Higher Education Institution
Rutgers University
Rutgers Democracy Lab
In November 2024, Rutgers University announced the launch of the Rutgers Democracy Lab “to strengthen civic engagement and promote constructive discourse.”
Notable People
Nicholas Longo
Inaugural director of the Democracy Lab
In February 2026, Longo was named inaugural director of the Democracy Lab. He previously served as a facilitator with Constructive Dialogue Institute and he also led Providence College’s Dialogue, Inclusion, and Democracy Lab, which received significant funding from the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations.
Notable Funders
Robert and Trudy Gottesman
Founding donors, amount not identified; funding relationship documented here
Robert is a trustee of The Gottesman Fund and the son of late billionaire David Gottesman. The Gottesman Fund’s stated mission is to “enhance and perpetuate Jewish life in the United States and improve the quality of life in Israel.” The Fund makes major donations to Israel advocacy groups such as Birthright Israel, Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (which collects donations for IDF soldiers), and Israel on Campus Coalition (which the Center for Constitutional Rights describes as an organization that “coordinates anti-Palestinian advocacy groups”). For reference, see Gottesman’s tax filings for 2024, 2023, and 2022.
Partnerships
BridgeUSA
Rutgers hosts a chapter of BridgeUSA. Refer to the "BridgeUSA" entry for details about the organization's leadership and funders.
College Presidents for Civic Preparedness
Rutgers president William Tate is a member of this coalition, as was former president Jonathan Holloway. Holloway taught a fall 2023 course that featured the head of CPCP, Rajiv Vinnakota. Refer to the "College Presidents for Civic Preparedness" entry for details about the organization's leadership and funders.
Campus Policy Context
In late March 2024, Rutgers University Student Assembly (RUSA) held referenda on divestment from companies doing business with Israel and ending Rutgers’ partnership with Tel Aviv University. About 8,000 students voted and the results showed 80% of participating students supporting divestment and 77% supporting an end to the Tel Aviv University partnership. During the May 2024 pro-Palestinian encampment, students repeated these demands.
On May 6, 2024, Rutgers’ then-president Jonathan Holloway wrote a letter to Rutgers’ Board of Governors in which he informed them that “RUPD [Rutgers University Police Department] is present whenever there is a protest” and “We have also worked with the FBI to be briefed on their threat assessments.” In regard to demands from protesters, he added, “I think divestment from Israel is wrong. …We were asked to sever [our relationship with Tel Aviv University]. We will not. Period. … I called at the start of this semester for civil discourse. There have been too many instances, in the fall and in the spring, where members of our community have failed in this regard.”
In January 2025, Holloway confirmed that the spring divestment proposal had been reviewed under Rutgers’ investment policy but “did not move forward,” and that the decision remained in effect.