8:29 a.m., Dec. 11, 2009----At first glance, Ann Johnson and Steven Fox don't seem to have much in common.

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Johnson, a 37-year-old attorney from Michigan, is a third-year doctoral student in the School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Delaware, who worked for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for more than five years before returning to graduate school.

Fox is a 23-year-old first-year master of public administration student from New York, who as an undergraduate at the University of Delaware was a founding member of the student organization Whirled Peas, which raises funds for charities and encourages activism on campus.

However, both Johnson and Fox share a passion for human rights and thanks to the generous support of the Gilman family -- Muriel Edelstein Gilman and her late husband Marvin, with their children Peter and Martha -- they are able to pursue graduate research projects related to one of the most basic human rights: housing.

“The Gilman family is proud of the selection of Ann and Steven as recipients of the Marvin S. Gilman Scholarship and the Milton and Mary Edelstein Prize,” Martha Gilman said. “These two students are personable, bright and dedicated to the housing and community service passions of our family.”

Ann Johnson, Gilman Scholar

Ann Johnson is the recipient of the Marvin S. Gilman/National Housing Endowment Scholarship in U.S. Housing and Urban Policy. Johnson is working with Associate Professor Steve Peuquet, director of the Center for Community Research and Service in the School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy on two different projects.

In the first project, Johnson and Peuquet are investigating the existence of residential hazard insurance discrimination in New Castle County, Del. In the second they are looking at federal regulations that govern how public housing authorities in the United States must financially manage their housing assets. They hope to expand this work into a comparative study between the U.S. and the Netherlands.

Both projects draw upon Johnson's experience as an attorney with HUD, first in the enforcement division from 2001-05, then in the Office of Finance and Regulatory Compliance from 2005-06.

“This scholarship has given us the ability to continue research that will ensure that anyone who has the means to buy a home in New Castle County will be able to do so, regardless of who they are,” Johnson said.

“And even though HUD is changing its accounting practices,” she continued, “we want to make sure that during this time of transition, low-income people still have an ability to find reasonable housing and don't fall through the cracks.”

Johnson said she was thrilled to have a chance to meet members of the Gilman family at 2009 Honors Day ceremonies when the award was announced because as an attorney interested in housing issues, she shares a common bond with the award's namesake.

The award honors Marvin S. Gilman, the late husband of Muriel Gilman, who was a home builder, developer, teacher, economist and lawyer who personally and directly improved the availability of quality, affordable housing for Americans of all income levels and races. Through his work with numerous organizations including the National Association of Home Builders, the Federal National Mortgage Association, and the National Housing Conference, as well as through his 18 years of teaching at the University of Delaware, he helped explore, define and implement appropriate housing policy alternatives for the country.

The National Association of Home Builders, in which Marvin Gilman was active, created the National Housing Endowment to address critical needs affecting the housing industry. The endowment also supports the scholarship as a way of honoring Gilman's lifelong contributions as a leading practitioner and teacher in the field.

This fall Johnson spent two months in Romania collecting data for her dissertation, which deals with how a former communist country that is now part of the European Union is overcoming corruption in its judicial system. She was intrigued by housing issues in Romania as well.

“Communist-era block housing is plentiful in Romania, but it is highly energy inefficient,” she said. “I was able to talk with government officials about what policies can be used to encourage building owners to upgrade their heating systems and insulation. We also discussed how to avoid suburban flight when new development does occur.”

In expressing her gratitude for the support and opportunities provided by her scholarship, Johnson said, “I've found this work to be very challenging academically and very meaningful personally.”

Steven Fox, Edelstein Scholar

Steven Fox, the recipient of the Milton and Mary Edelstein Prize for Public and Community Service, graduated from the University of Delaware in May 2008 with a bachelor's degree in human services, education and public policy, with a concentration in education and community resources. He also earned minors in psychology and philosophy and was active in numerous clubs and activities that largely centered around human rights causes.

For much of the year between his graduation and his entry into the MPA program in the School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy, Fox was involved in Public Allies Delaware, an AmeriCorps National Service Network program. This 10-month leadership development program provides training, apprenticeship and asset-based community programs for communities in Delaware.

Among his many projects as an assistant volunteer coordinator for United Way of Delaware, Fox helped raise $250,000 and 300,000 pounds of food that was distributed to various organizations through the Delaware More Initiative. He also spent a week rebuilding homes in New Orleans that were damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Katrina while he received training in disaster relief from the American Red Cross.

That experience spurred Fox's interest in housing issues, and thanks to the support he is receiving as a graduate research assistant through the Edelstein Prize, he is engaged in a project supervised by Peuquet to analyze more than two years of data generated by New Castle County's random rental housing inspection program. The county is also providing partial financial support for the project as well as access to the data.

“Housing policy is a relatively new issue for me,” Fox said. “I wasn't really aware of it before Public Allies. I was more interested in community issues in general. Growing up, I was part of the suburban punk rock scene, and found it was great to be part of a community where people support each other. But my trip to New Orleans was the first time I was really exposed to housing issues, and it piqued my interest.”

In his research project, Fox will be looking for indications of systematic problems revealed by the county's housing inspection data.

“I'll be looking to see if there are any problems with certain areas of the county, with certain people -- landlords or inspectors -- or with certain systems such as plumbing,” he said. “Ideally, what I'd like to hear from the data is that there are no problems, but of course there usually are.”

Fox's award honors Milton and Mary Edelstein, parents of Muriel Edelstein Gilman. Born and bred New Yorkers, the Edelsteins enjoyed urban neighborhood living and participation in community activities. It was their belief that service to the community is one of the most valuable contributions that can be made to society.

The annual award in their name is designated for a master's or doctoral student in the School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy who, by his or her exceptional contributions to the research and public service programs of the College of Education and Public Policy, exemplifies the public service values of the honorees and enhances the well being of the community.

According to Peuquet, the work of these two exceptional graduate students will continue the legacy of commitment to decency, equity and service embodied by the extended Gilman family.

“On behalf of the center, the school, and the entire college, I can say we are fortunate that the Gilman's have placed their trust in us as representatives of the values they hold dear,” he said. “Our students have and will continue to benefit from that trust and hopefully spread those values through their professional contributions.”

Article by Beth Chajes