Credit: Courtesy of Jeannine LaRue

Jeannine F. LaRue, deputy chief of staff to Governor Jon S. Corzine, has been named vice president for public affairs – a senior-level position at Rutgers charged with advancing the university’s goals by cultivating and maintaining relationships with key leaders in the public and private sectors.

LaRue, who begins her appointment December 17, was appointed by the Rutgers Board of Governors at its December 6 meeting. She will serve as the chief adviser to university President Richard L. McCormick, Rutgers’ governing boards, and other university leaders on matters involving state, federal, and local governments; New Jersey businesses; civic and community groups; and nonprofit organizations. She also will be responsible for developing and directing strategies for outreach and advocacy.

LaRue’s appointment is part of a comprehensive effort – cited by President McCormick in his 2006 Annual Address to the University Community – to evaluate the university’s relationships with government, business, and civic leaders across New Jersey.

An ad hoc committee of Board of Governors members and university administrators as well as Rutgers faculty recommended the establishment of a senior-level position responsible for developing and executing strategies to enhance the university’s ties to key constituencies across the state.

“Jeannine LaRue has extensive experience and knowledge of the inner workings of state government, New Jersey’s business community, and nonprofit organizations,” McCormick said. “The need for increased public and private support for higher education is greater than ever. To best serve our students and the people of New Jersey, Rutgers University must enhance and maintain positive, productive relationships with our elected representatives in Trenton and Washington, D.C., as well as with leaders throughout New Jersey’s business and nonprofit sectors. Jeannine is extremely well suited to thrive in this important position.”

LaRue, a 1974 graduate of Glassboro State College (now Rowan University), has held a series of prominent positions both inside and outside Trenton.

Prior to working for Governor Corzine, LaRue served as senior vice president in the Office of Governmental Affairs for Saint Barnabas Health Care System in West Orange – the state’s largest integrated health care delivery system and its second-largest private employer.

LaRue also served as director of governmental relations for the New Jersey Education Association and as a member of the Casino Control Commission.

In addition, she was the founding executive director of 10,000 Mentors Inc., a Newark-based nonprofit organization that matches mentors with elementary school students.

LaRue’s duties at Rutgers will include:

• Informing elected officials, policy makers, and civic, community, and business leaders about university programs and their benefits
• Offering advice and counsel to President McCormick and other university officials on developing outreach initiatives and relationships with community leaders and elected officials in New Jersey’s 21 counties and advancing Rutgers’ responsiveness to their needs and issues
• Serving as a center of communication through regular personal contact with community leaders, elected and appointed government officials, and their staffs
• Managing the university’s offices of state and federal relations
• Realizing demonstrable impacts in Rutgers’ access to state and federal research, outreach, and education funding opportunities