Tiger on the Hill

He said yes, and Rechtschaffen was hired as the University’s lobbyist in fall 2006.

Based in Washington, Rechtschaffen is responsible for representing the University’s interests to legislators and other officials and ensuring that its research and initiatives are properly understood in the capital.

A member of the University’s third graduating class of women, Rechtschaffen was a Wilson School major and an executive editor at the ‘Prince.’ Both influences, she said, played a large role in shaping her time at the University.

The ‘Prince’ provided Rechtschaffen with a chance to play an active role on Princeton’s campus, she explained. “It was a huge part of my life. It forced me to reorganize my life because I was forced to study in those hours I wasn’t working on the ‘Prince.’ It gave me structure,” she said.

After graduating, Rechtschaffen went to law school and spent a decade working as a litigator before she took a job on the staff of Sen. Joe Lieberman (ID-Connecticutt.).

“It was a very intense time in shaping our nation’s laws on homeland security and intelligence,” Rechtschaffen explained of her time working with Lieberman.

Yet after more than a decade on the senator’s staff, Rechtschaffen was ready for a change of pace, she said. “I had reached a point in my whole career where I felt I was ready for a change,” she said. “I was ready to start thinking about other kinds of issues.”

That was when she saw the University’s advertisement.

Princeton has maintained an office in Washington for more than 25 years, Rechtschaffen explained, adding that she works “with a wide range of people, from New Jersey officials to science professors to alumni.”

“We do a lot of things with other universities and higher-education associations … essential to our national security and wellbeing and health,” Rechtschaffen explained. “We bring representatives down to explain to Congress what they’re doing with the money they’re funded with.”

One of the highlights of her time as director of governmental affairs, she noted, was a roundtable held at Princeton last January on the importance of research in science. The meeting included President Tilghman, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and key members of Congress.

The University’s Washington office also lobbies on behalf of academic interests when Congress is debating issues that could affect admission policies, she explained. “For example, on immigration, Princeton wants to bring international students to Princeton,” she said. “As legislation goes forward, I will go to the various entities I work with.”

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“When we come forward and say, ‘This is going to interfere with a liberal arts education and creativity’ ... people stood up and noticed,” she said.

Rechtschaffen has also worked to dissuade Congress from establishing governmental oversight of the appropriation of universities’ endowments by showing how much of Princeton’s resources go to financial aid. “When we were talking about regulating endowment, we were able to bring so much to the table about what our endowment does and what it would mean for that if there were federal regulation on endowment,” she explained.

She also noted that the University’s unique reputation lends to its influence in Washington. “When we speak about the importance of research funding … and why it’s important that the nation doesn’t fall behind, we’re important voices in that dialogue,” she said, adding, “[In] so much of what we do, our work is outstanding, and it’s recognized as such by Congress.”

“When you bring a researcher or a professor or a student to Washington, it is such a joy,” she added. “Congress loves and wants to hear about the incredible work that happens at Princeton.”