2023 SPAA Award Winners
The SPAA Awards recognize our graduates, alumni, faculty, staff, and community members who embody the values of SPAA and a commitment to public service.
Outstanding BA Student
Awarded for high achievement in both academic and co-curricular pursuits.
- Johan Mora Valverde
Outstanding MPA Student
Awarded for high achievement in both academic and co-curricular pursuits.
- Glennae Brown
- Andrew Moreira
Outstanding PhD Student
Awarded for high achievement in both academic and co-curricular pursuits.
- Mauricio Astudillo Rodas
- Inkyu Kang
E. Drexel Godfrey Award
Awarded for embodying the SPAA core values of high academic achievement, scholarship, and service to the community. (The award is named after E. Drexel Godfrey, former assistant director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), who joined the faculty of Rutgers University–Newark in 1974 and established and directed the graduate program in public administration.)
- Dyaa Dawud Terpstra
SPAA Faculty Teaching Award
Awarded for significant contributions to SPAA students’ intellectual lives through superior teaching practices.
- Cleopatra Charles
SPAA Faculty Service Award
Awarded for outstanding service to our students, faculty, and the greater SPAA community.
- Suzanne Piowtrowski
Gail Daniels SPAA Staff Award
Awarded to recognize a SPAA staff member who displays outstanding service to students, faculty, and the greater SPAA community. (The award is named for Gail Daniels who served Rutgers SPAA as an administrative staff member for over 43 years within academic and student services.)
- Aaron Gibbs
Distinguished Alumni Award for Academic Excellence
Awarded for outstanding contributions to the intellectual, theoretical, and institutional advancement of public administration.
- RaJade Berry-James (PhD'99)
Distinguished Alumni Award for Practitioner Excellence
Awarded for outstanding achievement in public administration and public service through applied practice in the field.
- Sharon Stroye (MPA'06)
SPAA Community Service Award
Awarded for outstanding contributions to the community through time, actions, talents, and dedication.
- Natasha Hemmings (MPA'16)