Rutgers to honor RBG, rename iconic building in Newark ‘Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hall’

Rutgers University will name a landmark residence hall at Rutgers-Newark for the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Rutgers board of governors announced Friday.

The board unanimously approved renaming 15 Washington St., a 17-story neoclassical icon of the Newark skyline, as Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hall to honor the renowned and trailblazing jurist known for her lifelong pursuit for equal rights.

Ginsburg was a faculty member at Rutgers Law School in Newark, where she taught from 1963-72.

While at Rutgers, Ginsburg pioneered teaching women’s rights with a seminar on the law and gender equality. Ginsburg also began to build the legal framework that would lead her to successfully argue landmark gender discrimination cases before the Supreme Court, which she joined as the second woman justice in 1993.

Ginsberg was recalled fondly by the co-deans of Rutgers Law School upon her death in September.

David Lopez, the dean of Rutgers Law School-Newark told ROI-NJ that it doesn’t take long during orientation of the incoming class before the fact that Ginsburg taught at the school comes up.

“She is a big part of the legacy,” he said. “I think she really reflects some of the core values of this institution, the values of giving voice to the voiceless.”

Kimberly Mutcherson, the dean of Rutgers Law School-Camden, said Ginsburg’s legacy is felt there, too.

“Students definitely understand her as somebody, like them, who is Rutgers-affiliated and this incredible warrior for justice,” she said. “It’s nice that we can remind them that they are associated with her.”

Other notes from the weekend:

Health numbers

The state announced 5,184 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday — and 4,240 new cases on Saturday. The cumulative total is now 432,592. There also were 70 confirmed fatalities.

Final word

Former Gov. Chris Christie tweeted on the state missing a deadline for vaccinating long-term care facilities, causing the day it will start to move back by a week, to next Monday, Dec. 28:

“What could be more important for state government to be doing than starting vaccination of our elderly, 7,100 who have already died, on the first day? This is the biggest fail of the COVID response in New Jersey. There must be a better explanation than we missed it by a day!”