The Rutgers School of Graduate Studies (SGS) recognizes annually the notable achievements of graduate students, faculty, and staff in research and scholarship, teaching and mentoring, leadership, outreach, and service across all disciplines, through Chancellor-level affiliations, and within specific disciplinary clusters.
Associate professor Julia Rubin is the recipient of the Excellence in Teaching and Mentoring Award, which recognizes graduate faculty who have made significant contributions to graduate education at Rutgers. This year’s awards were presented by SGS at a virtual ceremony on May 13.
Candidates for the award must have demonstrated excellence in graduate teaching and mentoring, including the integration of research and teaching, quality and extent of preparation, excellence in all aspects of the teacher-student relationship, and quality and quantity of significant student products stemming from coursework and mentored research.
Dr. Rubin’s research interests include nonprofit and public organizations and processes, developmental finance, and the intersection of education policy, community development and social justice. She has played a pivotal role in the Bloustein School’s doctoral program, having served on 25 doctoral committees, administered 85 doctoral methods and 11 doctoral theory exams, and served as an academic advisor for 11 doctoral students. Dr. Rubin is known for “going the extra mile” in providing her students with support and extra attention to those who are struggling with personal issues. She also teaches the Ph.D. program-required Advanced Qualitative Methods course and receives excellent reviews from students on this course.
In addition to her education policy research, she organizes an annual educational research conference for faculty and doctoral students. The event attracts scholars from across the country, provides a welcoming venue for young scholars, and showcases Bloustein School students, giving them the opportunity to present their work. Last year, six papers presented at the conference were published in a special issue of the Journal of Urban Affairs, including by one of Dr. Rubin’s advisees.
Dr. Rubin also works to improve the teaching of others. She helped create and leads a Bloustein committee that conducts annual formative faculty teaching observations. The committee has done 50 such observations since 2018, with Dr. Rubin conducting 17 of them. She has led Bloustein’s effort to pilot teaching observations as one of two New Brunswick schools selected by the chancellor. The Center for Teaching Advancement and Assessment Research (CTARR) at Rutgers has invited her to speak to New Brunswick deans and department chairs about Bloustein’s teaching evaluation methods. Presently, Dr. Rubin serves on Vice Provost James Swenson’s Teaching Evaluation Council Working Group, which advises the New Brunswick campus on methods of comprehensive teaching evaluation.