Our Bureau
New Brunswick, NJ
The Rutgers Board of Governors recently approved an honorary doctor of laws degree for Rajiv Vinnakota, a pioneering social entrepreneur. Vinnakota will be honored at the 259th anniversary commencement of Rutgers University on May 18, 2025.
Vinnakota has dedicated his life to initiatives that help Americans from all walks of life become productive and engaged members of society. As president of the Institute for Citizens & Scholars, he cultivates the talent, ideas, and networks that develop lifelong, effective citizens.
Before joining the Institute for Citizens & Scholars, Vinnakota served as executive vice president of the Aspen Institute. In this role, he launched and led the new Youth & Engagement Programs division devoted to youth leadership development, civic engagement and opportunity.
Early in his career, Vinnakota co-founded the SEED Foundation, the nation’s first network of public, college-preparatory boarding schools for underserved children. Vinnakota won multiple awards for his work with SEED, including Harvard University’s Innovation in American Government Award, Fast Company/Monitor Group’s Social Capitalist Award, and Oprah Winfrey’s Use Your Life Award. He continues to serve on SEED’s Board of Directors.
Vinnakota currently co-chairs the Civics and Civic Engagement Taskforce for the United States Congress Semiquincentennial Commission celebrating the 250th anniversary of the country’s founding. He also co-chairs the Civic Learning Pillar of the Partnership for American Democracy and serves on the advisory committee for Citizen Data.
Vinnakota has been at the forefront of innovative scholarship and research that has played a pivotal role in shaping the civic field. He has authored several publications and regularly appears on media outlets as an expert on civic learning and Gen Z.
The son of Indian immigrants, he grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and graduated from Princeton University, where he received Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson Award, the university’s highest honor for undergraduate alumni.
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, stands among America’s highest-ranked, most diverse public research universities.
