Rutgers President Continues Course on Engaged Citizenship

President Jonathan Holloway returns to the classroom this fall to lead a Byrne seminar for first-year undergraduate students on citizenship and democracy at a pivotal time in the nation’s history.

The eight-week course, “Citizenship, Institutions, and the Public,” examines what it means to be a good citizen and what we should reasonably expect of our institutions, addressing these questions and more through a series of conversations with distinguished leaders from the corporate, political, nonprofit and media communities.

“We live in challenging times where critical and nuanced issues are often reduced to social media posts,” said Holloway, U.S. historian and a member of College Presidents for Civic Preparedness, a movement of campus leaders to advance critical inquiry, free expression, and civil discourse. “There is a cultural impatience for debate and a preference for righteousness over consideration that underscores the importance of these conversations.”

Fox News Channel Chief Washington Correspondent Mike Emanuel, Turnitin CEO Chris Caren, Institute for Citizens & Scholars President Rajiv Vinnakota, former NAACP President Sherrilyn Ifill, and Mellon Foundation President Elizabeth Alexander are among the distinguished leaders scheduled to meet with the class this semester, either in-person or virtually.

This semester’s seminar will also feature “The Morning After,” a virtual panel discussion on the heels of the 2024 U.S. presidential election sponsored by the Eagleton Institute of Politics and moderated by Holloway.

Emanuel and Vinnakota were guests during last year’s seminar, which also welcomed President Emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations Richard Haass, Corporate Community Connections President DeForest B. Soaries, Jr., Medley Co-Founder Edith Cooper, and Hoover Institution Director Condoleezza Rice.

The fall 2023 conversations were featured in a video series that earned gold from the Hermes Creative Awards.

Byrne seminars are small, one-credit courses offered exclusively to first-year undergraduate students at Rutgers–New Brunswick.

This year’s incoming class at Rutgers was the first to apply via the Common Application, producing the largest applicant pool in university history and delivering its most accomplished first-year class.

When addressing incoming students at convocation recently, Holloway urged them to wrestle with challenging ideas, explore new areas, consider views that are not their own, and be committed to improving the world.

“As you navigate all the complexities of this university, take the time to reflect upon your decisions,” he said. “Be intentional about what you say and how you say it, be brave enough to listen to someone with whom you disagree, and, above all else, be committed to developing the critical thinking skills that will serve you well in your years beyond Rutgers.”