Bob Curvin is a civil rights leader and world-renowned expert on urban politics, economic development and social policy and who gained national recognition for his advocacy skills in breaking down the barriers to discrimination. As a leader of CORE during the civil rebellion in Newark in 1967, he played a seminal role in articulating the platform of grievances which changed the landscape of decision-makers overseeing the resources and holding the political positions affecting the quality of life of residents in Newark.
Dr. Curvin is also a distinguished author. In his new book, “Inside Newark: Decline, Rebellion, and the Search for Transformation,” he draws on his own recollections as a key player in the city over the past half-century, and his academic research over the past five years. In the words of Pulitzer Prize winner, Historian David Levering Lewis, “Robert Curvin’s aggressive research, candid narration, and unflinching judgments leave you informed, sobered, and guardedly optimistic that a once beleaguered city’s search for transformation is at last well underway.” Curvin has published widely on urban politics, economic development and social policy. In addition to “Inside Newark,” Curvin is also the author of Blackout Looting: New York City, 1977 (with Bruce Porter).
His remarkable career includes service as president of the Greentree Foundation; vice-president and director of the Ford Foundation’s Urban Poverty Program; dean of the Graduate School of Management and Urban Professions, at the New School for Social Research; associate professor of political science at Brooklyn College; community development specialist at Rutgers University; director of the Rutgers Community Action Training Program; director of the Harlem Leadership Training Institute; and a case-worker and supervisor for the Essex County Welfare Board. At the time of the Newark Rebellion, Curvin had founded and led Newark’s Congress on Racial Equality. Curvin also serves as board chair of the Fund for the City of New York, and is a member of the boards of the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute and YouthBuildUSA. He has previously served on the boards of Channel 13, Princeton University, the RAND Corporation, the NJ Performing Arts Center, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, and Broad National Bank. Curvin is also a past member of the Editorial Board of the New York Times.
Curvin is currently senior policy fellow and visiting scholar at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University and received his master’s degree in social work from the Rutgers University’s Graduate School of Social Work. He received his Ph.D. in politics from Princeton University.
Bob is so very well liked and influential across many corridors in Newark (from art to higher education to philanthropy to city hall to the business community) and has long been the “go to” person for his wise counsel and compassion for others.
He is married to Patricia Hall Curvin, a retired high school English teacher and philanthropist and long- time charitable advocate. They have two children and two grandchildren.
Bob still lives in Newark in the same house he was living in as a young radical so many years ago and that so many have visited in order to listen, learn, laugh and love. He is welcoming to all, particularly young people, that, is a nutshell is our dear and beloved Bob Curvin.