Eric R. Backes is Rosen College’s Contracts and Grants Specialist. He is an attorney who has experience working with elected officials in Maryland and New Jersey and a background in government relations with the Maryland Department of Transportation. Eric recently earned a Graduate Certificate in Urban and Regional Planning here at UCF and has a Juris Doctor from the University of Baltimore School and a BA from Rutgers University in Political Science. You may also have seen him on TV during his week-long run as a 4 day champion and Tournament of Champions participant on Jeopardy! in 2019. Eric’s wife, Dr. Bethany Backes, is an Assistant Professor in the Violence Against Women Faculty Cluster Initiative at the University of Central Florida and holds a joint appointment in the Department of Criminal Justice and School of Social Work. Together they have 2 children who attend Seminole County Public Schools.