Department of Government Relations

Committed to effective communication and advocacy on Rutgers’ behalf.

About Government Relations

Led by Senior Vice President for Government Relations Francine Newsome Pfeiffer, the Department of Government Relations is comprised of two units that each play a universitywide role in communicating Rutgers’ excellence as a top public research university and valuable contributions to the quality of life in New Jersey and the world.

United States US Capitol Building as seen from Independence Avenue in Washington, DC

Federal Relations

State Government Relations

Rutgers Scarlet Service

Contact Government Relations

Winants Hall on the College Avenue campus

Administration

Office of the Senior Vice President

The department is led by Senior Vice President for Government Relations Francine Newsome Pfeiffer.

Learn More

At a Glance

$379M

Value of federal financial aid to Rutgers students

Academic Year 2020-2021

67,200+

Undergraduate and graduate students across Rutgers

$512.4M

Federal research expenditures at Rutgers

Fiscal Year 2023

358K+

More than 60 percent of Rutgers' 585,500+ alumni live in New Jersey

Government Officials' Campus Visits

Tour of New Jersey small business development center

Sen. Cory Booker speaks at Rutgers University

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) discuss federal support for community health centers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic while at the Eric B. Chandler Health Center at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick.

Veterans Affairs Deputy Secretary Donald Remy at Rutgers roundtable discussion.

Rutgers and elected officials pose in front of robots at the Engineering School.

Original Caption: Corey Booker, New Jersey Senator makes remarks at the inauguration dinner

Jonathan Holloway and NJ Gov. Phil Murphy

Ambassador Katherine Tai, United States Trade Representative, joined Interim Chancellor Jeffrey Robinson, Dean of Rutgers Business School Lei Lei, and Associate Professor Kevin Lyons, Ph.D., in Newark for a tour of the New Jersey Small Business Development Center (NJ SBDC) and a roundtable discussion with Rutgers students on the importance of diversifying US trade.

Rutgers Office for Research's Jeetendra Eswaraka (left), Michael Zwick (right) welcomed NJ State Assemblywoman Lisa Swain (center), NJ State Assemblyman Chris Tully (center right) to a tour of university research facilities. The group visited the Research Tower and the Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine. Though presentations and throughout the tour, Rutgers University leaders highlighted the ways in which Rutgers supports all faculty members and provides important resources to industry partners.

(l. to r.) Triada Stampas, President and CEO of Fulfill, Doug Fisher, New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture, US Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) (speaking), and NJ Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin (D-19) participate in a panel discussion at the NJ Hunger, Nutrition and Health in New Jersey conference, held at the Institute for Food, Nutrition and Health on the Cook campus.

President Jonathan Holloway joined Gov. Phil Murphy and other state and local dignitaries including Mark Angelson, chair of the Rutgers University Board of Governors and Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences Chancellor Brian Strom for the groundbreaking of the NJ Innovation & Technology HUB in New Brunswick.

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) discuss federal support for community health centers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic while at the Eric B. Chandler Health Center at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick.

U.S. Veterans Affairs Deputy Secretary Donald Remy smiles at Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway during a round-table discussion with Rutgers student veterans at Winants Hall.

Rutgers president Jonathan Holloway, Gina Raimondo, U.S. Secretary of Commerce, U.S. Rep. Frank Joseph Pallone, Jr. (D-6th congressional district, N.J.), and Tom Faris, Dean School of Engineering, right, pose for a photograph during a tour of the Richard Weeks Hall of Engineering on the Busch campus of Rutgers University.

Cory Booker, New Jersey Senator, makes remarks at the inauguration dinner for President Jonathan Holloway.

New Jersey Governor Philp D. Murphy stands with Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway at the site of the New Jersey Innovation & Technology HUB in New Brunswick.