New Rutgers Eagleton Institute of Politics director shares her vision for organization
Effective September 1, Elizabeth Matto, a research professor with the Eagleton Institute of Politics, took over as the director of Eagleton, according to a press release.
Matto has worked at Eagleton for 15 years and previously served as director of its Center for Youth Political Participation (CYPP). The previous director of Eagleton, John Farmer Jr., stepped down earlier this year, and an internal search for his replacement was spearheaded by Rutgers University—New Brunswick Chancellor Francine Conway.
Matto said the proudest moment from her previous role was obtaining support to launch the CYPP and structuring it to coincide with the Institute's missions and the importance of youth political involvement. She said they are currently looking for someone to fill her previous position as she takes on this new role.
"My vision is to carry Eagleton's mission forward by centering civic learning and engagement in ways that are creative, collaborative and expansive while being accessible and relevant to the needs of students, higher education and our democracy," she said.
Matto said Eagleton has always encouraged students to be involved politically, but her work has focused heavily on actually having students engaged.
She also said the director is the primary spokesperson for the Institute when interacting with Rutgers alumni, donors and New Brunswick political leadership while working alongside Chancellor Conway and her leadership team.
As a political scholar, teacher and manager of the CYPP, Matto said she is prepared to uphold the Institute's mission of improving political engagement and civic accountability.
"For nearly 70 years, the Institute has served as Rutgers University's resource for the teaching and practice of politics, leading the way in producing and sharing research and public service work that improves American democracy," Matto said. "Its strength is the people who compose it and the shared commitment to the Institute's mission and core values."
The Eagleton Institute of Politics was founded by a female suffragist and social change activist, Florence Peshine Eagleton, in 1956 to better prepare students to enter politics.
Matto said that today, the faculty and staff at Eagleton work closely with other scholars to promote the founder's goal for the Institute by studying scientific research, electoral campaigns, partisanship, political behavior, polling, female and youth political participation and state and gubernatorial politics.
Eagleton emphasizes the importance of civic engagement, especially among college students at Rutgers and the New Brunswick community, she said. The National Study for Learning Voting and Engagement found that the voter turnout rate in New Brunswick has increased by 20 percent between the past two presidential elections in 2016 and 2020.
"As a campus, our aspiration ought to be to identify and create civic engagement opportunities for students so they graduate Rutgers University equipped and encouraged to be active participants in democracy," Matto said.
She said that students could participate in the American democratic process in various ways: voting, volunteering their time to different political and charitable efforts, bringing attention to issues through various peer discussions and persuading those already elected to office.
The Institute seeks to enhance student understanding of politics by providing them with the resources and confidence to engage in politics and make a direct impact both on their personal lives and the environment around them, she said.
"It's my hope that my legacy will be embedding the scholarship and practice of our Institute into the Rutgers ecosystem in such a way that we play a meaningful role in enhancing students' civic learning and political engagement," Matto said.
Editor's Note: A previous version of this article referred to Elizabeth Matto as "an associate research professor in the Department of Political Science."
