Talking Across Difference is a dynamic project with a growing team. Below are the faculty members and graduate assistants currently affiliated with the project.
Elizabeth C. Matto
Elizabeth C. Matto is a Research Professor and teacher-scholar-practitioner of democratic education. On September 1, 2023, she was appointed Director of the Eagleton Institute of Politics. Matto earned her Ph.D. in American Politics from George Washington University and is a recipient of the Harry S. Truman Award (Nevada, 1990). In 2022, Matto was invited to serve on a Presidential Task Force for the American Political Science Association focused on rethinking the political science major. For Rutgers University, Matto serves as President Jonathan Holloway’s delegate on civic learning initiatives organized by the Institute for Citizens and Scholars.
Matto served as the lead editor on the American Political Science Association’s publications Teaching Civic
Engagement Across the Disciplines (2017) and Teaching Civic Engagement Globally (2021) and edits the
text’s companion website, a resource for educators who want to include political learning techniques in their curriculum. She is the author of the book, Citizen Now: Engaging in Politics and Democracy (Manchester University Press, 2017) and To Keep the Republic: Thinking, Talking, and Acting Like a Democratic Citizen (Rutgers University Press).
Katherine McCabe
Katherine McCabe is an associate professor of political science at Rutgers University. McCabe’s research is at the intersection of political psychology, public opinion, and political communication in American politics. Her work examines how individual’s social identities, attitudes, and personal experiences shape and complicate how they engage in politics and make political decisions. Her current work focuses on the formation of attitudes on health care issues, the role of the information environment in political belief formation, and how people resolve tension between conflicting political identities and attitudes.
McCabe joined the Rutgers faculty in 2017. She teaches courses in American politics, political behavior, political psychology, and quantitative methods. She has also co-organized Summer Institutes in Computational Social Science at Rutgers, which provide training for doctoral students and early career researchers. She received her doctorate in politics from Princeton University.
Adrienne Simonds
Adrienne Simonds is an Assistant Professor in the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program in the School of Health Professions at Rutgers University. Simonds holds a PhD in Physical Therapy from Nova Southeastern University and a Master of Physical Therapy and B.S. in Health Sciences from the University of Scranton.
Simonds utilizes a person-centered leadership approach and focuses on relationship building, empathy, and agility. Her 20+ year career as a Physical Therapist directly influences her leadership style. Her work seeks to develop and facilitate connection and engagement, whether in the classroom, clinical environments, or leadership spaces.
Simonds led the University Senate as Chair (2022-24) through a tumultuous time at Rutgers amidst a faculty strike, Vote of No Confidence, and conflicts that converged free speech, academic freedom, and the role of higher education institutions. Simonds has been a faculty member in the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program at Rutgers for over 15 years, has been recognized for her expertise in teaching and learning, and was awarded the Rutgers SHP Excellence in Teaching Award in 2017.
Monica C. Dunkerson
Monica C. Dunkerson is a Graduate Assistant for Talking Across Difference out of the Eagleton Institute of Politics. She earned her B.A. at Montclair State University in Psychology with a minor in International Studies. She is a Graduate Student in the East Asian Languages and Cultures Program in the School of Graduate Studies at Rutgers University. She has worked in Global Education since her undergraduate studies, gaining interest after serving as a Global Ambassador for Montclair State University. Her research interests focus on Japanese and Korean Folklore and the connection between East Asia and the Caribbean.
Devan DePue
Devan DePue is a Graduate Assistant for Talking Across Difference within the Eagleton Institute of Politics. She earned her B.A. in Psychology with a minor in English at Montclair State University. She is currently in her final year of the Ed.M. in College Student Affairs program at Rutgers University–New Brunswick. She serves as an Assistant Residence Life Coordinator on the Cook/Douglass campus, overseeing the first-year residential area. Devan also supervised student staff and operations in the Office of Career Exploration and Success, and taught as an instructor for the Students in Transition Seminar course designed for transfer students. With a passion for community-building and helping folks find their home on campus, Devan is very interested in the ways in which college students engage with political contexts, conversations, and civic duties.
