Don't miss the Center for Youth Political Participation's RU Organizing event on April 7, 6:00-8:30PM at the Eagleton Institute of Politics. Learn the foundations of grassroots organizing, collective action, and how you can make an impact in your community at the local, state, and federal levels. The session will be led by Janice Fine of the Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations (SMLR) and Workplace Justice Lab@RU. This event is open to current Rutgers undergraduate and graduate students only. Dinner will be served.

It's not common to have data on New Jersey parents. The Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling at Rutgers University is changing that with a rigorous, independent, statewide study of parents, guardians, and family decisionmakers across the Garden State — the New Jersey Parent Pulse. For organizations that need credible, independent data on NJ families, this is the opportunity. Question slots are limited and filling fast. For more information, contact Ashley Koning at akoning@rutgers.edu or (848) 932-8940.

There are 36 gubernatorial contests in 2026. Half (18) of those contests will be for open seats due to term limits or retirements of the incumbent officeholders. Of the record 14 (10D, 4R) women governors currently serving, 6 (4D, 2R) are leaving office this year. With 43% of the current women governors departing office, maintaining or surpassing women’s gubernatorial representation will rely heavily on the success of non-incumbent women gubernatorial candidates.

The RU Ready team hosted a group of Piscataway High School students last week at the annual Young Leaders Conference for a full day of programming and discussions on ways young adults can make an impact in their community. Addressing a fictional scenario selected by the students, four groups worked together to create a campaign and presented their solutions.

Thank you to the New Jersey State Bar Foundation and the Rutgers Democracy Lab for supporting the RU Ready program. Special thanks to Piscataway High School for their continued partnership and to the RU Ready interns and Darien Civic Engagement Project students for their hard work and attentiveness.

Join the Eagleton Institute of Politics as we kick off our latest event series, Café Democracy, on April 9. Inspired by Revolution NJ's Tavern Talks and the Rutgers Democracy Lab's Talking Across Difference initiative, Café Democracy channels the spirit of early American tavern camaraderie and modern-day coffee shops. Bringing people together, the sessions provide a space to share ideas under a theme of discussion to consider how we can strengthen our democracy. This monthly event series is open to the public.

For this year's Arthur J. Holland Program on Ethics in Government, Eagleton is proud to welcome CEO and Founder of Citizen University, Eric Liu as our speaker. Join us as Liu discusses civic strategies in finding meaning and power in our communities, including the Power Walk, a powerful civic exercise offered in collaboration with The New York Times’ Headway Team that invites participants to ask who shaped your community, whose voices were heard, and what forces are shaping it now.

Join the Rutgers Democracy Lab (RDL) for an open showcase event highlighting the work of the RDL during its inaugural year. Hear remarks from RDL's director, Dr. Nick Longo, followed by fast-paced lightning talks from RDL faculty and staff, as well as a parallel session of student poster presentations featuring hands-on democratic engagement and research in action. Visitors will have the opportunity to meet RDL students and faculty fellows, explore ongoing projects, and engage with RDL staff and partners.