CYPP Director Dr. Matto Presents Workshop at APSA

September 6, 2019 — Dr. Elizabeth C. Matto, associate research professor and director of Eagleton’s Center for Youth Political Participation (CYPP), spoke about civic engagement and promoting civil discourse on college campuses at the annual American Political Science Association (APSA) Teaching and Learning Conference in Washington, D.C. last week.

Through her work as director of CYPP, Matto not only studies youth political participation trends, but also leads the center’s mission to advance the political learning of young people and equip them to be active citizens and leaders. Matto and the CYPP team accomplish this goal through a variety of civic engagement programs, such as RU Voting, RU Ready, and the Darien Civic Engagement Project.

Matto shared her experience, strategy, and lessons learned with other political scientists from across the country last week as the APSA conference. Working with a team of civic engagement scholars and practitioners, she led a workshop that explored how to put research into action, specifically when it comes to studying and coordinating nonpartisan student voter education and engagement on college campuses.

The workshop reflected on strategies and tactics employed by political scientists to engage young voters during the 2018 midterm election and also focused on preparing workshop participants for the 2020 election.

“Political scientists and civic engagement scholars and practitioners can play a lead role on their campuses and nationwide in preparing our students to be informed and engaged citizens. I was thrilled to play a part in sharing some of this important scholarship and toolkit of best practices,” said Matto.

With the New Jersey Legislative election around the corner in November 2019 and the 2020 presidential election on the horizon, CYPP’s efforts to promote student voter registration and civic engagement is in full force this semester. Visit the CYPP website to learn more its RU Voting initiative and upcoming voter registration drives.