Now here's a trick: Britney Wilson turned hurt feelings into a four-year free ride to college.

The Brownsville, Brooklyn, 18-year-old senior at Cathedral High School in Manhattan beat out 2,000 applicants and nine finalists from around the country to win a full four-year scholarship from the Tom Joyner Foundation.

Wilson plans to attend Howard University in the fall, where she'll...   Read More >>

American Jewish Congress has announced the appointment of Meryl Frank, mayor of Highland Park, New Jersey, as the new President of its Women’s Division.

“Meryl Frank has proven her ability to lead and inspire others,” said Harriet Kurlander, AJCongress Women’s Division director. “She is a dynamic and highly respected activist on behalf of social justice, women’s rights and human rights. I...   Read More >>

In December, 2007, the Board of Governors appointed Jeannine F. LaRue as vice president for public affairs. The Department of Public Affairs acts as a liaison and ambassador between Rutgers’ campuses and the government, corporate, and nonprofit communities. Overseeing state and federal relations, as well as Friends of Rutgers, LaRue will focus on relationship building with varied stakeholders througho...   Read More >>

Karen J. Weaver, a 1994 Princeton alumna, will return to the University as associate dean for academic affairs and diversity in the Graduate School, effective Aug. 1.

Since 2005, she has been the executive director of the Amistad Commission within the New Jersey Department of State. She has overseen statewide implementation of the Amistad mandate, which requires New Jersey's public schools to integrate African American history into the K-12 curriculum. She previously worked for three years as an educational consultant, providing ser...   Read More >>

by Randal Pinkett on Black Collegian.com

Google. YouTube. Yahoo! Facebook.The list of blockbuster businesses started by college students continues to grow. Wouldn't it be great if you could have your fantasy job now, today and not years from now? As more young people take a proactive approach to shaping their future, you may be wondering how you can build your own business right after gradua...   Read More >>

Ruthi Byrne: some folks know her as former Governor Brendan Byrne's wife...others know her as the woman with the fabulous St. John's suit. But...Ruthi Zinn Byrne is a force has other attributes that add to the list of reasons people look twice when she walks into the room.

Ruthi is the founder and sole owner of the public relations and marketing firm, Zinn Graves & Field in Florham Park,...   Read More >>

COOPERSTOWN, NY - Two-time Most Valuable Player Cal Ripken Jr. and eight-time batting champion Tony Gwynn were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday.

Ripken received 98.5 percent of the vote, third-highest in the history of the Baseball Writers' Association of America, when he was elected earlier this year, while Gwynn's percentage of 97.6 ranks as seventh-best.

&quo...   Read More >>

By Diccon Hyatt

Trenton Downtowner

The walls of the MentorPower office in Lawrenceville are lined with photos of the hundreds of Trenton-area students who have gone through its mentoring program in the last 13 years. All of them graduated from high school, three quarters went on to college.

And Maureen Quinn, the director of MentorPower and one of three employees, remembers most of them, their names, and what has become of them since they have completed the program.

In the photos, the teens are doing things l...   Read More >>

By Eileen E. Flynn

AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

Saturday, July 21, 2007

When the Rev. Gregory Rickel arrived to be the rector at St. James' Episcopal Church, a historically black congregation in East Austin, he decided he had to come clean about his upbringing in rural Arkansas.

"I'm a recovering racist," he told parishioners.

At St. James', they...   Read More >>

By John J. Monahan TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

jmonahan@telegram.com

BOSTON— Laurie Burt, a veteran Boston environmental lawyer, was named Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection yesterday by Gov. Deval L. Patrick.

Ms. Burt, 58, who founded the Boston environmental law practice Foley Hoag LLP, also has worked for the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority and...   Read More >>

In New Jersey, when the name Steve Goldstein comes up...immediately you think...gay rights...Garden State Equality and the wonderful work they do...yikes...foot on your neck!

Or you probably remember the historic event of Steve Goldstein (pictured with brother, Richie) as he and Daniel Gross became the first same-sex couple to announce their wedding when Vermont passed legislation re...   Read More >>