Alumni Pursue Ph.D.'s in Childhood Studies at Rutgers–Camden
By Cathy K. Donovan GSC'07

Diane Marano CLAW'78 recently retired from the Camden County Prosecutor's Office after 25 years as an assistant prosecutor and 21 years as chief of the juvenile unit. Though she was passionate about her career, she made the transition in order to enroll this year in Rutgers–Camden's doctoral program in childhood studies, the nation's first program of its kind.

A case involving the prosecution of a 13-year-old for homicide is what drives her to pursue new knowledge that could lead to improving children's lives. "In law, children can be looked at as objects. Now I'm learning to consider a child's perspective and I can hear a child's voice more clearly," Marano says.

She believes that Camden's approach in this field holds promise to help more children reach better outcomes. "I've worked with children who have been victims of shootings and then become violent criminals," Marano says. "Some express that they want to kill themselves while they are killing others. These problems are not easy to fix, or they'd be fixed already." Marano is currently involved in research about adolescents' life stress points.

This fall, the Camden Campus welcomed Marano and 13 other students as the inaugural class in the nation's first Ph.D. program in childhood studies, which is also the first doctoral program at Rutgers–Camden.

Daniel Hart, director of the program and professor of psychology at Rutgers–Camden, says that the program employs a multidisciplinary approach that aims to transform the study of children as well as enrich professional careers and outcomes in education, higher education, early childhood, children's literature, research, and public policy.

"The study of childhood deepens our culture's awareness of a population of individuals whose distinctive experiences are often ignored and poorly understood," Hart says. "The program's interdisciplinary approach offers the promise of shining additional light on the complex problems that cripple healthy development."

Another doctoral student, William Marble LC'95, is the director of early childhood education for the Gloucester City School District. One of two men in the program, he has dedicated his career toward making childhood a positive experience, especially for those with challenged backgrounds.

Following his graduation from Rutgers–New Brunswick's Livingston College, where he majored in history, Marble enrolled at Wilmington University to pursue a master of education degree in school leadership. Once he completed that program, he looked for a doctoral program, and the multidisciplinary approach at Rutgers–Camden interested him.

"We benefit from experts in a variety of fields on the common theme of childhood, allowing us a broader understanding of children and childhood," Marble says. He plans to incorporate what he learns at Camden into his professional work to improve the education of economically disadvantaged students in New Jersey.

Faculty and students also engage in research projects through Rutgers–Camden's Center for Children and Childhood Studies and implement a wide array of initiatives designed to assist children in such areas as literacy, health, and career training.

For more information about the doctoral program, visit childhood.camden.rutgers.edu.

The original version of this article appeared in the December 12, 2007, issue of FOCUS, a publication for Rutgers faculty and staff.