Download the 2013 Issue - Howard University School of Law

Hooding Ceremony Keynote SpeakerHonorable Cory A. BookerMayor, City of Newark, New JerseyThe Honorable Cory A. Booker,43, is the Mayor of Newark,New Jersey, the largest city inthe State of New Jersey. MayorBooker is presently serving in hissecond term.Elected with a clear mandate forchange, Mayor Booker began workon realizing a bold vision for the City.Newark’s mission is to set a nationalstandard for urban transformation bymarshalling its resources to achievesecurity, economic abundance andan environment that is nurturingand empowering for individuals andfamilies.Mayor Booker and his Administration, togetherwith the City’s residents, have made meaningful stridestowards achieving the City’s mission by tackling significantchallenges with innovation, new coalitions, creative publicprivate partnerships and building on the already existinggreat foundation in New Jersey’s most historic city.Mayor Booker and his team have more than doubledthe rate of affordable housing production; created theCity’s largest expansion of parks and recreation spaces inover a century with nearly 50 acres of new or refurbishedparks; and brought more than $1 billion of new economicdevelopment into the City (including the first new hotelsunder construction in the City’s downtown in 40 years andthe first new office tower under construction in 20 years).Business attraction has also been a focus for Mayor Bookerand his team – they have attracted new large businesses(including Panasonic, Manishewitz and audible.com) torelocate their national and international headquarters toNewark and, through the City’s economic developmentcorporation, created a small and midsize business loanfund that has helped over 50 businesses start or expand.Mayor Booker has also attracted national attention forhis education reform efforts – already succeeding insignificantly expanding high quality public educationoptions for families and leading in thecreation of new strong educational andcareer development opportunities forNewark’s disaffected youth.Recognizing the dignity, worthand limitless potential of all people,Mayor Booker has led in the creation ofan innovative network of resources andprograms for men and women cominghome from incarceration, dramaticallydriving down recidivism rates forthose involved. Mayor Booker and histeam have led with other innovationsfor youth and families including NewJersey’s first youth and communitycourts and the creation of a network ofgrassroots financial and family empowerment centers in14 neighborhoods throughout the City.Mayor Booker has also gained wide attention for hisimplementation and usage of new technologies rangingfrom creating the State’s largest wireless network of crimefighting technology (including cameras and gunshotdetection) to raising the bar on customer service usingsocial media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook.For all his efforts and those of countless Newarkresidents and activists, Newark is fast becomingrecognized as one of America’s rising cities of hope andpromise. Mayor Booker’s leadership in these significantcivic strides has been recognized by numerous magazinesand other media outlets, including being named to the2011 TIME 100, the magazine’s annual list of the 100 mostinfluential people in the world.Mayor Booker received his B. A. and M. A. fromStanford University, a B. A. in Modern History at OxfordUniversity as a Rhodes Scholar, and completed his lawdegree at Yale University. And he has often been knownto say, he got his B.A. from Stanford but thanks to a greatcity, he received his best education from the people ofNewark, New Jersey.12