Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences and Rutgers University–New Brunswick faculty experts are available to discuss the educational, economic, medical, mental/emotional and religious implications one year after the coronavirus lockdown. For interviews, please reach out to the listed contacts.

Beth C. Rubin, Education

Expert on civic learning and engagement, and educational responses to historical and contemporary inequality. Rubin can speak to challenges faced by educators and students, complexities of hybrid learning, creative ways teachers and students are learning and connecting, the difficulties of learning to be a teacher during the pandemic and the implications of the current situation for civic education. Professor and chair, Rutgers Graduate School of Education.

Steve Barnett, Education

Expert on early childhood education, education economics and policy. Barnett can speak to how preschoolers and their families have been affected by remote learning and pandemic driven preschool closures, and findings from two national surveys on the pandemic’s impact on preschool learning and development. Director, National Institute for Early Education Research at the Rutgers Graduate School of Education.

Allison Friedman-Krauss, Education

Expert on early childhood education policy. Friedman-Krauss can speak to how the pandemic has worsened access to infant and toddler care in the United States and placed the financial viability of New Jersey child care centers at risk. Assistant research professor, National Institute for Early Education Research at the Rutgers Graduate School of Education.

James W. Hughes, Economy

Expert on the economy, demographics, housing markets and real estate development. Hughes can speak to economic trends as they relate to the pandemic driven recession. University professor

Ashwani Monga, Retail

Expert on consumer behavior. Monga can speak to consumers' perceptions about time and money, and how the pandemic-driven lockdown has affected the consumer behavior towards retail spending. Professor of marketing at Rutgers Business School and provost and executive vice chancellor of Rutgers University–Newark.

Reynold A. Panettieri Jr., Medical

Expertise in precision medicine, COVID-19 therapeutics, vaccines and biomarkers. Director, Rutgers Institute for Translational Medicine & Science; Professor of Medicine, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. 

Frank Ghinassi, Mental/Emotional 

Expertise in mental and behavioral health. President and CEO, Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care. 

Dugan McGinley, Religious Studies

Expert on contemporary Catholicism, religion and the arts, gender and sexuality, and the intersection of religion, culture and society. McGinley can speak to the ways religious communities have had to adapt their practices for weekly meetings, care for the sick and dying, weddings and other communal events during a year of social distancing.