William M. Rodgers III, Ph.D., is a professor at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy. Rodgers' research examines issues in labor economics and the economics of social problems. Presently, he is identifying the causes of the current recovery's historically weak job creation and its consequences for the earnings and employment of Americans. At the state level, Rodgers is conducting a comprehensive study of the status of New Jersey's minorities for the State Employment Commission Training.

Rodgers served as chief economist for the U.S. Department of Labor from 2000 to 2001. Chair of the American Economic Association's Committee on the Status of Minorities in the Economics Profession, he is also senior research affiliate for the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. He serves on numerous local and national advisory boards such as the Center for American Progress and the National Urban League Institute for Opportunity and Equality.

Rodgers has published widely, including in the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Monthly Labor Review, and the New York Federal Reserve's Economic Policy Review. He has been quoted in the New York Times, USA Today, BusinessWeek, and other publications, and appeared on CNBC, CNNfn, and many radio talk shows.