ULI-NNJ Hosts Fourth Annual Leadership in Land Use Awards - English Honored With Educator of the Year
By Mel Fabrikant Friday, January 09, 2009, 04:19 AM EST
The New Jersey District Council of the Urban Land Institute (ULI-NNJ) recently honored Jerry Fitzgerald English, Esq. for her dedication as an adjunct professor for over 20 years. English was one of seven winners at ULI-NNJ's Fourth Annual Leadership in Land Use awards held at the Heldrich Center in New Brunswick, N.J., on Dec. 11, 2008.
ULI is a worldwide organization that provides leadership in the responsible use of land and in creating and sustaining thriving communities by bringing together leaders to exchange best practices. ULI is comprised of developers, builders, property owners, investors, architects, public officials, planners, real estate brokers, appraisers, attorneys, engineers, financiers, academics, students and librarians.
Approximately 120 attendees, including real estate professionals, leaders from academia and government officials were on hand at the event to acknowledge the winners who embody ULI's mission of providing leadership in responsible use of land and in creating and sustaining thriving communities.
"Our award winners reflect the ULI mission and the ULI principles. Their businesses and projects echo the concepts of sustainability, smart growth and the utilization of resources with a smart and consistent approach that are the hallmark of ULI," said Lawrence Jacobs of the law firm Wilentz, Goldman and Spitzer, chair of ULI-NNJ. "Recognition of these projects and principles is important to the real estate and land use planning areas -- now, more than ever."
Additional award winners included Robert Antonicello, Public Official of the Year; Eleven80 in Newark, Project of the Year; the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission, Special Recognition for Public Policy; New Jersey Transit - Hudson-Bergen Light Rail, Special Recognition for Infrastructure; the First Avenue School in Newark, Special Recognition for Sustainable Development; and Michael Graves, FAIA, for the Lifetime Achievement award.
A committee of 10 ULI-NNJ members chose the seven award winners from a collection of 14 nominations. Winners received specially made plaques, which were prepared by the nonprofit entrepreneurial glassmaking workshop, GlassRoots from Newark, N.J.
English of Summit, N.J., was recognized as Educator of the Year because she has been a dedicated adjunct professor at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) in Newark, N.J., for well over 20 years, teaching an innovative graduate course in environmental problem-solving.
"Mrs. English's course embodies ULI-NNJ's mission of providing responsible land use leadership as well as creating sustaining thriving communities and projects through the direct application of what students learn in this course," said Sue Boyle, senior environmental practice leader for
GEI Consultants, vice chair of ULI-NNJ and presenter of the award.
English is currently the counselor at law on the Board of Visitors for the School of Science and Liberal Arts at NJIT, in Newark, N. J.; is a member of the Leadership Council of Harvard Law School; is a trustee of the New Jersey Federal Bar Association; and is the chairperson of the N.J. Election Law Enforcement Commission.
As a former candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, N.J. Department of Environmental Protection commissioner and commissioner of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, English shares her knowledge of government and environmental problem-solving, moving her students away from the theory and towards the practice.
In English's environmental problem-solving course, graduate students deal with actual problems facing the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. After a series of guest lectures covering regulations and rule making, public policy handling the news media, finance, public hearings, the politics of the environment, public participation and public works, teams of students make presentations as "consultants" to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to solve actual problems facing the region. Guest speakers in her course have included former state governors, members of the state legislature, U.S. senators and government officials.
"I sometimes worry whether or not everyone gets it," said English. "It's the most wonderful thing when they stand up and they get it and they're writing about it and they're educating themselves. So, I say we train those who will be setting the agenda for the world's infrastructure. It's brains without borders."
English's course has had 450 students and 200 guest speakers. Past projects have looked at prime Port Authority property heavily contaminated with PCBs, the disposal of polluted dredge spoils and the widening of the Goethals Bridge. This year the class is expected to study the modernization of the Bayonne Bridge.
About the Urban Land Institute
The Urban Land Institute is a non-profit education and research institute that is supported and directed by its members. Its mission is to provide leadership in the responsible use of land and in creating and sustaining thriving communities worldwide. Established in 1936, the Institute today has over 34,000 members and associates representing the entire spectrum of the land use and development disciplines. It is comprised of developers, builders, property owners, investors, architects, public officials, planners, real estate brokers, appraisers, attorneys, engineers, financiers, academics, students and librarians.
ULI is a worldwide organization that provides leadership in the responsible use of land and in creating and sustaining thriving communities by bringing together leaders to exchange best practices. ULI is comprised of developers, builders, property owners, investors, architects, public officials, planners, real estate brokers, appraisers, attorneys, engineers, financiers, academics, students and librarians.
Approximately 120 attendees, including real estate professionals, leaders from academia and government officials were on hand at the event to acknowledge the winners who embody ULI's mission of providing leadership in responsible use of land and in creating and sustaining thriving communities.
"Our award winners reflect the ULI mission and the ULI principles. Their businesses and projects echo the concepts of sustainability, smart growth and the utilization of resources with a smart and consistent approach that are the hallmark of ULI," said Lawrence Jacobs of the law firm Wilentz, Goldman and Spitzer, chair of ULI-NNJ. "Recognition of these projects and principles is important to the real estate and land use planning areas -- now, more than ever."
Additional award winners included Robert Antonicello, Public Official of the Year; Eleven80 in Newark, Project of the Year; the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission, Special Recognition for Public Policy; New Jersey Transit - Hudson-Bergen Light Rail, Special Recognition for Infrastructure; the First Avenue School in Newark, Special Recognition for Sustainable Development; and Michael Graves, FAIA, for the Lifetime Achievement award.
A committee of 10 ULI-NNJ members chose the seven award winners from a collection of 14 nominations. Winners received specially made plaques, which were prepared by the nonprofit entrepreneurial glassmaking workshop, GlassRoots from Newark, N.J.
English of Summit, N.J., was recognized as Educator of the Year because she has been a dedicated adjunct professor at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) in Newark, N.J., for well over 20 years, teaching an innovative graduate course in environmental problem-solving.
"Mrs. English's course embodies ULI-NNJ's mission of providing responsible land use leadership as well as creating sustaining thriving communities and projects through the direct application of what students learn in this course," said Sue Boyle, senior environmental practice leader for
GEI Consultants, vice chair of ULI-NNJ and presenter of the award.
English is currently the counselor at law on the Board of Visitors for the School of Science and Liberal Arts at NJIT, in Newark, N. J.; is a member of the Leadership Council of Harvard Law School; is a trustee of the New Jersey Federal Bar Association; and is the chairperson of the N.J. Election Law Enforcement Commission.
As a former candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, N.J. Department of Environmental Protection commissioner and commissioner of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, English shares her knowledge of government and environmental problem-solving, moving her students away from the theory and towards the practice.
In English's environmental problem-solving course, graduate students deal with actual problems facing the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. After a series of guest lectures covering regulations and rule making, public policy handling the news media, finance, public hearings, the politics of the environment, public participation and public works, teams of students make presentations as "consultants" to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to solve actual problems facing the region. Guest speakers in her course have included former state governors, members of the state legislature, U.S. senators and government officials.
"I sometimes worry whether or not everyone gets it," said English. "It's the most wonderful thing when they stand up and they get it and they're writing about it and they're educating themselves. So, I say we train those who will be setting the agenda for the world's infrastructure. It's brains without borders."
English's course has had 450 students and 200 guest speakers. Past projects have looked at prime Port Authority property heavily contaminated with PCBs, the disposal of polluted dredge spoils and the widening of the Goethals Bridge. This year the class is expected to study the modernization of the Bayonne Bridge.
About the Urban Land Institute
The Urban Land Institute is a non-profit education and research institute that is supported and directed by its members. Its mission is to provide leadership in the responsible use of land and in creating and sustaining thriving communities worldwide. Established in 1936, the Institute today has over 34,000 members and associates representing the entire spectrum of the land use and development disciplines. It is comprised of developers, builders, property owners, investors, architects, public officials, planners, real estate brokers, appraisers, attorneys, engineers, financiers, academics, students and librarians.
