Its an honor to receive the award and it seems like a lifetime ago that I was a student there, the Westfield resident explained. I loved attending Rutgers-Newark, but truthfully if I didnt have the opportunity to receive an affordable education close to home, I never would have gone to college.
And what a shame that would have been. If Lapolla never made it to college he would not have been able to ascend to this current position of Executive Director of the New Jersey Turnpike Authority. In this role, Lapolla oversees one of the largest roadway operations in the country The New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway with a combined budget of $800 million annually, a capital project fund of nearly $1 billion and 3,500 employees.
In addition to the ultimate decision-making and control over all traditional aspects of Turnpike operations, Mr. Lapolla is also responsible for the oversight of E-ZPass operations in New Jersey. Under Mr. Lapollas leadership, and in conjunction with state transportation officials, the once trouble-plagued E-ZPass system that suffered from years of financial mismanagement and poor customer service practices was restored to full operation.
In 2003, Mr. Lapolla was entrusted with the responsibility of overseeing the consolidation of the two major toll roads in New Jersey The New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway. The consolidation of the two roads was proposed for the purpose of reducing costs and eliminating bureaucracy and duplicative processes.
Prior to joining the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, Mr. Lapolla served as Union County Manager, where he was responsible for administering a $307 million annual budget and for supervising a workforce of more than 2,700 employees serving the 21 municipalities in Union County.
Previously Mr. Lapolla was First Assistant Prosecutor for Union County and served as Director of Senator Bill Bradleys New Jersey Office and briefly as Assistant Counsel to Jim Florio in early 1990. In 1983, Mr. Lapolla was elected to the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders; at that time, the youngest person ever elected as Freeholder in the State of New Jersey. He was reelected in 1986 and served as Chairman of the Board of Chosen Freeholders in 1988.
Lapolla, who was elected to Phi Beta Kappa at Rutgers, received his law degree from the Washington College of the American University in Washington, D.C. He was admitted to the New Jersey Bar in 1981 and is a member of the Leadership New Jersey Class of 1992.
When he entered Rutgers-Newark, Lapolla aspired to be an English teacher. His inability to fit the required foreign language courses into his class schedule led him to major in political science. He recalls that his professors always challenged him. One went so far as to give him a B so he would stay motivated to achieve an A.
One professor, Walter Weiker (the late political science chair), gave me a B in a course and I felt I deserved an A, Lapolla recalled. He said to me, If I gave you an A, what would you strive for? The funny part is that 20 years later, he sent me a change of grade form in the mail stating that I received an A in the course!
All kidding aside, Lapolla was pleased with the education he received at Rutgers-Newark and enjoyed the camaraderie among students.
I had great professors during my time there- people like Mary Segers (R-Ns current chair of political science) who really made you think about problems and issues, Lapolla noted. I also enjoyed the fact that all of us students were equal at Rutgers-Newark. There were few rich kids and most of us came from working class families.
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