The university's oldest and largest campus reaffirms its classification from the Carnegie Foundation and wins an award for a community development program

Rutgers University-New Brunswick's commitment to strengthening communities - through sustained partnerships, student engagement and research rooted in public need - is drawing national attention for its impact locally and throughout New Jersey.

The state university's oldest and largest campus has received two distinctions. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teachinghas reaffirmed Rutgers-New Brunswick's community engagement classification. In addition, Rutgers-New Brunswick won the 2026 Insight Into Academia Civic Engagement and Community Service Award for its program, Advancing Community Development.

"This recognition highlights our role as a public flagship where excellence and access thrive," Rutgers-New Brunswick Chancellor Francine Conway said. "Our teaching, research and service translate into real impact for people and communities across New Jersey and beyond."

The recognition is appreciated, said Tiffiny Butler, Rutgers-New Brunswick's vice chancellor for access and community engagement. She added community-engaged work, while often done with "joy and vigor," sometimes can be "silent labor."

"When good work is being done and it's recognized, particularly by external folks, it's rewarding in a different kind of way," Butler said. "To be seen and known is important - not just for the recognition, but to build and sustain momentum in your progress to continue doing good work."

The designation from the Carnegie Foundation - which Rutgers-New Brunswick has held since 2009 - puts the university among top-tier institutions nationally in community engagement.

The Carnegie classification is a comprehensive institutional self-study "where we had an opportunity to come together as a group of faculty, staff, students, and administrators to prepare an application that tells the Rutgers New Brunswick story, and that story is an impressive one," said Butler, adding that about 30 administrators, staffers and others help prepare an extensive reaffirmation application.

She added the reaffirmation "gives us a clear picture of where we are now as a campus and a starting point for communication to better understand where we can go together."

Programs cited in the application include: 

• The Rutgers Bonner Leaders program

• Advancing Community Development, overseen by the Rutgers Collaborative Center for Community Engagement

• The IDEA Design Research Internship, which is tied to the Innovation, Design and Entrepreneurship Academy(IDEA)

• The Rutgers Scarlet Service Internship program, overseen by the Office of Career Exploration and Success at Rutgers-New Brunswick

• The Conversation Tree, a program created by the Rutgers Graduate School of Education and the Collaborative Center

• Research projects conducted through the Aresty Research Center

• The Leadership Scholars Certificate Programoffered through the Institute for Women's Leadership

• Sustainability Ambassadorswithin the Rutgers Office of Climate Action

Rutgers students involved in The Conversation Tree program and members of nonprofit group New Labor take part in a language practice activity in December 2022 at New Labor's New Brunswick, N.J., office.

Rutgers-New Brunswick Is Honored for Community Development Program

The April issue of Insight Into Academiamagazine features an award section about Rutgers-New Brunswick and other winners.

"Your institution's work stood out for its impact, its alignment with mission and its clear dedication to meaningful progress," Holly Mendelson, publisher of Insight Into Academia, noted in an email.

Established in 2011, Advancing Community Developmentat Rutgers-New Brunswick is a community-based learning program in which up to 16 undergraduate students research health-related issues in New Brunswick each term. Funded by health care corporation Johnson & Johnson, participants receive mentorship and engage in direct community partnerships, often focusing on social determinants of health.

Bonner Leaders Krupa Shah (left), Ogechi Udechukwu and Omorinsola Ayo-Adebanjo prepare hygiene kits for local nonprofit groups for a Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service event at the Busch Student Center in January 2025.

For example, Butler said students in the program have:

• Developed presentations focused on high school and middle school students related to COVID-19.

• Worked on a marketing plan for the Live Well-Vivir Bien New Brunswick, a platform that provides awareness of the health and wellness resources available for city residents, through nonprofit group New Brunswick Tomorrow.

• Worked with the Arts Institute of Middlesex Countyto create a video that tells the story about the institute and the resources available to residents and visitors in Middlesex County.

In turn, participating students learn about community health and wellness interventions, nonprofit management and the role of anchor institutions in communities.

A Bonner Leader's Perspective on Community Engagement 

Bonner Leaders at Rutgers-New Brunswick are part of the national Bonner Foundation network of colleges and universities committed to sustained community engagement and addressing pressing social challenges.

The program is highly selective (Butler said more than 250 people typically apply for 10 to 15 spots a year) and administered by the Rutgers Collaborative Center for Community Engagement. Bonner Leaders, who spent more than 50,800 hours of engagement during the 2024-2025 academic year, partner with community organizations in New Brunswick and Piscataway through service placements, civic initiatives and campus-community programs. 

The latest recognition "is not surprising," said Christopher Godoy, the student body president at Rutgers-New Brunswick and a Bonner Leader.

"I think our studies make a small portion of our overall story and experience as we go into the real world," said Godoy, who leads the Rutgers University Student Assembly.

Through the university's community engagement programs and initiatives, "we're able to better focus on how we can best serve our communities, building the skill sets that we will take away beyond our years here at Rutgers," Godoy added.

Christopher Godoy (left) and Eduardo Nunez hold origami birds during an October 2024 meeting for Bonner Leaders in Tillet Hall.

Selected as a Bonner Leader during his freshman year, Godoy volunteered at the Rutgers Center for Adult Autism Serviceson Douglass campus, where he assisted behavior analysts in managing and entering data for member files. A year later, he volunteered for The Urban Health Collaborative, a New Brunswick nonprofit organization focused on reducing health disparities and addressing adverse childhood experiences such as food insecurity. He supported the group by developing internal and external communications and conducting research for grants and workshop initiatives focused on financial literacy for members of the New Brunswick community.

For the past two years, Godoy has been volunteering with the Eagleton Institute of Politics, where much of his focus has been spent researching how Rutgers is civically engaged from a classroom standpoint. Under the guidance of Eagleton Director Elizabeth Matto, Godoy reviewed course syllabi from multiple university departments to determine whether students, upon completing a course, would be "civically engaged and know their rights, know who their representatives are, and have the tools as citizens to best advocate for themselves beyond their years at Rutgers."

A participant of the Rutgers Scarlet Service Internship program, Godoy worked as a congressional intern for U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. from June to August. Now a senior on the pre-law track, Godoy will graduate in May from the School of Arts and Sciences, earning a bachelor of arts degree in political science and economics.

"I am lucky enough to be a part of a group of peers that have a common goal, and that is to serve the community despite our differences in our backgrounds and experiences," said Godoy, who plans to pursue a master degree in public policy. "That's something that really highlights the effort that the university has done to best ensure that while we enjoy our time here on campus, we're also best equipped to serve our communities well beyond Rutgers."