Established in 2000, the Joseph C. Cornwall Center for Metropolitan Studies works to bring the campus’s intellectual talent and other resources to bear on the challenges of improving the quality of life in urban communities across the state. The Cornwall has been a signature component of Rutgers University-Newark’s commitment to be an anchor institution for the Newark metropolitan area. The Center sponsors research projects, publications, conferences, symposia, seminars, workshops, public forums, and incubates projects translating research into effective practice. We are committed to rigorous research that produces usable knowledge for the public, a private and non-profit sector that moves us toward a more just world.   In all its work, Cornwall is especially concerned with supporting the most vulnerable urban populations. 

The late Joseph C. Cornwall was the product of a family whose extensive philanthropic contributions in New Jersey were rooted in Quaker values. Mr. Cornwall was a widely respected civic leader and the Founding Chair of the Fund for New Jersey, devoting much of his career to advancing the welfare and quality of life of New Jersey’s citizens. To recognize Mr. Cornwall’s civic and philanthropic accomplishments, the Fund for New Jersey established an endowment to support the Cornwall Center and bolster its mission to improve the lives of people who call New Jersey’s cities home. 

New Report: The Latinx Experience in NJ Schools – A Preliminary Overview

According to the U.S. Census, 25% of the U.S. population will identify as Latinx by 2060. In 2022-23, Latinx students in NJ already represented over a third of the public school population. Despite a steady growth as a percentage of the school age population, the schooling of Latinx students largely takes place in contexts that inadequately provide the appropriate level of resources required to support their ongoing learning, development, and well-being. This report brief by the Joseph C. Cornwall Center for Metropolitan Studies at Rutgers University – Newark and the Latino Action Network Foundation highlights data from The Latinx Experience in NJ Schools: A Preliminary Overview to underscore the experiences of Latinx students across a variety of metrics from preschool to postsecondary education over the past decade. Please find the full report, report brief, and a dashboard summarizing key trends in learning opportunities and achievement for Latinx Children in New Jersey in 2021-2022 here.