Ruth Mandel

Ruth B. Mandel served as the director of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University from 1995-2019, where she also held a faculty appointment as Board of Governors Professor of Politics. From 1973-1994, Mandel served as director of Eagleton's Center for American Woman and Politics (CAWP), where she remained affiliated as a senior scholar.

Beginning in 1991, Mandel held a presidential appointment as a member of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council, the governing body of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. She also served as vice chairperson of the board after being named by President Clinton in May 1993. Mandel is a member of the Museum's Executive Committee and its Academic Committee. She chaired the task group charged with proposing a governing structure for the museum. She also led the process to create the museum's Committee on Conscience, which was established in 1996 with Mandel as its founding chair.

Mandel was a member of the board of the Charles H. Revson Foundation. Her service also included membership on the board of the National Council for Research on Women, the National Commission for the Renewal of American Democracy, Princeton University's Center for Jewish Life, the Mercer County Commission on the Status of Women, and various editorial boards for scholarly journals and academic publishers.

Mandel wrote and spoke widely about women and leadership, with particular emphasis on women as political candidates, women in office, women's political networks, and the gender gap. She taught courses on women and American politics and political leadership. As an observer and analyst of emerging trends in leadership, Mandel appeared frequently on radio and television. She was the author of numerous publications about women and political leadership.

Mandel received numerous awards for her research, education and public service activities. These include the Governor's Pride of New Jersey Award (1992); the Gloria Steinem Women of Vision Award presented by the Ms. Foundation (1996); the Twenty-First Century Leadership Award, presented by the President of the National Women's Hall of Fame; the Breaking the Glass Ceiling Award from Women Executives in State Government (1998); and an honorary Doctor of Public Service degree from Chatham College (1998).