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Schools

Bloomfield Resident Appointed to Rutgers Board of Governors

Candace Straight of Bloomfield was recently named to the Rutgers Board of Governors.

Bloomfield resident Candace Straight, an investment-banking consultant, is one of the newest members of Rutgers University’s board of governors and trustees. 

Straight, who has worked in the finance business for more than 40 years, was appointed last month to replace George Zoffinger. She recently attended her first meeting. 

In an interview with Patch.com, Straight said she enjoyed returning to public service and she hoped to go a good job in assisting Rutgers University.

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"Higher education is very important to the future of NJ and my home county of Essex," Straight said. "Working with the other members of the board, the administration and faculty, I look forward  to providing greater educational opportunities for New Jersey residents and making sure that the educational experience at Rutgers is better than ever."  

The 63 year-old worked on Gov. Chris Christie’s treasury transition team and Gov. Christie Todd Whitman’s budget advisory committee. She previously served on the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority from 1994 to 2003 and she served as a trustee for the state public employees retirement system from 1982 to 1988. Straight also served as a trustee at her alma mater, Wilson College in Pennsylvania. 

Straight grew up in Bloomfield and graduated from the township’s high school. She became interested in public service and politics while helping out her grandparents, Francis and Dorothea Jewkes, who served on the Bloomfield township council in the 1950s and 1960s, respectively. 

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“When (Dwight) Eisenhower was running for president, my grandfather was running for council. I remember going door-to-door, handing out fliers and asking people to vote for Ike and my grandfather,” Straight said. “That was my start in politics.” Straight also said her grandmother got her interested in the stock market and finance.

Straight worked for numerous companies, including Merck & Co. Inc, and Bankers Trust Co. She is currently serving as an independent director for Neuberger Berman’s Mutual Funds and Montpelier & Co. Inc.    

In a press statement, Rutgers University President Richard L. McCormick said he was delighted Straight “will bring her abundance of financial expertise to Rutgers, where she will continue her long career of service to the people of New Jersey."

Gov. Whitman wrote in an e-mail that she has known Straight through her work with the Republic Majority for Choice before running for U.S. Senate in 1990 and they have been close friends ever since. “I have always found her to be passionate about her issues,” Whitman said about Straight. 

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