Rutgers University
Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...
was established in 1956 with an endowment from Florence Peshine Eagleton (1870–1953), and it focuses on state and national politics through education and public service. Ruth Mandel served as director for over 20 years, before being succeeded in that role by John Farmer Jr. in September, 2019, and Elizabeth C. Matto in September, 2022.
The institute is located at the Cook-Douglass Campus in
New Brunswick, New Jersey
New Brunswick is a city (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Wood Lawn, which is listed on the
New Jersey Register of Historic Places
The New Jersey Register of Historic Places is the official list of historic resources of local, state, and national interest in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The program is administered by the New Jersey's state historic preservation office wit ...
and
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
.
Background
Florence Peshine Eagleton was a suffragist and a founder of the New Jersey League of Women Voters. She advocated for increased access to higher education for women. She was one of the first women to serve as a trustee of
Rutgers University
Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...
. She left more than $1,000,000 in her will to establish the Wells Phillips Eagleton and Florence Peshine Eagleton Foundation, which became the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University.
Centers and program
The Eagleton Institute of Politics has several centers and programs:
* The Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) aims to promote greater knowledge and understanding about women's participation in politics and government and to enhance women's influence and leadership in public life.
* The Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling, established in 1971, conducts several statewide public opinion surveys each year and contracts with government agencies and non-profit organizations for contract polling work.
* The Center on the American Governor seeks to promote research and discussion on the role of state governors in the United States. The center is building an extensive virtual archive and sponsors a range of academic activities and public forums on topics and issues relating to the office of governor across the country as well as the administrations of selected holders of the office in New Jersey and other states.
* The Center for Youth Political Participation (CYPP), through research, public service, and educational programs, is dedicated to exploring civic education at the high school level and political participation among young adults. CYPP initiatives include RU Ready RU Voting, State House Express, the Young Elected Leaders Project, and the Darien Civic Engagement Project
Other Eagleton programs and initiatives include:
* Clifford P. Case Professorship of Public Affairs — established by the university's board of governors in 1980 and named in honor of Clifford P. Case, longtime U.S. senator from New Jersey. The holder of the professional typically visits one of Rutgers' three campuses for a few days each year. Past holders have included George J. Mitchell,
Olympia Snowe
Olympia Jean Snowe (; born February 21, 1947) is an American businesswoman and politician who was a United States Senate, United States Senator, representing Maine for three terms from 1995 to 2013. A lifelong member of the Republican Party (Unit ...
Gerald R. Ford
Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Ford assumed the p ...
.
* Arthur J. Holland Program on Ethics in Government — established in 1989 and named after Arthur John Holland, longtime mayor of Trenton. The program organizes an annual lecture at the university as well as workshop at the New Jersey League of Municipalities'
Atlantic City
Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.
Atlantic City comprises the second half of the Atlantic City- Hammonton metropolitan sta ...
conference. The program also awards a stipend "to support a student undertaking a project designed to promote ethics in government."Centers/Programs: Arthur J. Holland Program on Ethics in Government Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.
Eagleton staff
* Elizabeth C. Matto - director of the institute, director of the Center for Youth Political Participation
* John Weingart – associate director and author of ''Waste is a Terrible Thing to Mind''
* Debbie Walsh – director of the institute's Center for American Women and Politics
* Ashley Koning – director of the institute's Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling