NEWARK, NJ - Nearly 13,000 students at Rutgers-Newark will start the school year today, Sept. 4, with new facilities, leadership, festivals and concerts.

First, Halsey Street between New Street and Central Avenue will be filled with bands, food, giveaways and arts activities on Sept. 6 from 4 to 8 p.m. A rain date for the Halsey Festival is set for Sept. 13.

A new Alumni Center will open its doors at 72 Washington St. and will be accessible to all Rutgers graduates to further the organization’s programming. The new center will include a conference room, parlor and living room.

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A number of new positions have been filled at the university’s institutes, centers and programs.

Bernadette So became the new executive director of the Career Development Center on campus, which helps students with resumes, cover letters, employment and internships. So most recently worked as the director for graduate student career development at NYU and replaces Thomas Hopkins, who worked over 30 years in the center.

Meanwhile, a new co-dean was appointed to the Rutgers Law School.

David Lopez was appointed to that position and formerly served as general counsel for the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a position that required the nomination of former President Barack Obama. Lopez succeeds Ronald Chen, who will go back to teaching at the law school.

The Clement A. Price Institute on Ethnicity, Culture and the Modern Experience will get new two new leaders, too.





John Kuo Wei Tchen, who co-founded the Museum of Chinese in America nearly three decades ago, will be the new director and was also named as the institute's inaugural chair in public history and humanities. Salamishah Tillet, who teaches English and Africana Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, will be an associate director.

Finally, the Institute of Jazz Studies Concert Series will hold weekly concerts on the first floor of 15 Washington St. at Clement’s Place. The following shows will take place there:

Wednesday, Sept. 12 at 7 p.m. – Jazz973

Friday, Sept. 14 at 7:30 p.m. – Marc Cary Quartet

Thursday, Sept. 20 at 5:30 p.m. – NJPAC Jam Session

Friday, Sept. 21 at 7:30 p.m. – Suzanne Douglas

Friday, Sept. 28 at 7:30 pm – Curtis Lundy Group

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