As part of Rutgers University’s 248th anniversary commencement ceremonies, the Bloustein School will be holding the 11th Convocation celebration of the graduate program on Saturday, May 17 at 3 p.m. at the Nicholas Music Center, Douglass Campus, New Brunswick, NJ. Dean James W. Hughes will confer 66 Master of City and Regional Planning (MCRP) degrees, 10 Master of City and Regional Studies (MCRS) degrees, 21 Master of Public Policy (MPP) degrees, four Master of Public Affairs and Politics (MPAP) degrees, and seven Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) in Planning and Public Policy degrees.
The convocation keynote address will be given by Richard Florida, director of the Martin Prosperity Institute at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, founder of the Creative Class Group and senior editor for The Atlantic.
Considered the world’s leading urbanist, “as close to a household name as it is possible for an urban theorist to be in America,” according to The Economist, Esquire has included Florida on its annual list of “The Best and the Brightest,” and Fast Company dubbed him an “intellectual rock star.” MIT Technology Review recently named him one of the world’s most influential thinkers. GDI also named him one of the world’s global thought leaders of 2013.
Florida is the author of several global best sellers, including the award-winningThe Rise of the Creative Class (“one of the best business books of all time”—800-CEO-READ), and is a senior editor for The Atlantic, where he co-founded and serves as editor-at-large for Atlantic Cities, the world’s leading media site devoted to cities and urban affairs. Florida appears regularly on CNN and other news broadcasts and is a regular contributor to the op ed pages of major newspapers and magazines. TIME magazine recognized his Twitter feed as one of the 140 most influential in the world.
Also a Global Research Professor at New York University, Florida previously taught at Carnegie Mellon and George Mason universities, and has been a visiting professor at Harvard and MIT. He earned his Bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University (RC ’79) and his Ph.D. from Columbia University.
This event is open to Bloustein School master’s and doctoral degree candidates and their invited guests.