urban Planning & Design Lecture Series: Ban Edilbi
2026-04-14 14:00 - 15:00 | Bloustein School CSB, Room 261, 33 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, United States
The lecture series “Introduction to Urban Planning & Design” is made possible by a Rutgers Teaching Enhancement Grant from the Vice Provost for Experiential Learning awarded to Assistant Professor Carmelo Ignaccolo.
This week, the speaker is Ban Edilbi, Urban Specialist, The World Bank.
The series will feature an incredible lineup of speakers from public agencies, design NGOs, leading design firms, and international organizations. It is open to both undergraduate and graduate students and will also include a spring class site visit with AECOM’s Landscape Architecture and Urban Design Studio to their award-winning climate-resilient parks in Newark and Lower Manhattan.
Each event is open to the public, subject to seat availability.

Why Tracking Health Equity Data Still Matters
2026-04-15 12:00 - 13:00 | Virtual
Maggie McCullough is the founder and CEO of PolicyMap, a leading geospatial data and mapping platform advancing the use of social determinants of health (SDOH) data to drive equitable health outcomes. Drawing on her career in city, state, and federal government, McCullough has dedicated her work to making complex information accessible and actionable. This commitment led to the launch of PolicyMap in 2008. Today, the platform is a trusted partner for healthcare organizations, pharmaceutical companies, and researchers addressing health disparities in communities nationwide.
REGISTER HERE
Rutgers Health Management Perspectives Distinguished Lecture Series is presented by the Health Administration program.

New Jersey’s New State Plan: What It Means for the Future
2026-04-22 16:00 - 17:30 | Gov. James J. Florio Special Events Forum, CSB, 33 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, United States
On December 17, 2025, the New Jersey State Planning Commission adopted the first new State Development and Redevelopment Plan in nearly 25 years. Developed through collaboration across all levels of government, the plan provides a framework to guide growth, land use, and development across New Jersey.
The plan is supported by two companion documents: an Impact Assessment, produced by Rowan University and Rutgers University, and an Infrastructure Needs Assessment, by Rutgers’ Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center. Join us for a discussion of the plan and two companion studies examining the impact of state planning and the infrastructure needed to support New Jersey’s future growth.
Panelists:

Walter C. Lane, PP, AICP, Executive Director, New Jersey Office of Planning Advocacy
Lisa R. Avichal, Senior Planner, New Jersey Office of Planning Advocacy
Steve J. Simone PP, AICP, Senior Planner, New Jersey Office of Planning Advocacy
Dr. Qian He, AICP, Assistant Professor, Rowan University
Leigh Ann Von Hagen, AICP, PP , Executive Director, Rutgers Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center
Moderator: Clint Andrews, Distinguished Professor; Associate Dean for Research; and Director, Rutgers Center for Urban Policy Research

This event is presented by the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, with support from the New Jersey Office of Planning Advocacy.

The Ruth Ellen Steinman Bloustein and Edward J. Bloustein Memorial Lecture was established to honor the memory of these two extraordinary individuals. For nearly nineteen years, the Blousteins dedicated their enormous energies to Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. The fund was established in 1988 after Ruth Ellen died following a long and heroic battle with illness. Sadly, there was cause to broaden the purpose of the fund a year later when Edward Bloustein, Rutgers’ beloved president, died suddenly in December of 1989.
The endowment supports an annual lecture series, that may include one to three lectures per academic year, that is intended to celebrate the values and interests Ruth Ellen and Ed cherished and cultivated throughout their lives.

Dissertation Defense: Why do Latino parents not enroll their children in a universal Pre-K context? The case of New Brunswick, NJ
2026-04-23 10:00 - 12:00 | Virtual
Presented by Janet Venancio Rodriguez
To attend virtually, use the Zoom link provided via email.

Strategies for Health System Transformation: Creating a Learning Health System at NYU
2026-05-08 12:00 - 13:00 | Virtual
Leora Horwitz, MD is a professor in the Departments of Population Health and Medicine at NYU Langone and the founding director of the Center for Healthcare Innovation and Delivery Science and the Division of Healthcare Delivery Science in the Department of Population Health, and a practicing hospitalist. Her initial work focused primarily on improving the safety and quality of transitions in care of all kinds, and she now works more generally on healthcare redesign and learning health system transformation through the Center for Healthcare Innovation and Delivery Science and its Rapid Randomized Controlled Trial Laboratory. She also conducts federally-funded research on value in health care; has developed quality measures for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services; and co-direct the NYU Population Health Science Scholars Program.
REGISTER HERE
Rutgers Health Management Perspectives Distinguished Lecture Series is presented by the Health Administration program.
