On April 3, Laura Lawson, Executive Dean of the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (SEBS), spoke with the students gathered in the classroom at the Institute for Food, Nurtition and Health for their final class of the RU Engaged: A Community Engaged Byrne Seminars with Alternative Spring Break. The students in this interactive seminar […]
Rutgers Gardens Student Horticulturists and Rutgers Alumni Celebrate an Award-Winning Collaboration at the North Jersey Orchid Society Show
The North Jersey Orchid Society show returned to the Douglass Student Center on the Rutgers–New Brunswick campus this January, featuring a dynamic botanical display that showcased some of the plants growing at the Floriculture Greenhouse. Held January 16–18, the free annual event welcomed hobbyist growers, commercial producers and plant enthusiasts to enjoy and connect over this […]
George Hamilton GSNB’85 Retires After 38 Years of Service to Rutgers and New Jersey Agriculture
Effective January 1, George Hamilton GSNB’85, extension specialist in pest management and professor in the Department of Entomology, retired from Rutgers University, concluding a distinguished 38-year career marked by excellence in extension, research, teaching and service to the university and the agricultural community. A member of the faculty since 1987, Hamilton made significant contributions to […]
Rutgers Cooperative Extension Hosts 2026 Annual Conference
The 2026 Rutgers Cooperative Extension (RCE) Annual Conference convened on January 15 at the Busch Student Center, bringing together faculty, staff, and stakeholders from across New Jersey. The annual gathering provided a shared space for networking, professional development, research collaboration, and the exchange of best practices in delivering research-based educational programming with service excellence. The […]
From Cook College to Shark Tank: Michael Silva CC’96 and the Game That Went National
For Michael Silva CC’96, innovation didn’t begin in a boardroom. It started in a driveway. An environmental sciences major at Rutgers Cook College—now the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences—Silva never imagined he would one day pitch a patented backyard football game on national television. Yet in October, he stepped through the iconic doors of […]
Cultivating Global Impact: Distinguished Professor Carl Pray Retires After 40 Years of Scholarship and Service
Effective January 1, Carl Pray, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics, retired from Rutgers University, concluding a remarkable 40-year career defined by scholarship, global engagement and service for the greater good. A member of the faculty since 1986, Pray made pathbreaking contributions to agricultural science and technology policy, with research […]
Brian Sheafer CC’02: A Journey of Leadership and Impact from Rutgers to the Y
When Brian Sheafer earned his bachelor’s degree in business economics from Rutgers Cook College in 2002, he set out on a path that combined analytical thinking with a strong commitment to service. That focus has shaped a career dedicated to strengthening communities through the YMCA for more than two decades. The Metropolitan YMCA of the […]
Retired Faculty and Staff Return to Cook Campus for Annual Holiday Tradition
On December 4, 2025, retired faculty and staff of the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (SEBS) and the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (NJAES) gathered for the annual Retired Faculty and Staff Luncheon at Nielson Dining Hall on the George H. Cook campus. Smiles and fond memories filled the Rectangle Room as former colleagues […]
Rutgers Historian Is Telling a New Story About New Jersey Wineries
American Studies Professor Angus Gillespie, an expert in folklore who taught at Rutgers for more than 50 years, has a new passion: Promoting New Jersey’s growing wine industry and the university’s efforts to bolster its success. Several years ago, Gillespie and his wife, Rowena, were strolling Lambertville’s Bridge Street when he found a tourism brochure […]
Giving Back and Building Up: Food Science Alumni Return to Network with Students
On October 21, the Rutgers Food Science Alumni Committee and the Food Science Undergraduate and Graduate student clubs held their annual Alumni & Student Speed Networking and Awards Ceremony. The event took place at the NJ Institute for Food, Nutrition, and Health on the George H. Cook campus. Nearly 50 attendees, including more than a […]











