Francine Newsome Pfeiffer

Francine Newsome Pfeiffer is the Senior Vice President for Government Relations at Rutgers University. As the University's top advocate in Trenton and Washington, DC, Ms. Pfeiffer leads Rutgers' efforts to secure critical funding and shape higher education policy at both the state and federal levels. She oversees the University’s Office of Federal Relations in Washington, DC, where she worked for more than 25 years. Her staff in DC represent the University on a wide variety of federal appropriations and policy issues, including those impacting student aid programs, institutional governance, research and innovation, immigration, and tax and regulatory matters. She also works closely on state government relations, where she and her team are focused on enhancing Rutgers' relationships with policymakers while ensuring that the university's contributions to New Jersey's economic, social, and educational well-being are well-recognized and supported.
 
In addition to her advocacy on behalf of Rutgers and higher education, Ms. Pfeiffer has also helped launch and expand programs, such as the Rutgers-Eagleton Washington Internship Award Program and Rutgers Scarlet Service in Washington, DC, that provide financial support to students undertaking government or nonprofit internships in the nation’s capital. As Senior Vice President for Government Relations, Ms. Pfeiffer will now oversee all of Rutgers Scarlet Service, President Jonathan Holloway’s signature initiative that provides meaningful summer internships, with stipends, to Rutgers undergraduates at public service-oriented, nonprofit organizations and government offices in the New Jersey area and Washington, DC. Her focus for Rutgers Scarlet Service will be on enhancing opportunities for students to pursue public service internships and careers on the local, state, and federal levels.
 
As an experienced advocate and trusted voice on Capitol Hill, Ms. Pfeiffer has served in a variety of national leadership roles on behalf of higher education, including chair of the Council on Governmental Affairs at the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, an association representing nearly 250 public universities in North America. She has also served as chair of the Council on Federal Relations (CFR) Steering Committee at the Association of American Universities (AAU), the association of leading research universities devoted to maintaining a strong system of academic research and education. At AAU, she has also chaired working groups on the humanities and higher education/student aid and was the first recipient of the CFR Ripple Effect Award for her particularly memorable public service contributions to the AAU community. She is a frequent speaker at national meetings and conferences on federal policies affecting higher education and on effective advocacy strategies.
 
A New Jersey native and Rutgers graduate, Ms. Pfeiffer began her career in Washington with a White House internship with the Domestic Policy Council. She has had the honor of representing Rutgers before government audiences since 1996.