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Princeton University Publications Collection
Notifications
Held at: Princeton University Library: University Archives [Contact Us]
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Princeton University Library: University Archives. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
The Princeton University Publications collection contains issues of nearly 150 different periodicals published by the university and related organizations, as well as a few items published by others about the university, that have not been cataloged individually. Notable items in the collection include an 1802 newspaper account of the Nassau Hall fire (The Balance), 19th century student publications, special editions and joke issues of the Daily Princetonian (The Gaily Printsanything), alumni group publications, periodicals produced by religious groups on campus, and publications from various administrative offices. Also included in the collection are directories of students and faculty; photobooks of the Princeton campus; as well as a set of significant administrative reports of the university, which were once held in as reference materials in Firestone Library.
Series 8: Directories was transferred in October, 2017 (AR.2017.112).
Full text searching of the archived websites within this collection is available through the Archive-It interface.
For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.
This collection contains materials acquired from an unknown operating system. Researchers are responsible for meeting the technical requirements needed to access these materials, including any and all hardware and software.
This collection was processed with substantial contributions from Rosalba Varallo Recchia, Christie Peterson, Q Miceli'12, and Lynn Durgin. Processing was completed in January 2013. Digital Materials in Series 4 were processed by Elena Colon-Marrero in 2015. Series 8: Directories was added by Phoebe Nobles in 2018. Series 9: Duplicate Publications for Digitization was added by Kimberly McCauley in 2019.
No materials have been removed from this collection.
Organization
Subject
- Publisher
- University Archives
- Finding Aid Date
- 2011
- Access Restrictions
-
The collection is open for research with the exception of the digital directories in Series 8, which are restricted for a period of five years from their date of creation, and the digitized versions of yearbooks in Series 10, which are restricted for a period of five years from the year of their creation. Printed versions of the yearbooks are open for research use in the Mudd Manuscript Library reading room.
- Use Restrictions
-
Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. The Trustees of Princeton University hold copyright to all materials generated by Princeton University employees in the course of their work. For instances beyond Fair Use, if copyright is held by Princeton University, researchers do not need to obtain permission, complete any forms, or receive a letter to move forward with use of materials from the Princeton University Archives.
For instances beyond Fair Use where the copyright is not held by the University, while permission from the Library is not required, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.
Collection Inventory
No arrangement action taken or arrangement information not recorded at the time of processing.
Series 1: Alumni Publications consists of periodicals written by and for graduates of Princeton University. The series consists largely of issues of Prospect Magazine, which was produced by the politically conservative group, the Concerned Alumni of Princeton. The series also includes early issues of the The Alumni Princetonian, which is the precursor to the Princeton Alumni Weekly, and which began as a weekly insert in the The Daily Princetonian in the 1890s.
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Alexander Leitch was a member of the Princeton Class of 1924 and an administrator at Princeton University for the entirety of his professional career, most notably holding the Office of the Secretary from 1936 to 1966. Following his retirement from the University, he assembled A Princeton Companion, a reference work containing 400 articles on Princeton life and traditions.
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Arthur Bartlett Maurice (1873-1946, Princeton Class of 1894) was an editor of the Bookman (1899-1916), a member of the Players Club, a book reviewer and columnist, and a writer about writers.
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The Office of Development Communications creates a wide range of publications and other materials to support Princeton's fund-raising initiatives and to keep alumni, parents, and friends closely connected and well-informed about the life of the University. The major publications of the office have included Princeton: With One Accord, a newsletter mailed to more than 80,000 Princetonians quarterly between 1995 and 2000, and Links to Princeton, an e-newsletter for Princeton volunteers.
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No arrangement action taken or arrangement information not recorded at the time of processing.
Series 2: Faculty Publications are those written by current or emeritus faculty.
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Donald A. Stauffer was an American literary critic and novelist. Born in Denver, Colorado, in 1902, he graduated from Princeton University in 1923. He traveled to England as a Rhodes Scholar and continued his studies at Oxford University, where he obtained a Ph.D. in 1928. He returned to Princeton as an instructor in the English Department, later serving as the chairman of the English department. He authored English Biography before 1700, The Art of Biography in Eighteenth Century England, The Nature of Poetry, The Golden Nightingale: Essays on Some Principles of Poetry in the Lyrics of William Butler Yeats, and Shakespeare's World of Images: The Development of His Moral Ideas. Stauffer died in 1952.
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Provides information on an unnamed Program and refers to students or faculty members ensigned to the military, as well as British servicemen and women who took weekend courses at Princeton. Refers to the Tilton Prize, which was awarded to theses from departments connected to the Program and dealing with arts in America.
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No arrangement action taken or arrangement information not recorded at the time of processing.
Series 3: Student-generated publications are those documents composed by enrolled undergraduate or graduate students. Several 19th century student publications are present, including some of the earliest known student newspapers, such as The Balance (1802) which provides an account of a Nassau Hall fire, and The Chameleon, written by the Class of 1835. The series also includes special editions and joke issues of the Daily Princetonian, such as The Gaily Printsanything (circa 1920s). In addition, the years 1969 and 1996 saw particular literary flourishing, with the inception of several student-generated magazines consisting of a few issues before the magazines' discontinuation. In a few cases, the records of the creating organization are included with copies of the publications.
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Includes issues for Spring 2016 and Fall 2016.
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Princeton In A New Light, as the introduction explains, is a booklet that was compiled by minority students in order to inform other minority students (and prospective students) about the challenges and benefits of the Princeton student experience.
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Issues and galleys of 1968 student newspaper PRISM, "a bi-weekly newspaper dedicated to the Movement for social change in America." Above the masthead, the editors dub PRISM "New Jersey's only radical newspaper," also calling it a part of "the underground press." The paper was composed at 311 Green Hall Annex on the Princeton University campus. Articles appear about the Plainfield 12 of Plainfield New Jersey, who faced murder charges for the death of a white policeman who had shot and wounded Bobby Williams. Other subjects are Trenton High School, Jimi Hendrix, "Weekend," directed by Jean-Luc Godard, Princeton's Radical Arts Troupe, the ROTC, the city of Newark, Beatles vs. Stones, and Latin American universities.
Head editors were Gordon Chang and James Tarlau.
The box contains Volume 1, Number 1; Vol. 1, Number 3, and Vol. 1, Number 4. The galleys correspond to some but not all of the issues here. Some galleys ("Election Protests" and "Vietnam news") are potentially from Number 2, which are not present in newspaper form; other galleys are from Prism Nuber 1 and Number 4.
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The American Whig Society and the Cliosophic Society, founded in 1769 and 1765 respectively, were student organizations on the Princeton campus from the eighteenth century through the middle of the twentieth. During the eighteenth century and most of the nineteenth, they were the major focus of student life outside of the classroom, fulfilling the students' social needs as well as providing educational opportunities which were not part of the college curriculum. The societies provided fora for public speaking and creative writing, as well as access to extensive libraries for their members. The rivalry between the societies was very intense, and it was forbidden for members of one society to join the other society or even to enter the other's building.
The societies began to lose their monopoly on student life near the end of the nineteenth century as the college grew into a university and other social alternatives appeared, such as athletics and the eating clubs. They declined both in terms of membership and activities. By 1928, the societies were so weak that the undergraduates felt that they could no longer support two separate societies and buildings. The undergraduates merged their societies and conducted activities in Whig Hall. They called themselves the American Whig-Cliosophic Societies, and rented Clio Hall to the university.
The alumni of Whig and Clio did not consider the merger to be constitutional, and some alumni, who remembered the "good old days" considered the very idea of the merger anathema. The alumni, undergraduates, and university eventually came to an agreement in 1941 by which all the property of Whig and Clio was transferred to the university. A new "American Whig-Cliosophic Society" was created as the successor organization, with a board of trustees, appointed by the president of the university, who still control the property transferred to the university.
During the 1930s the undergraduates transformed the structure of the society. Whereas the activities of the halls had previously centered around formal meetings of the entire membership of the society, the society developed during this decade into a decentralized association of committees or subsidiaries. A small central office coordinated the activities of the various subsidiaries, which included the Princeton Debate Panel, the International Relations Club, the Nassau Lit, and the Speakers Bureau. Each subsidiary acted independently of the others, under the supervision of the Governing Council, made up of the central officers and the heads of each subsidiary. The only subsidiary in which the division between Whig and Clio was still maintained as important was the Senate, which served the dual purpose of an assembly for the entire society and a public forum for debate on campus. In the early part of the decade, in order to facilitate debate within the Senate, it was decided that the Whigs would be the liberal party in the society, while the Clios would be the conservatives. This division had no basis in the traditional rivalry between the societies, but it has been maintained for the last sixty years as the criterion for separating Whigs from Clios.
Soon after the official merger in 1941, the activities of the society were curtailed by World War II. Due to the accelerated program which the university adopted during the war, the society was unable to attract enough members and so suspended its activities in 1943 for the first time since the Revolutionary War. For the duration of the war an undergraduate organization called "The Roundtable" met to carry on as a substitute for Whig-Clio, but had no official connection to the society. The trustees revived the society in 1946, and it soon assumed much the same shape as it had had before the war.
Some old subsidiaries gained a new prominence during the postwar period, while others declined, and still others came and went. One subsidiary which became more important was the Speakers' Program, which brought many prominent political and literary speakers to campus. A few of the speakers brought great controversy with them, such as Alger Hiss. When Whig-Clio invited him in the 1950s, there was such an uproar that the Society was condemned on the floor of the U.S. Senate. Another controversial figure was William Schockley, the inventor of the transistor and Nobel Laureate, who, in the 1970s, was a strong proponent of certain racial pseudo-scientific theories.
One of the most disruptive events in the history of the Society was the fire which gutted Whig Hall in 1968. Most of the society's records which were stored in the building were destroyed, along with a large section of its portrait collection. Many of its historic documents had been transferred to University library for safe keeping, however, and thus were saved. However, an unknown amount of the society's records from the post-merger era was destroyed in the fire. The society made its home for several years in offices in Palmer Hall while the University fulfilled the prophecy of Whig-Clio's president that the interior of Whig Hall would be redone "in a charming mix of concrete and plastic."
During the late 1970s and early 1980s membership in the society reached an all-time high of well over a thousand members and more than a dozen separate subsidiaries. This put considerable strain on the resources of the society, while moving it in many new directions. In 1986 the Governing Council decided to eject several of the subsidiaries from the society because they abused the building, were a financial liability to the society, had offended many people and organizations on campus, and did not help fulfill the society's traditional mission of literary and political education.
Since 1986 the focus of the society's activities has been primarily off campus. While the Speakers Program and the International Relations Council still bring speakers to campus and provide fora for discussion of political issues, competition in intercollegiate debates the Model United Nations conferences, as well as running a Model Congress program in Washington, D.C. for high school students have dominated Whig-Clio activities.
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There are gaps in the run of these publications.
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Note missing magazines for the following dates: May 2010, April 2011, May 2011, September 2011, May 2012, November 2012, December 2012, and February 2013.
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The website of the Princeton Progressive contains news stories, editorials, opinion articles, and analyses pertaining to events at the University and beyond. Topics covered on the website include politics, the economy, law, women, LGBT, education, the world, and culture.
Full text searching of the Progressive public websites is available through the Archive-It interface.
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The Twitter feed of the Princeton Progressive, a student publication at Princeton University, covers primarily the #OccupyNassau sit-in demonstration led by the Black Justice League in November of 2015.
Full text searching of the Progressive public websites is available through the Archive-It interface.
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Publication of the Princeton Hillel Foundation.
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A course guide published by students for students, including student reviews of courses. Published by the Undergraduate Student Government. Look for other issues of the Student Course Guide in the Undergraduate Student Government Records, the Historical Subject Files, Office of the Registrar Records, and the Office of the Dean of the College Records. Earlier incarnations of this publication were titled the "Guide to Undergraduate Courses" of 1966-1967 and the "Course Information Booklet" in the 1970s.
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The University Press Club website consists of the publication's blog (The Ink), a list of current and former members, and information about how to join. The blog covers primarily campus events through traditional news reporting as well as numerous live blog entries, including Dean's Date and the #OccupyNassau sit-in of November of 2015.
Full text searching of the University Press Club public websites is available through the Archive-It interface.
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The Twitter feed of the University Press Club contains posts of videos, pictures, and text that provide coverage of a wide array of campus activities that students either organized or were impacted by.
Full text searching of the University Press Club public websites is available through the Archive-It interface.
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Wilson College literary magazines published under the names "Calliope" (1986); "Local Color" (1990 and 1991); "The Tattoed Lady" (1993); and "Arete" (1996).
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No arrangement action taken or arrangement information not recorded at the time of processing.
University Publications are those written by University academic departments or administrative divisions. A significant portion of publications in this series contains information for students such as freshman and sophomore academic guides; the booklet on academic policies, Rights, Rules and Responsibilities; orientation schedules, and related materials. This series also contains publications intended for potential Princeton students, such as Princeton Profile. Also present in this series are newsletters produced by academic departments and programs, as well as the Princeton Art Museum.
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The Dean of the College is Princeton University's third-oldest deanship. President Woodrow Wilson established the office in the spring of 1909 to oversee disciplinary and extra-curricular concerns. Today, the Dean of the College has administrative oversight of admission to the undergraduate college, the curriculum of the College, and the services and agencies designed to promote the academic development of undergraduates. The Dean of the College is also charged with the application and enforcement of the rules and standards relating to undergraduate scholarship, standing, and attendance in the University.
Over the years, deans of the college have presided over committees including the Faculty Committee on Examinations and Standing, the University Committee on Discipline, the Probation Board, the Committee on Non-Athletic Activities, the Faculty Committee on Athletic Eligibility, and the Program for Servicemen. The Dean of the College is ex-officio chair of the Faculty Committees on the Course of Study, Examinations and Standing, Continuing Education, and Undergraduate Admission and Financial Aid. The dean is an ex-officio member of the Council of the Princeton University Community, the Faculty Committees on Discipline, Public Lectures, Schedule, and Undergraduate Life, and sits with the Faculty Advisory Committee on Appointments and Advancements. Often, the Dean of the College is called upon to speak to alumni and student groups and at events outside of the University.
Edward G. Elliott, a professor of politics, served as the first Dean of the College, from 1909 until 1912. Howard McClenahan, who held the office until 1925, succeeded Elliott and was heavily involved in preparing the campus for World War I. McClenahan spent a significant portion of his tenure embroiled in a dispute after he declared several athletes ineligible. A group of alumni charged that the faculty was biased against athletes, and some called for McClenahan's resignation from the Intercollegiate Athletics board. In the face of calls for his resignation as dean, McClenahan maintained that Princeton must put academics first.
Christian Gauss, who had been one of Woodrow Wilson's original preceptors, served as Dean of the College from 1925 to 1946. Much admired for his sense of justice and fairness, Gauss became an almost legendary figure whom Howard Medina '09 called "perhaps the best-known and best-liked college dean in America." Gauss faced immense changes on campus after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, from the implementation of the Selective Service Act to an increase in withdrawals to students' requests for permission to marry. Gauss temporarily left office in 1943 to plan a post-war curriculum that, at President Dodds' urging, focused on maintaining Princeton's standards as a liberal arts school after many students switched to math and sciences during wartime. In addition to his efforts to meet the challenges wrought by World War II, Gauss, a great fan of athletics, garnered much favor during his tenure through his efforts to keep football at Princeton and his advocacy for the repeal of Prohibition.
Dean Francis Godolphin, a World War II veteran, took office in the postwar years (1946-1955). During a time of resurgence in campus activities and extreme overcrowding, the University administration was faced with the problem of providing housing for married veterans and their families. Godolphin in particular contended with, among other workload increases, a surge in correspondence with local draft boards and work with Selective Service issues. Godolphin also saw scholarship funds and employment opportunities under pressure and an increase in recommendations to graduate and professional schools. Amid the bustle of post-war adjustments, the Office of the Dean of Students was created to take on extra-curricular and social functions previously overseen by the Office of the Dean of the College. The Dean of the College still dealt with issues of discipline, and Godolphin came to the defense of the University Discipline Committee following a Daily Princetonian editorial that criticized suspensions as a form of punishment. Godolphin also defended University regulations when students protested a rule that barred women from dorms after 7 p.m., restrictions against cars on campus, and state liquor laws.
The latter half of the 1950s saw continued high enrollment and overcrowding everywhere on campus, but Dean Jeremiah Finch (1955-1961) used his time as dean to become more involved in classroom activities than his predecessors. He played a significant role in the development of the undergraduate program of study and focused on undergraduate advisors' evolving roles. Finch's efforts led to an expanded curricular focus on Russia and Asia, and the development of engineering science programs. He initiated reading periods, advanced placement, and early concentration, and increased the emphasis on independent work for upperclassmen. Finch also developed the Princeton Scholars program, a highly selective program in which a number of freshmen were offered exemption from all formal course requirements in their first year. During Finch's tenure students' interest in religious and political activities grew, as did the number of complaints from alumni, trustees and some outside of the University regarding the liberal nature of upper class club regulations. In response the dean ordered a cut in entertainment privileges, which caused controversy that evolved into an unprecedented demonstration against the administration.
J. Merrill Knapp (1961-1966) served as Dean of the College at a time of national concern over the college attrition rate, which Knapp addressed in several articles in national publications. He strengthened interdepartmental programs and created new opportunities in regional studies. He also made it possible for students to take one class per year on a pass/fail option. Knapp further developed the University Scholar Program and started the Experimental Research Scholar Program in the Department of Politics and the Woodrow Wilson School. He also formed the Cooperative Undergraduate Program for Critical Language and revised the Sociology Department curriculum.
Dean of the College Edward Sullivan (1966-1972) played a major role in initiating coeducation at Princeton. Sullivan sought to increase both variety and flexibility in the life of the undergraduate and encourage self-education and discovery. He introduced the course reduction system, which reduced course loads for freshmen, sophomores, and seniors. This move went against a national trend at the time toward heavier course loads and increased specialization. Early in his tenure he revamped the School of Architecture curriculum and the Latin American Affairs Program. During a time of political unrest on campus following the United States' invasion of Cambodia, Dean Sullivan quelled parental fears about the University shutting its doors after 4,000 students, faculty, and staff endorsed an anti-war strike. In part to allow for political involvement, students were allowed to postpone completion of academic work at the end of the spring term.
From the early 1970s deans of the college have focused heavily on matters of teaching and curriculum. Neil Rudenstine (1972-1977) moved into the position after serving as dean of students and contending with the 1972 anti-war strike, and focused his interest on the interrelationship of social and intellectual pursuits of undergraduates. Rudenstine served as a member of the Commission on the Future of the College, a major study of the college which had been commissioned by President Robert Goheen in 1970 to review undergraduate education at Princeton.
Under Dean Joan Girgus (1977-1987) the use of computers and technology in the classroom rose, and curriculum became more interdisciplinary in nature. Among her other duties, Girgus served as Princeton's representative to the Ivy Policy Committee. As a member of the Faculty Committee on Examinations and Standing, Dean Nancy Weiss Malkiel (1987-present) has devoted much of her work to studying grading patterns at Princeton, with an eye to grade inflation. She has also worked to encourage students to broaden their intellectual pursuits and explore the offerings of Princeton's smaller academic departments. During Malkiel's tenure as dean, the Office of the Dean of the College has developed new core requirements, expanded the Freshman Seminar Program, and diversified the curriculum. Malkiel's administration has also focused on improving the teaching of science to non-majors and writing instruction for all undergraduates.
Deans of the College, Department, Tenure as Dean
Edward G. Elliott, politics, 1909-1912
Howard McClenahan, physics, 1912-1925
Christian Gauss, modern languages, 1925-1946
Francis R. B. Godolphin, classics, 1946-1955
Jeremiah S. Finch, English, 1955-1961
J. Merrill Knapp, music, 1961-1966
Edward D. Sullivan, French, 1966-1972
Neil L. Rudenstine, English, 1972-1977
Joan S. Girgus, psychology, 1977-1987
Nancy Weiss Malkiel, history, 1987-2011
Valerie A. Smith, English, 2011-2015
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The Dean of the College is Princeton University's third-oldest deanship. President Woodrow Wilson established the office in the spring of 1909 to oversee disciplinary and extra-curricular concerns. Today, the Dean of the College has administrative oversight of admission to the undergraduate college, the curriculum of the College, and the services and agencies designed to promote the academic development of undergraduates. The Dean of the College is also charged with the application and enforcement of the rules and standards relating to undergraduate scholarship, standing, and attendance in the University.
Over the years, deans of the college have presided over committees including the Faculty Committee on Examinations and Standing, the University Committee on Discipline, the Probation Board, the Committee on Non-Athletic Activities, the Faculty Committee on Athletic Eligibility, and the Program for Servicemen. The Dean of the College is ex-officio chair of the Faculty Committees on the Course of Study, Examinations and Standing, Continuing Education, and Undergraduate Admission and Financial Aid. The dean is an ex-officio member of the Council of the Princeton University Community, the Faculty Committees on Discipline, Public Lectures, Schedule, and Undergraduate Life, and sits with the Faculty Advisory Committee on Appointments and Advancements. Often, the Dean of the College is called upon to speak to alumni and student groups and at events outside of the University.
Edward G. Elliott, a professor of politics, served as the first Dean of the College, from 1909 until 1912. Howard McClenahan, who held the office until 1925, succeeded Elliott and was heavily involved in preparing the campus for World War I. McClenahan spent a significant portion of his tenure embroiled in a dispute after he declared several athletes ineligible. A group of alumni charged that the faculty was biased against athletes, and some called for McClenahan's resignation from the Intercollegiate Athletics board. In the face of calls for his resignation as dean, McClenahan maintained that Princeton must put academics first.
Christian Gauss, who had been one of Woodrow Wilson's original preceptors, served as Dean of the College from 1925 to 1946. Much admired for his sense of justice and fairness, Gauss became an almost legendary figure whom Howard Medina '09 called "perhaps the best-known and best-liked college dean in America." Gauss faced immense changes on campus after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, from the implementation of the Selective Service Act to an increase in withdrawals to students' requests for permission to marry. Gauss temporarily left office in 1943 to plan a post-war curriculum that, at President Dodds' urging, focused on maintaining Princeton's standards as a liberal arts school after many students switched to math and sciences during wartime. In addition to his efforts to meet the challenges wrought by World War II, Gauss, a great fan of athletics, garnered much favor during his tenure through his efforts to keep football at Princeton and his advocacy for the repeal of Prohibition.
Dean Francis Godolphin, a World War II veteran, took office in the postwar years (1946-1955). During a time of resurgence in campus activities and extreme overcrowding, the University administration was faced with the problem of providing housing for married veterans and their families. Godolphin in particular contended with, among other workload increases, a surge in correspondence with local draft boards and work with Selective Service issues. Godolphin also saw scholarship funds and employment opportunities under pressure and an increase in recommendations to graduate and professional schools. Amid the bustle of post-war adjustments, the Office of the Dean of Students was created to take on extra-curricular and social functions previously overseen by the Office of the Dean of the College. The Dean of the College still dealt with issues of discipline, and Godolphin came to the defense of the University Discipline Committee following a Daily Princetonian editorial that criticized suspensions as a form of punishment. Godolphin also defended University regulations when students protested a rule that barred women from dorms after 7 p.m., restrictions against cars on campus, and state liquor laws.
The latter half of the 1950s saw continued high enrollment and overcrowding everywhere on campus, but Dean Jeremiah Finch (1955-1961) used his time as dean to become more involved in classroom activities than his predecessors. He played a significant role in the development of the undergraduate program of study and focused on undergraduate advisors' evolving roles. Finch's efforts led to an expanded curricular focus on Russia and Asia, and the development of engineering science programs. He initiated reading periods, advanced placement, and early concentration, and increased the emphasis on independent work for upperclassmen. Finch also developed the Princeton Scholars program, a highly selective program in which a number of freshmen were offered exemption from all formal course requirements in their first year. During Finch's tenure students' interest in religious and political activities grew, as did the number of complaints from alumni, trustees and some outside of the University regarding the liberal nature of upper class club regulations. In response the dean ordered a cut in entertainment privileges, which caused controversy that evolved into an unprecedented demonstration against the administration.
J. Merrill Knapp (1961-1966) served as Dean of the College at a time of national concern over the college attrition rate, which Knapp addressed in several articles in national publications. He strengthened interdepartmental programs and created new opportunities in regional studies. He also made it possible for students to take one class per year on a pass/fail option. Knapp further developed the University Scholar Program and started the Experimental Research Scholar Program in the Department of Politics and the Woodrow Wilson School. He also formed the Cooperative Undergraduate Program for Critical Language and revised the Sociology Department curriculum.
Dean of the College Edward Sullivan (1966-1972) played a major role in initiating coeducation at Princeton. Sullivan sought to increase both variety and flexibility in the life of the undergraduate and encourage self-education and discovery. He introduced the course reduction system, which reduced course loads for freshmen, sophomores, and seniors. This move went against a national trend at the time toward heavier course loads and increased specialization. Early in his tenure he revamped the School of Architecture curriculum and the Latin American Affairs Program. During a time of political unrest on campus following the United States' invasion of Cambodia, Dean Sullivan quelled parental fears about the University shutting its doors after 4,000 students, faculty, and staff endorsed an anti-war strike. In part to allow for political involvement, students were allowed to postpone completion of academic work at the end of the spring term.
From the early 1970s deans of the college have focused heavily on matters of teaching and curriculum. Neil Rudenstine (1972-1977) moved into the position after serving as dean of students and contending with the 1972 anti-war strike, and focused his interest on the interrelationship of social and intellectual pursuits of undergraduates. Rudenstine served as a member of the Commission on the Future of the College, a major study of the college which had been commissioned by President Robert Goheen in 1970 to review undergraduate education at Princeton.
Under Dean Joan Girgus (1977-1987) the use of computers and technology in the classroom rose, and curriculum became more interdisciplinary in nature. Among her other duties, Girgus served as Princeton's representative to the Ivy Policy Committee. As a member of the Faculty Committee on Examinations and Standing, Dean Nancy Weiss Malkiel (1987-present) has devoted much of her work to studying grading patterns at Princeton, with an eye to grade inflation. She has also worked to encourage students to broaden their intellectual pursuits and explore the offerings of Princeton's smaller academic departments. During Malkiel's tenure as dean, the Office of the Dean of the College has developed new core requirements, expanded the Freshman Seminar Program, and diversified the curriculum. Malkiel's administration has also focused on improving the teaching of science to non-majors and writing instruction for all undergraduates.
Deans of the College, Department, Tenure as Dean
Edward G. Elliott, politics, 1909-1912
Howard McClenahan, physics, 1912-1925
Christian Gauss, modern languages, 1925-1946
Francis R. B. Godolphin, classics, 1946-1955
Jeremiah S. Finch, English, 1955-1961
J. Merrill Knapp, music, 1961-1966
Edward D. Sullivan, French, 1966-1972
Neil L. Rudenstine, English, 1972-1977
Joan S. Girgus, psychology, 1977-1987
Nancy Weiss Malkiel, history, 1987-2011
Valerie A. Smith, English, 2011-2015
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From its modest origins as a series of lectures on architecture given in 1832, the Department of Art and Archaeology has grown by leaps and bounds to become one of the University's most distinguised academic departments, responsible for the education of students on the graduate and undergraduate level as well as the administration of the Princeton Art Museum. Though the subjects of art and architecture had periodically been taught since 1832, it was not until the arrival of Professor Allan Marquand in 1882 that they were made a consistent part of the curriculum at Princeton. As the department's first chairman, Marquand oversaw the assembly of a faculty consisting of many world-renowned scholars as well as the creation of a museum to house a collection of art for study (much of which was donated by Marquand himself). In the early 20th century Princeton University's Department of Art and Archaeology found itself at the forefront of the emerging field of Art History, largely due to Marquand's efforts. In the scholarly community the Department stood alone in its early focus on medieval and classical art, two areas of expertise for which it is still known today. Following Marquand's retirement in 1922, subsequent department chairs such as Charles Rufus Morey and Baldwin Smith carried on the expansion of the curriculum, faculty, and museum; as well as undertook new projects such as a series of archaeological digs and the Index of Christian Art.
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"Princeton has developed so much in recent years," read the statement in the 27 October 1900 edition of the Princeton Alumni Weekly, "that, like many other American institutions of learning, a University Secretary is now required." This announcement reflected the administrative changes that had been deemed necessary to better manage the daily affairs of a rapidly expanding and developing institution. To date, six individuals have served as secretary: Charles McAlpin (1901-1917), Varnum Lansing Collins (1917-1936), Alexander Leitch (1936-1966), Jeremiah Finch (1966-1974), Thomas Wright, (1974-2004), and Robert K. Durkee (2004–). The secretary has charge of general correspondence of the University and is responsible for arranging Commencement and other convocations.
With the assistance of the registrar, the secretary is responsible for the preparation, and has custody of, all diplomas. In addition, the secretary has the custody of the University seal and affixes it to any documents requiring the signature of the secretary as an officer of the Corporation. The secretary also assists the clerk of the Board of Trustees in the performance of the clerk's duties and, in the absence or disability of the clerk, performs such duties of the clerk as the Board or the president may designate. The secretary also serves as the senior adviser to the president and oversees the official convocations of the University such as Commencement. The office also has administrative responsibility for the Council of the Princeton University Community.
Charles McAlpin, Princeton's first secretary, was a member of an old Mahopac, New York family connected prominently with the industrial and social development of New York City at the turn of the twentieth century. When he graduated from the prestigious Exeter Academy in 1884, McAlpin joined Princeton's class of 1888. As an undergraduate he was a member of the Ivy Club, joined the baseball team in his junior year, and was president of the Dramatic Association during his senior year. Throughout his life he continued his affiliation with Princeton affairs, serving as chair of class committees and, most notably, as University secretary from 1901-1917. Elected unanimously by the Board of Trustees to the post on 13 December 1900 for a yearly salary of $2,500, the Princeton Alumni Weekly noted that the job of secretary was to "coordinate the various departments, keep in touch with the outside world, and many other things which modern life and the modern methods of higher education require." In the same year, McAlpin received an honorary A.M. from Princeton. After his retirement in 1917, McAlpin devoted most of his time to charities, serving as trustee and director of many philanthropic institutions. In an alumni survey he noted that his favorite pastime was "collecting engraved portraits of Washington," and at the time of his death in 1942 he had amassed one of the best-known and most complete series of Washington prints and engravings in the country.
Princeton's next secretary, Varnum Lansing Collins, would leave an indelible mark not only on the office itself, but also on the way the history of the University was preserved. Born in Hong Kong, Collins obtained his education in Paris and London before coming to Princeton as a member of the class of 1892. As an undergraduate, he was editor of The Nassau Literary Magazine, president of the Cliosophic Society, leader of the Glee Club, and a member of the Triangle Club. After receiving an Honorary A.M. from Princeton in 1895, Collins worked in the University Library as a reference librarian until he joined the faculty of the Department of Modern Languages in 1906. He was made full professor six years later and assumed the position of clerk of the faculty—a position he held until 1935. Collins also served as the secretary of the Graduate Council from 1917 until 1927 and was an instrumental figure during the years that the Council successfully conducted its $2,000,000 campaign for faculty salaries. In 1917 he became University secretary and served in this pivotal role for nineteen years. When ill health forced Collins to retire in 1936, the Board accepted his resignation "with regret" and named him Historiographer to Princeton University. Collins had long been recognized as the foremost authority on Princeton history, and authored a number of books on the subject, notably a biography of President John Witherspoon, a history of Princeton, and a guide to the town and the University. His love and knowledge of Princeton led to the grassroots development of the University Archives. Named editor of the General Catalogue/Biographical Catalogue in 1906, he compiled files on alumni and on possible, doubtful, and fraudulent "alumni" that have been gold mines for researchers ever since. As secretary he began what is now known as the Historical Subject File (HSF), an enormously valuable (and still growing) cache of Princeton history, lore, and trivia.
Filling Collins's shoes was not an easy prospect, and the Board passed the baton of service to Alexander Leitch. As a Princeton undergraduate, Leitch was a member of the lacrosse squad, a member of the Terrace Club, and served on the staff of The Daily Princetonian for three years. Leitch enjoyed a long period of service to Princeton that began immediately after graduation in 1924. He served for one year as the director of the Bureau of Student Appointments and Student Employment, before being appointed director of the newly created Department of Public Information. He became one of the right-hand men of University President John G. Hibben, and in 1928 was appointed assistant to the president, a post he continued to hold under Edward Duffield, acting president in 1932-33, and President Harold Dodds. As secretary he oversaw a wide range of administrative responsibilities, including supervising official correspondence and publications, providing essential services for the University's Board of Trustees, and arranging Commencements and special convocations. The staging of the dedication of the Woodrow Wilson School building, at which President Lyndon B. Johnson spoke, topped off his final year at Princeton. Upon his retirement at age 65, Leitch began working on what would become A Princeton Companion, an assemblage of 400 alphabetically arranged articles on Princeton life and tradition. Of the work, Leitch remarked that while "older people sometimes write their memoirs to analyze the past and philosophize about it," he was writing not his own memoir, but Princeton's. "Writing them has been a good way of enriching myself because I'm borrowing from a great institution."
Princeton's fourth secretary was not an alumnus, but he had strong ties to the University. Jeremiah Finch, who graduated from Cornell with a B.A. in 1931 and a Ph.D. in 1936, had been a member of Princeton's faculty in the Department of English since 1936 and had held the office of Dean of the College from 1955 until 1961. As Dean, Finch was responsible for undergraduate programs of study as well as the administration of various services and offices concerned with the academic development of undergraduates. Finch was a former chair of both the Committee on Examinations and Standing and the University Council on Athletics. As executive secretary of the Princeton Program for Servicemen, Finch was also very involved with the readjustment to university life of more than 1000 undergraduates whose studies had been interrupted by war service. As University secretary, Finch became one of the six officers of the Corporation, and had oversight over all publications and the general correspondence of the University.
Thomas H. Wright succeeded Finch as secretary in 1974. Wright, who majored in the Special Program in the Humanities, received his A.B. from Princeton in 1962, magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. After a year at Cambridge University as a Keasbey Scholar, he attended Harvard Law School and then went into private practice with the Washington, D.C., law firm of Covington and Burling. He then served for three years as assistant general counsel to the Ford Foundation in New York before joining the Princeton administration as General Counsel in 1972. In 1990, after serving as both secretary and general counsel, he gave up the responsibilities of the latter and was promoted to the position of vice president and secretary. In this capacity he served as a senior adviser to the president, provided administrative support for the Board of Trustees, and oversaw the official convocations of the University such as Commencement. His office also had administrative responsibility for the Council of the Princeton University Community. In addition, Wright also has supervised the offices of the general counsel and the vice president for campus life. The Board of Trustees designated Wright as vice president and secretary emeritus upon his retirement.
Robert K. Durkee, Princeton University's vice president for public affairs, succeeded Wright in the office of vice president and secretary in 2004. Durkee, a member of Princeton's class of 1969, joined the University administration in the spring of 1972 as assistant to the president and, after a year on leave to serve as executive assistant to the president of the Washington, D.C.-based Association of American Universities, was appointed vice president for public affairs in 1978. In this capacity he oversaw the offices of the Alumni Association, Communications, Community and Regional Affairs, Government Affairs, and Public Affairs. Durkee has served as a close adviser to Princeton presidents William G. Bowen, Harold Shapiro, Shirley Tilghman, and Christopher L. Eisgruber. He also has served on and staffed several trustee committees and has worked closely with the Board for more than 30 years.
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Despite Princeton University's historical reputation as a bastion of liberal arts education, the Princeton University School of Engineering and Applied Science is one of the oldest and most highly recognized institutions of its kind in the United States. Since its inception in 1921, the School of Engineering has been guided by an academic ethos which situates the typically specialized engineering field comfortably within the greater schemes of well-rounded undergraduate education and public service, Princeton's traditional hallmarks. Today the School of Engineering and Applied Science oversees six departments as well as an even larger number of interdisciplinary programs and affiliated research centers, and offers degrees on both the undergraduate and the graduate level.
The teaching and study of engineering at Princeton dates back to the late 19th century with the founding of the Department of Civil Engineering in 1875 by Professor Charles McMillan. Predating the eventual formation of the School of Engineering by nearly 50 years, the Department of Civil Engineering with its modest faculty of three professors produced a remarkable group of young men who energetically went forth into the engineering fields. The most notable feature of the early Department of Civil Engineering was the incorporation of liberal arts electives into the undergraduate curriculum. At a time when the primary emphasis in engineering education was upon rote memorization of classic engineering principles, the Princeton method offered a broader sense of the science's potential to aid society at large.
While the Department of Civil Engineering set a standard early on for undergraduate engineering education at Princeton, the fledgling Department of Electrical Engineering demonstrated how original research on the graduate level could advance the bank of knowledge in an entire field. Originated in 1889 by Professor of Physics Cyrus Fogg Brackett (a friend and colleague of Thomas Edison), Princeton's two-year graduate program in electrical engineering was the first of its kind in the United States.
With engineering still a small but rapidly growing field, both professionally and academically, it is hardly surprising that Princeton alumni from each of these programs came to form working relationships in the field, and grew to collectively recognize the value of their respective educations. From this recognition arose in 1912 the Princeton Engineering Association, a dedicated alumni group in support of the Department(s) of Engineering. As the number of engineering graduates increased and the vocalizations of those alumni and faculty who considered the expansion of the University's engineering programs to be of the utmost importance grew louder, it became apparent that a new academic body within the University was necessary. The start of World War I also brought a heightened awareness of the importance of engineering to the future of the world at large. At this time as it would later in the century, American military conflict played an integral role in shaping the development of the engineering field.
In 1921 representatives from the Princeton Engineering Association convened to formulate a plan for a School of Engineering at Princeton. The eventual outline submitted to the trustees called for freshman and sophomore years dedicated to the learning of engineering fundamentals. In these years all students would take nearly the same courses. The junior and senior years would allow the student to choose a specialized form of engineering from those offered by the school, and fill out their remaining courses with electives. Four years of study would result in the degree of Bachelor of Science in Engineering, and one or more years of additional study would lead to a technical degree in Civil, Electrical, Mechanical, Mining, or Chemical Engineering.
On the recommendation of the Engineering Association, the trustees secured the services of Arthur M. Greene, Jr. as the inaugural dean of the School of Engineering. In his impressive career, the 40-year-old Greene had served on the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania, the Drexel Institute of Technology, the University of Missouri, and most recently the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. His contributions at these institutions extended beyond the classroom however, as he wrote numerous textbooks and designed the campus power plants at Missouri and Drexel.
In addition to taking on the role of the school's first dean, Greene occupied another position, that of the chairman of the newly formed Department of Mechanical Engineering. The formation of the School of Engineering according to the proposed plan called for the creation of three new departments, Mechanical Engineering, Mining Engineering (soon to be changed to Geological), and Chemical Engineering. Each of these departments would require a faculty, laboratory and research facilities, and a curriculum. The early Department of Mechanical Engineering, which had Greene as its chairman and sole faculty member, is exemplary of the challenges facing these fledgling engineering departments. With only 84 students in its initial year, it was no surprise that the school developed somewhat slowly at first.
Despite these challenges, the singular momentum of Greene planted a seed within each of the five engineering departments that would bloom over the next twenty years into a dynamic network of students, faculty, and alumni engaged in cutting edge engineering research and experimentation. Underscoring all of this was Greene's educational vision which he termed "Engineering Plus." In a 1926 statement, Greene set forth that "the purpose accordingly of the Princeton School of Engineering is to develop engineers of dependability, resourcefulness, vision; men who will perceive the larger aspects of the projects they undertake, who in addition to controlling the merely technical engineering factors will, because of their education in the humanistic atmosphere of a university primarily devoted to the liberal arts and sciences, also comprehend and mold intelligently the human, social, and economic elements encountered in these projects."
Previously scattered about campus in whatever facilities were available for use, the School of Engineering was finally organized under a single roof for the first time in 1928 with the construction of Green Hall, and two significant developments over the next decade would leave Dean Greene's permanent mark on the School of Engineering and the University prior to his retirement in 1940. The first of these was the formation of advisory committees for each of the engineering departments in 1935. Comprised of practicing engineers drawn from Princeton alumni, these committees served a dual purpose. The first was to obtain input from men attuned to the type of work being done in the field, so as to keep the Engineering School's curriculum as relevant as possible. The second underlying purpose of the advisory committees was to develop relationships among engineering professionals, faculty, and students. So successful was this experiment that it was eventually adopted on a University-wide basis in 1941.
From the recommendation of the advisory committees emerged the second major development at the School of Engineering in the 1930s, the Basic Engineering program. The program offered an even broader range of courses than any of the standard engineering programs, and left the student ably equipped for additional graduate study, particularly in business and administration.
The Second World War and the post-War period marked a time of rapid growth and change for the School of Engineering. During the war, the government dedicated enormous levels of funding to engineering research in hopes of maintaining a technological edge over the Axis, with much of this money flowing to institutions such as Princeton who were at the forefront of the field. Despite great advances, wartime growth in the engineering was also hampered by a concurrent decrease in enrollment and wartime restrictions on many of the materials integral to experimentation and research.
In 1942 Associate Administrator of the Civil Aeronautics Board undertook a study of Princeton's Engineering Program at the behest of Greene's successor, Dean Kenneth H. Condit. The result was the formation of the Department of Aeronautical Engineering in the fall of that year, of which Daniel Sayre soon found himself the sole faculty member and administrator. The department's early growth was facilitated by funding from the armed forces, specifically the Navy which was eager to fuel research in applied aeronautical engineering and jet propulsion.
Following the war, Ph.D. programs were instituted in each of the departments and enrollment in the School of Engineering mushroomed to over 500 students, placing a severe strain on the facilities in Green Hall. Some relief was offered in the form of the Forrestal Campus which provided laboratory space for the Department of Aeronautical Engineering; however, other departments suffered due to the cramped conditions and makeshift accommodations. A 1949 story in the Princeton Alumni Weekly that featured informative segments on each engineering department rang with a common theme: the need for a new and expanded School of Engineering building. The canvassing of the Engineering Association resulted in a temporary solution to a ceaseless problem, the addition of a wing to Green Hall for the use of the Mechanical Engineering Department. Nonetheless as Dean Condit retired in 1954, the incredible growth of the school's faculty and research interests was held back by its physical limitations.
Condit's successor was Joseph Clifton Elgin, who had been an integral player in the early formation of the School of Engineering as well as the Department of Chemical Engineering's first professor and chairman. Elgin, though an old hand on the faculty, made the revision of the engineering curriculum a top priority early on in his deanship. While maintaining the general focus of the "Engineering Plus" concept, Elgin adopted a new approach to the study of engineering, focusing on basic principles. The school's experience during World War II had shown that engineering as a field was so vibrant and full of momentum that to teach a student any one specific technology or set of skills was futile. Rather, graduates would be better served by a firm understanding of the scientific basis for these skills and technologies, and henceforth would be able to adapt readily once in the field. The new program soon earned a reputation for turning out highly capable engineers, and the recognition resulted in a 1962 award of one million dollars from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
While the momentous million dollar grant was not a sum large enough to underwrite a new engineering building, the notable gift was supplemented by funds previously raised during the $53 Million Campaign of the late 1950s. With the necessary $8 million allocated for the purpose, construction began almost immediately and in 1962 the School of Engineering moved into the new Engineering Quadrangle on Olden Street, a facility almost four times the size of Green Hall.
The large-scale move of the school brought about several shifts in organization and nomenclature, most notably the change of the school's name to the School of Engineering and Applied Science, to better reflect Elgin's curriculum. Aeronautical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering also merged at this time to form the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Sciences, and the Geological Engineering Department was demoted to the program level and absorbed into the Department of Civil Engineering. The decade of the 1960s also witnessed the creation of several interdepartmental programs, sometimes invoking the cooperation of departments outside the School of Engineering. Just one such example was the Transportation Engineering program, undertaken in conjunction with the Department of Economics and the School of Architecture and Urban Planning.
During the deanship of Joseph C. Elgin, which stretched from 1954-1971, the School of Engineering responded ably to changes both within the University and in the engineering field. Nuclear energy and solid state science emerged in the engineering lexicon. Perhaps more so than any other department, Electrical Engineering witnessed great advances in its scientific domain in the form of early computing and digitization. The introduction of new courses in 1957 and the acquisition of an IBM machine that same year resulted in the University's first computer center, administered through the School of Engineering.
Robert G. Jahn, the fourth Dean of the School of Engineering, was among the candidates awarded doctoral degrees during Elgin's first year in the position. Returning as Dean in 1971, Jahn presided over a school which was gaining a growing reputation as a leader in research, despite a high attrition rate of undergraduates who felt uncertain of their future as engineers in society. Jahn attempted to relate his vision of a future for engineering education that would tie the sciences to critical problems in society. Said the Dean in a 1971 interview, "We shall not attempt to train a man for a trade. Our goal is to give him the confidence, born of a certain amount of experience, to approach any technical problem in a constructive, analytical way; to show him how to assemble his resources, to organize his thinking, to consider the human implications of what he is doing, and to come to grips with new situations." Balancing this broad scope with the rush of specialized technology proved difficult. The school saw the creation of the Department of Computer Science, a new department formed out of what had previously been a program under Electrical Engineering. Other new research initiatives such as the Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research Laboratory (PEAR Lab) sought to connect the engineering sciences to the greater needs of society at large.
The two decades after Jahn's retirement in 1986 were a time of change for the School of Engineering in terms of administration and curriculum. During the deanships of Hisashi Kobayashi (1986-1991) and James Wei (1991-2001), shifting focuses placed a new emphasis upon the business aspects of the engineering profession, and the need for the modern engineer to grapple alternately with the tangible realities of materials and substances as well as the more abstract realms of statistics and mathematics. The most significant sign of this was the formation of the Department of Operations Research and Financial Engineering in 1999. The Department, the first of its kind in the nation, proved popular with students and plans for a dedicated building to house it were enacted in 2006.
As the School of Engineering and Applied Science moved forward into the 21st century it did so with a renewed sense of purpose and a new awareness of engineering's place in the world. Particularly notable was the appointment of the school's first female dean, Maria Klawe, who served from 2003-2006. New special programs and centers focused upon robotics, engineering education, and biology demonstrated a forward-thinking mindset with an emphasis on humanism, carrying on the legacy of engineering as an extension of the liberal arts so integral to Dean Greene's "Engineering Plus" concept nearly a century ago.
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Despite Princeton University's historical reputation as a bastion of liberal arts education, the Princeton University School of Engineering and Applied Science is one of the oldest and most highly recognized institutions of its kind in the United States. Since its inception in 1921, the School of Engineering has been guided by an academic ethos which situates the typically specialized engineering field comfortably within the greater schemes of well-rounded undergraduate education and public service, Princeton's traditional hallmarks. Today the School of Engineering and Applied Science oversees six departments as well as an even larger number of interdisciplinary programs and affiliated research centers, and offers degrees on both the undergraduate and the graduate level.
The teaching and study of engineering at Princeton dates back to the late 19th century with the founding of the Department of Civil Engineering in 1875 by Professor Charles McMillan. Predating the eventual formation of the School of Engineering by nearly 50 years, the Department of Civil Engineering with its modest faculty of three professors produced a remarkable group of young men who energetically went forth into the engineering fields. The most notable feature of the early Department of Civil Engineering was the incorporation of liberal arts electives into the undergraduate curriculum. At a time when the primary emphasis in engineering education was upon rote memorization of classic engineering principles, the Princeton method offered a broader sense of the science's potential to aid society at large.
While the Department of Civil Engineering set a standard early on for undergraduate engineering education at Princeton, the fledgling Department of Electrical Engineering demonstrated how original research on the graduate level could advance the bank of knowledge in an entire field. Originated in 1889 by Professor of Physics Cyrus Fogg Brackett (a friend and colleague of Thomas Edison), Princeton's two-year graduate program in electrical engineering was the first of its kind in the United States.
With engineering still a small but rapidly growing field, both professionally and academically, it is hardly surprising that Princeton alumni from each of these programs came to form working relationships in the field, and grew to collectively recognize the value of their respective educations. From this recognition arose in 1912 the Princeton Engineering Association, a dedicated alumni group in support of the Department(s) of Engineering. As the number of engineering graduates increased and the vocalizations of those alumni and faculty who considered the expansion of the University's engineering programs to be of the utmost importance grew louder, it became apparent that a new academic body within the University was necessary. The start of World War I also brought a heightened awareness of the importance of engineering to the future of the world at large. At this time as it would later in the century, American military conflict played an integral role in shaping the development of the engineering field.
In 1921 representatives from the Princeton Engineering Association convened to formulate a plan for a School of Engineering at Princeton. The eventual outline submitted to the trustees called for freshman and sophomore years dedicated to the learning of engineering fundamentals. In these years all students would take nearly the same courses. The junior and senior years would allow the student to choose a specialized form of engineering from those offered by the school, and fill out their remaining courses with electives. Four years of study would result in the degree of Bachelor of Science in Engineering, and one or more years of additional study would lead to a technical degree in Civil, Electrical, Mechanical, Mining, or Chemical Engineering.
On the recommendation of the Engineering Association, the trustees secured the services of Arthur M. Greene, Jr. as the inaugural dean of the School of Engineering. In his impressive career, the 40-year-old Greene had served on the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania, the Drexel Institute of Technology, the University of Missouri, and most recently the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. His contributions at these institutions extended beyond the classroom however, as he wrote numerous textbooks and designed the campus power plants at Missouri and Drexel.
In addition to taking on the role of the school's first dean, Greene occupied another position, that of the chairman of the newly formed Department of Mechanical Engineering. The formation of the School of Engineering according to the proposed plan called for the creation of three new departments, Mechanical Engineering, Mining Engineering (soon to be changed to Geological), and Chemical Engineering. Each of these departments would require a faculty, laboratory and research facilities, and a curriculum. The early Department of Mechanical Engineering, which had Greene as its chairman and sole faculty member, is exemplary of the challenges facing these fledgling engineering departments. With only 84 students in its initial year, it was no surprise that the school developed somewhat slowly at first.
Despite these challenges, the singular momentum of Greene planted a seed within each of the five engineering departments that would bloom over the next twenty years into a dynamic network of students, faculty, and alumni engaged in cutting edge engineering research and experimentation. Underscoring all of this was Greene's educational vision which he termed "Engineering Plus." In a 1926 statement, Greene set forth that "the purpose accordingly of the Princeton School of Engineering is to develop engineers of dependability, resourcefulness, vision; men who will perceive the larger aspects of the projects they undertake, who in addition to controlling the merely technical engineering factors will, because of their education in the humanistic atmosphere of a university primarily devoted to the liberal arts and sciences, also comprehend and mold intelligently the human, social, and economic elements encountered in these projects."
Previously scattered about campus in whatever facilities were available for use, the School of Engineering was finally organized under a single roof for the first time in 1928 with the construction of Green Hall, and two significant developments over the next decade would leave Dean Greene's permanent mark on the School of Engineering and the University prior to his retirement in 1940. The first of these was the formation of advisory committees for each of the engineering departments in 1935. Comprised of practicing engineers drawn from Princeton alumni, these committees served a dual purpose. The first was to obtain input from men attuned to the type of work being done in the field, so as to keep the Engineering School's curriculum as relevant as possible. The second underlying purpose of the advisory committees was to develop relationships among engineering professionals, faculty, and students. So successful was this experiment that it was eventually adopted on a University-wide basis in 1941.
From the recommendation of the advisory committees emerged the second major development at the School of Engineering in the 1930s, the Basic Engineering program. The program offered an even broader range of courses than any of the standard engineering programs, and left the student ably equipped for additional graduate study, particularly in business and administration.
The Second World War and the post-War period marked a time of rapid growth and change for the School of Engineering. During the war, the government dedicated enormous levels of funding to engineering research in hopes of maintaining a technological edge over the Axis, with much of this money flowing to institutions such as Princeton who were at the forefront of the field. Despite great advances, wartime growth in the engineering was also hampered by a concurrent decrease in enrollment and wartime restrictions on many of the materials integral to experimentation and research.
In 1942 Associate Administrator of the Civil Aeronautics Board undertook a study of Princeton's Engineering Program at the behest of Greene's successor, Dean Kenneth H. Condit. The result was the formation of the Department of Aeronautical Engineering in the fall of that year, of which Daniel Sayre soon found himself the sole faculty member and administrator. The department's early growth was facilitated by funding from the armed forces, specifically the Navy which was eager to fuel research in applied aeronautical engineering and jet propulsion.
Following the war, Ph.D. programs were instituted in each of the departments and enrollment in the School of Engineering mushroomed to over 500 students, placing a severe strain on the facilities in Green Hall. Some relief was offered in the form of the Forrestal Campus which provided laboratory space for the Department of Aeronautical Engineering; however, other departments suffered due to the cramped conditions and makeshift accommodations. A 1949 story in the Princeton Alumni Weekly that featured informative segments on each engineering department rang with a common theme: the need for a new and expanded School of Engineering building. The canvassing of the Engineering Association resulted in a temporary solution to a ceaseless problem, the addition of a wing to Green Hall for the use of the Mechanical Engineering Department. Nonetheless as Dean Condit retired in 1954, the incredible growth of the school's faculty and research interests was held back by its physical limitations.
Condit's successor was Joseph Clifton Elgin, who had been an integral player in the early formation of the School of Engineering as well as the Department of Chemical Engineering's first professor and chairman. Elgin, though an old hand on the faculty, made the revision of the engineering curriculum a top priority early on in his deanship. While maintaining the general focus of the "Engineering Plus" concept, Elgin adopted a new approach to the study of engineering, focusing on basic principles. The school's experience during World War II had shown that engineering as a field was so vibrant and full of momentum that to teach a student any one specific technology or set of skills was futile. Rather, graduates would be better served by a firm understanding of the scientific basis for these skills and technologies, and henceforth would be able to adapt readily once in the field. The new program soon earned a reputation for turning out highly capable engineers, and the recognition resulted in a 1962 award of one million dollars from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
While the momentous million dollar grant was not a sum large enough to underwrite a new engineering building, the notable gift was supplemented by funds previously raised during the $53 Million Campaign of the late 1950s. With the necessary $8 million allocated for the purpose, construction began almost immediately and in 1962 the School of Engineering moved into the new Engineering Quadrangle on Olden Street, a facility almost four times the size of Green Hall.
The large-scale move of the school brought about several shifts in organization and nomenclature, most notably the change of the school's name to the School of Engineering and Applied Science, to better reflect Elgin's curriculum. Aeronautical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering also merged at this time to form the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Sciences, and the Geological Engineering Department was demoted to the program level and absorbed into the Department of Civil Engineering. The decade of the 1960s also witnessed the creation of several interdepartmental programs, sometimes invoking the cooperation of departments outside the School of Engineering. Just one such example was the Transportation Engineering program, undertaken in conjunction with the Department of Economics and the School of Architecture and Urban Planning.
During the deanship of Joseph C. Elgin, which stretched from 1954-1971, the School of Engineering responded ably to changes both within the University and in the engineering field. Nuclear energy and solid state science emerged in the engineering lexicon. Perhaps more so than any other department, Electrical Engineering witnessed great advances in its scientific domain in the form of early computing and digitization. The introduction of new courses in 1957 and the acquisition of an IBM machine that same year resulted in the University's first computer center, administered through the School of Engineering.
Robert G. Jahn, the fourth Dean of the School of Engineering, was among the candidates awarded doctoral degrees during Elgin's first year in the position. Returning as Dean in 1971, Jahn presided over a school which was gaining a growing reputation as a leader in research, despite a high attrition rate of undergraduates who felt uncertain of their future as engineers in society. Jahn attempted to relate his vision of a future for engineering education that would tie the sciences to critical problems in society. Said the Dean in a 1971 interview, "We shall not attempt to train a man for a trade. Our goal is to give him the confidence, born of a certain amount of experience, to approach any technical problem in a constructive, analytical way; to show him how to assemble his resources, to organize his thinking, to consider the human implications of what he is doing, and to come to grips with new situations." Balancing this broad scope with the rush of specialized technology proved difficult. The school saw the creation of the Department of Computer Science, a new department formed out of what had previously been a program under Electrical Engineering. Other new research initiatives such as the Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research Laboratory (PEAR Lab) sought to connect the engineering sciences to the greater needs of society at large.
The two decades after Jahn's retirement in 1986 were a time of change for the School of Engineering in terms of administration and curriculum. During the deanships of Hisashi Kobayashi (1986-1991) and James Wei (1991-2001), shifting focuses placed a new emphasis upon the business aspects of the engineering profession, and the need for the modern engineer to grapple alternately with the tangible realities of materials and substances as well as the more abstract realms of statistics and mathematics. The most significant sign of this was the formation of the Department of Operations Research and Financial Engineering in 1999. The Department, the first of its kind in the nation, proved popular with students and plans for a dedicated building to house it were enacted in 2006.
As the School of Engineering and Applied Science moved forward into the 21st century it did so with a renewed sense of purpose and a new awareness of engineering's place in the world. Particularly notable was the appointment of the school's first female dean, Maria Klawe, who served from 2003-2006. New special programs and centers focused upon robotics, engineering education, and biology demonstrated a forward-thinking mindset with an emphasis on humanism, carrying on the legacy of engineering as an extension of the liberal arts so integral to Dean Greene's "Engineering Plus" concept nearly a century ago.
Physical Description1 box
Despite Princeton University's historical reputation as a bastion of liberal arts education, the Princeton University School of Engineering and Applied Science is one of the oldest and most highly recognized institutions of its kind in the United States. Since its inception in 1921, the School of Engineering has been guided by an academic ethos which situates the typically specialized engineering field comfortably within the greater schemes of well-rounded undergraduate education and public service, Princeton's traditional hallmarks. Today the School of Engineering and Applied Science oversees six departments as well as an even larger number of interdisciplinary programs and affiliated research centers, and offers degrees on both the undergraduate and the graduate level.
The teaching and study of engineering at Princeton dates back to the late 19th century with the founding of the Department of Civil Engineering in 1875 by Professor Charles McMillan. Predating the eventual formation of the School of Engineering by nearly 50 years, the Department of Civil Engineering with its modest faculty of three professors produced a remarkable group of young men who energetically went forth into the engineering fields. The most notable feature of the early Department of Civil Engineering was the incorporation of liberal arts electives into the undergraduate curriculum. At a time when the primary emphasis in engineering education was upon rote memorization of classic engineering principles, the Princeton method offered a broader sense of the science's potential to aid society at large.
While the Department of Civil Engineering set a standard early on for undergraduate engineering education at Princeton, the fledgling Department of Electrical Engineering demonstrated how original research on the graduate level could advance the bank of knowledge in an entire field. Originated in 1889 by Professor of Physics Cyrus Fogg Brackett (a friend and colleague of Thomas Edison), Princeton's two-year graduate program in electrical engineering was the first of its kind in the United States.
With engineering still a small but rapidly growing field, both professionally and academically, it is hardly surprising that Princeton alumni from each of these programs came to form working relationships in the field, and grew to collectively recognize the value of their respective educations. From this recognition arose in 1912 the Princeton Engineering Association, a dedicated alumni group in support of the Department(s) of Engineering. As the number of engineering graduates increased and the vocalizations of those alumni and faculty who considered the expansion of the University's engineering programs to be of the utmost importance grew louder, it became apparent that a new academic body within the University was necessary. The start of World War I also brought a heightened awareness of the importance of engineering to the future of the world at large. At this time as it would later in the century, American military conflict played an integral role in shaping the development of the engineering field.
In 1921 representatives from the Princeton Engineering Association convened to formulate a plan for a School of Engineering at Princeton. The eventual outline submitted to the trustees called for freshman and sophomore years dedicated to the learning of engineering fundamentals. In these years all students would take nearly the same courses. The junior and senior years would allow the student to choose a specialized form of engineering from those offered by the school, and fill out their remaining courses with electives. Four years of study would result in the degree of Bachelor of Science in Engineering, and one or more years of additional study would lead to a technical degree in Civil, Electrical, Mechanical, Mining, or Chemical Engineering.
On the recommendation of the Engineering Association, the trustees secured the services of Arthur M. Greene, Jr. as the inaugural dean of the School of Engineering. In his impressive career, the 40-year-old Greene had served on the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania, the Drexel Institute of Technology, the University of Missouri, and most recently the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. His contributions at these institutions extended beyond the classroom however, as he wrote numerous textbooks and designed the campus power plants at Missouri and Drexel.
In addition to taking on the role of the school's first dean, Greene occupied another position, that of the chairman of the newly formed Department of Mechanical Engineering. The formation of the School of Engineering according to the proposed plan called for the creation of three new departments, Mechanical Engineering, Mining Engineering (soon to be changed to Geological), and Chemical Engineering. Each of these departments would require a faculty, laboratory and research facilities, and a curriculum. The early Department of Mechanical Engineering, which had Greene as its chairman and sole faculty member, is exemplary of the challenges facing these fledgling engineering departments. With only 84 students in its initial year, it was no surprise that the school developed somewhat slowly at first.
Despite these challenges, the singular momentum of Greene planted a seed within each of the five engineering departments that would bloom over the next twenty years into a dynamic network of students, faculty, and alumni engaged in cutting edge engineering research and experimentation. Underscoring all of this was Greene's educational vision which he termed "Engineering Plus." In a 1926 statement, Greene set forth that "the purpose accordingly of the Princeton School of Engineering is to develop engineers of dependability, resourcefulness, vision; men who will perceive the larger aspects of the projects they undertake, who in addition to controlling the merely technical engineering factors will, because of their education in the humanistic atmosphere of a university primarily devoted to the liberal arts and sciences, also comprehend and mold intelligently the human, social, and economic elements encountered in these projects."
Previously scattered about campus in whatever facilities were available for use, the School of Engineering was finally organized under a single roof for the first time in 1928 with the construction of Green Hall, and two significant developments over the next decade would leave Dean Greene's permanent mark on the School of Engineering and the University prior to his retirement in 1940. The first of these was the formation of advisory committees for each of the engineering departments in 1935. Comprised of practicing engineers drawn from Princeton alumni, these committees served a dual purpose. The first was to obtain input from men attuned to the type of work being done in the field, so as to keep the Engineering School's curriculum as relevant as possible. The second underlying purpose of the advisory committees was to develop relationships among engineering professionals, faculty, and students. So successful was this experiment that it was eventually adopted on a University-wide basis in 1941.
From the recommendation of the advisory committees emerged the second major development at the School of Engineering in the 1930s, the Basic Engineering program. The program offered an even broader range of courses than any of the standard engineering programs, and left the student ably equipped for additional graduate study, particularly in business and administration.
The Second World War and the post-War period marked a time of rapid growth and change for the School of Engineering. During the war, the government dedicated enormous levels of funding to engineering research in hopes of maintaining a technological edge over the Axis, with much of this money flowing to institutions such as Princeton who were at the forefront of the field. Despite great advances, wartime growth in the engineering was also hampered by a concurrent decrease in enrollment and wartime restrictions on many of the materials integral to experimentation and research.
In 1942 Associate Administrator of the Civil Aeronautics Board undertook a study of Princeton's Engineering Program at the behest of Greene's successor, Dean Kenneth H. Condit. The result was the formation of the Department of Aeronautical Engineering in the fall of that year, of which Daniel Sayre soon found himself the sole faculty member and administrator. The department's early growth was facilitated by funding from the armed forces, specifically the Navy which was eager to fuel research in applied aeronautical engineering and jet propulsion.
Following the war, Ph.D. programs were instituted in each of the departments and enrollment in the School of Engineering mushroomed to over 500 students, placing a severe strain on the facilities in Green Hall. Some relief was offered in the form of the Forrestal Campus which provided laboratory space for the Department of Aeronautical Engineering; however, other departments suffered due to the cramped conditions and makeshift accommodations. A 1949 story in the Princeton Alumni Weekly that featured informative segments on each engineering department rang with a common theme: the need for a new and expanded School of Engineering building. The canvassing of the Engineering Association resulted in a temporary solution to a ceaseless problem, the addition of a wing to Green Hall for the use of the Mechanical Engineering Department. Nonetheless as Dean Condit retired in 1954, the incredible growth of the school's faculty and research interests was held back by its physical limitations.
Condit's successor was Joseph Clifton Elgin, who had been an integral player in the early formation of the School of Engineering as well as the Department of Chemical Engineering's first professor and chairman. Elgin, though an old hand on the faculty, made the revision of the engineering curriculum a top priority early on in his deanship. While maintaining the general focus of the "Engineering Plus" concept, Elgin adopted a new approach to the study of engineering, focusing on basic principles. The school's experience during World War II had shown that engineering as a field was so vibrant and full of momentum that to teach a student any one specific technology or set of skills was futile. Rather, graduates would be better served by a firm understanding of the scientific basis for these skills and technologies, and henceforth would be able to adapt readily once in the field. The new program soon earned a reputation for turning out highly capable engineers, and the recognition resulted in a 1962 award of one million dollars from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
While the momentous million dollar grant was not a sum large enough to underwrite a new engineering building, the notable gift was supplemented by funds previously raised during the $53 Million Campaign of the late 1950s. With the necessary $8 million allocated for the purpose, construction began almost immediately and in 1962 the School of Engineering moved into the new Engineering Quadrangle on Olden Street, a facility almost four times the size of Green Hall.
The large-scale move of the school brought about several shifts in organization and nomenclature, most notably the change of the school's name to the School of Engineering and Applied Science, to better reflect Elgin's curriculum. Aeronautical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering also merged at this time to form the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Sciences, and the Geological Engineering Department was demoted to the program level and absorbed into the Department of Civil Engineering. The decade of the 1960s also witnessed the creation of several interdepartmental programs, sometimes invoking the cooperation of departments outside the School of Engineering. Just one such example was the Transportation Engineering program, undertaken in conjunction with the Department of Economics and the School of Architecture and Urban Planning.
During the deanship of Joseph C. Elgin, which stretched from 1954-1971, the School of Engineering responded ably to changes both within the University and in the engineering field. Nuclear energy and solid state science emerged in the engineering lexicon. Perhaps more so than any other department, Electrical Engineering witnessed great advances in its scientific domain in the form of early computing and digitization. The introduction of new courses in 1957 and the acquisition of an IBM machine that same year resulted in the University's first computer center, administered through the School of Engineering.
Robert G. Jahn, the fourth Dean of the School of Engineering, was among the candidates awarded doctoral degrees during Elgin's first year in the position. Returning as Dean in 1971, Jahn presided over a school which was gaining a growing reputation as a leader in research, despite a high attrition rate of undergraduates who felt uncertain of their future as engineers in society. Jahn attempted to relate his vision of a future for engineering education that would tie the sciences to critical problems in society. Said the Dean in a 1971 interview, "We shall not attempt to train a man for a trade. Our goal is to give him the confidence, born of a certain amount of experience, to approach any technical problem in a constructive, analytical way; to show him how to assemble his resources, to organize his thinking, to consider the human implications of what he is doing, and to come to grips with new situations." Balancing this broad scope with the rush of specialized technology proved difficult. The school saw the creation of the Department of Computer Science, a new department formed out of what had previously been a program under Electrical Engineering. Other new research initiatives such as the Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research Laboratory (PEAR Lab) sought to connect the engineering sciences to the greater needs of society at large.
The two decades after Jahn's retirement in 1986 were a time of change for the School of Engineering in terms of administration and curriculum. During the deanships of Hisashi Kobayashi (1986-1991) and James Wei (1991-2001), shifting focuses placed a new emphasis upon the business aspects of the engineering profession, and the need for the modern engineer to grapple alternately with the tangible realities of materials and substances as well as the more abstract realms of statistics and mathematics. The most significant sign of this was the formation of the Department of Operations Research and Financial Engineering in 1999. The Department, the first of its kind in the nation, proved popular with students and plans for a dedicated building to house it were enacted in 2006.
As the School of Engineering and Applied Science moved forward into the 21st century it did so with a renewed sense of purpose and a new awareness of engineering's place in the world. Particularly notable was the appointment of the school's first female dean, Maria Klawe, who served from 2003-2006. New special programs and centers focused upon robotics, engineering education, and biology demonstrated a forward-thinking mindset with an emphasis on humanism, carrying on the legacy of engineering as an extension of the liberal arts so integral to Dean Greene's "Engineering Plus" concept nearly a century ago.
Physical Description1 box
Despite Princeton University's historical reputation as a bastion of liberal arts education, the Princeton University School of Engineering and Applied Science is one of the oldest and most highly recognized institutions of its kind in the United States. Since its inception in 1921, the School of Engineering has been guided by an academic ethos which situates the typically specialized engineering field comfortably within the greater schemes of well-rounded undergraduate education and public service, Princeton's traditional hallmarks. Today the School of Engineering and Applied Science oversees six departments as well as an even larger number of interdisciplinary programs and affiliated research centers, and offers degrees on both the undergraduate and the graduate level.
The teaching and study of engineering at Princeton dates back to the late 19th century with the founding of the Department of Civil Engineering in 1875 by Professor Charles McMillan. Predating the eventual formation of the School of Engineering by nearly 50 years, the Department of Civil Engineering with its modest faculty of three professors produced a remarkable group of young men who energetically went forth into the engineering fields. The most notable feature of the early Department of Civil Engineering was the incorporation of liberal arts electives into the undergraduate curriculum. At a time when the primary emphasis in engineering education was upon rote memorization of classic engineering principles, the Princeton method offered a broader sense of the science's potential to aid society at large.
While the Department of Civil Engineering set a standard early on for undergraduate engineering education at Princeton, the fledgling Department of Electrical Engineering demonstrated how original research on the graduate level could advance the bank of knowledge in an entire field. Originated in 1889 by Professor of Physics Cyrus Fogg Brackett (a friend and colleague of Thomas Edison), Princeton's two-year graduate program in electrical engineering was the first of its kind in the United States.
With engineering still a small but rapidly growing field, both professionally and academically, it is hardly surprising that Princeton alumni from each of these programs came to form working relationships in the field, and grew to collectively recognize the value of their respective educations. From this recognition arose in 1912 the Princeton Engineering Association, a dedicated alumni group in support of the Department(s) of Engineering. As the number of engineering graduates increased and the vocalizations of those alumni and faculty who considered the expansion of the University's engineering programs to be of the utmost importance grew louder, it became apparent that a new academic body within the University was necessary. The start of World War I also brought a heightened awareness of the importance of engineering to the future of the world at large. At this time as it would later in the century, American military conflict played an integral role in shaping the development of the engineering field.
In 1921 representatives from the Princeton Engineering Association convened to formulate a plan for a School of Engineering at Princeton. The eventual outline submitted to the trustees called for freshman and sophomore years dedicated to the learning of engineering fundamentals. In these years all students would take nearly the same courses. The junior and senior years would allow the student to choose a specialized form of engineering from those offered by the school, and fill out their remaining courses with electives. Four years of study would result in the degree of Bachelor of Science in Engineering, and one or more years of additional study would lead to a technical degree in Civil, Electrical, Mechanical, Mining, or Chemical Engineering.
On the recommendation of the Engineering Association, the trustees secured the services of Arthur M. Greene, Jr. as the inaugural dean of the School of Engineering. In his impressive career, the 40-year-old Greene had served on the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania, the Drexel Institute of Technology, the University of Missouri, and most recently the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. His contributions at these institutions extended beyond the classroom however, as he wrote numerous textbooks and designed the campus power plants at Missouri and Drexel.
In addition to taking on the role of the school's first dean, Greene occupied another position, that of the chairman of the newly formed Department of Mechanical Engineering. The formation of the School of Engineering according to the proposed plan called for the creation of three new departments, Mechanical Engineering, Mining Engineering (soon to be changed to Geological), and Chemical Engineering. Each of these departments would require a faculty, laboratory and research facilities, and a curriculum. The early Department of Mechanical Engineering, which had Greene as its chairman and sole faculty member, is exemplary of the challenges facing these fledgling engineering departments. With only 84 students in its initial year, it was no surprise that the school developed somewhat slowly at first.
Despite these challenges, the singular momentum of Greene planted a seed within each of the five engineering departments that would bloom over the next twenty years into a dynamic network of students, faculty, and alumni engaged in cutting edge engineering research and experimentation. Underscoring all of this was Greene's educational vision which he termed "Engineering Plus." In a 1926 statement, Greene set forth that "the purpose accordingly of the Princeton School of Engineering is to develop engineers of dependability, resourcefulness, vision; men who will perceive the larger aspects of the projects they undertake, who in addition to controlling the merely technical engineering factors will, because of their education in the humanistic atmosphere of a university primarily devoted to the liberal arts and sciences, also comprehend and mold intelligently the human, social, and economic elements encountered in these projects."
Previously scattered about campus in whatever facilities were available for use, the School of Engineering was finally organized under a single roof for the first time in 1928 with the construction of Green Hall, and two significant developments over the next decade would leave Dean Greene's permanent mark on the School of Engineering and the University prior to his retirement in 1940. The first of these was the formation of advisory committees for each of the engineering departments in 1935. Comprised of practicing engineers drawn from Princeton alumni, these committees served a dual purpose. The first was to obtain input from men attuned to the type of work being done in the field, so as to keep the Engineering School's curriculum as relevant as possible. The second underlying purpose of the advisory committees was to develop relationships among engineering professionals, faculty, and students. So successful was this experiment that it was eventually adopted on a University-wide basis in 1941.
From the recommendation of the advisory committees emerged the second major development at the School of Engineering in the 1930s, the Basic Engineering program. The program offered an even broader range of courses than any of the standard engineering programs, and left the student ably equipped for additional graduate study, particularly in business and administration.
The Second World War and the post-War period marked a time of rapid growth and change for the School of Engineering. During the war, the government dedicated enormous levels of funding to engineering research in hopes of maintaining a technological edge over the Axis, with much of this money flowing to institutions such as Princeton who were at the forefront of the field. Despite great advances, wartime growth in the engineering was also hampered by a concurrent decrease in enrollment and wartime restrictions on many of the materials integral to experimentation and research.
In 1942 Associate Administrator of the Civil Aeronautics Board undertook a study of Princeton's Engineering Program at the behest of Greene's successor, Dean Kenneth H. Condit. The result was the formation of the Department of Aeronautical Engineering in the fall of that year, of which Daniel Sayre soon found himself the sole faculty member and administrator. The department's early growth was facilitated by funding from the armed forces, specifically the Navy which was eager to fuel research in applied aeronautical engineering and jet propulsion.
Following the war, Ph.D. programs were instituted in each of the departments and enrollment in the School of Engineering mushroomed to over 500 students, placing a severe strain on the facilities in Green Hall. Some relief was offered in the form of the Forrestal Campus which provided laboratory space for the Department of Aeronautical Engineering; however, other departments suffered due to the cramped conditions and makeshift accommodations. A 1949 story in the Princeton Alumni Weekly that featured informative segments on each engineering department rang with a common theme: the need for a new and expanded School of Engineering building. The canvassing of the Engineering Association resulted in a temporary solution to a ceaseless problem, the addition of a wing to Green Hall for the use of the Mechanical Engineering Department. Nonetheless as Dean Condit retired in 1954, the incredible growth of the school's faculty and research interests was held back by its physical limitations.
Condit's successor was Joseph Clifton Elgin, who had been an integral player in the early formation of the School of Engineering as well as the Department of Chemical Engineering's first professor and chairman. Elgin, though an old hand on the faculty, made the revision of the engineering curriculum a top priority early on in his deanship. While maintaining the general focus of the "Engineering Plus" concept, Elgin adopted a new approach to the study of engineering, focusing on basic principles. The school's experience during World War II had shown that engineering as a field was so vibrant and full of momentum that to teach a student any one specific technology or set of skills was futile. Rather, graduates would be better served by a firm understanding of the scientific basis for these skills and technologies, and henceforth would be able to adapt readily once in the field. The new program soon earned a reputation for turning out highly capable engineers, and the recognition resulted in a 1962 award of one million dollars from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
While the momentous million dollar grant was not a sum large enough to underwrite a new engineering building, the notable gift was supplemented by funds previously raised during the $53 Million Campaign of the late 1950s. With the necessary $8 million allocated for the purpose, construction began almost immediately and in 1962 the School of Engineering moved into the new Engineering Quadrangle on Olden Street, a facility almost four times the size of Green Hall.
The large-scale move of the school brought about several shifts in organization and nomenclature, most notably the change of the school's name to the School of Engineering and Applied Science, to better reflect Elgin's curriculum. Aeronautical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering also merged at this time to form the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Sciences, and the Geological Engineering Department was demoted to the program level and absorbed into the Department of Civil Engineering. The decade of the 1960s also witnessed the creation of several interdepartmental programs, sometimes invoking the cooperation of departments outside the School of Engineering. Just one such example was the Transportation Engineering program, undertaken in conjunction with the Department of Economics and the School of Architecture and Urban Planning.
During the deanship of Joseph C. Elgin, which stretched from 1954-1971, the School of Engineering responded ably to changes both within the University and in the engineering field. Nuclear energy and solid state science emerged in the engineering lexicon. Perhaps more so than any other department, Electrical Engineering witnessed great advances in its scientific domain in the form of early computing and digitization. The introduction of new courses in 1957 and the acquisition of an IBM machine that same year resulted in the University's first computer center, administered through the School of Engineering.
Robert G. Jahn, the fourth Dean of the School of Engineering, was among the candidates awarded doctoral degrees during Elgin's first year in the position. Returning as Dean in 1971, Jahn presided over a school which was gaining a growing reputation as a leader in research, despite a high attrition rate of undergraduates who felt uncertain of their future as engineers in society. Jahn attempted to relate his vision of a future for engineering education that would tie the sciences to critical problems in society. Said the Dean in a 1971 interview, "We shall not attempt to train a man for a trade. Our goal is to give him the confidence, born of a certain amount of experience, to approach any technical problem in a constructive, analytical way; to show him how to assemble his resources, to organize his thinking, to consider the human implications of what he is doing, and to come to grips with new situations." Balancing this broad scope with the rush of specialized technology proved difficult. The school saw the creation of the Department of Computer Science, a new department formed out of what had previously been a program under Electrical Engineering. Other new research initiatives such as the Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research Laboratory (PEAR Lab) sought to connect the engineering sciences to the greater needs of society at large.
The two decades after Jahn's retirement in 1986 were a time of change for the School of Engineering in terms of administration and curriculum. During the deanships of Hisashi Kobayashi (1986-1991) and James Wei (1991-2001), shifting focuses placed a new emphasis upon the business aspects of the engineering profession, and the need for the modern engineer to grapple alternately with the tangible realities of materials and substances as well as the more abstract realms of statistics and mathematics. The most significant sign of this was the formation of the Department of Operations Research and Financial Engineering in 1999. The Department, the first of its kind in the nation, proved popular with students and plans for a dedicated building to house it were enacted in 2006.
As the School of Engineering and Applied Science moved forward into the 21st century it did so with a renewed sense of purpose and a new awareness of engineering's place in the world. Particularly notable was the appointment of the school's first female dean, Maria Klawe, who served from 2003-2006. New special programs and centers focused upon robotics, engineering education, and biology demonstrated a forward-thinking mindset with an emphasis on humanism, carrying on the legacy of engineering as an extension of the liberal arts so integral to Dean Greene's "Engineering Plus" concept nearly a century ago.
Physical Description1 box
Despite Princeton University's historical reputation as a bastion of liberal arts education, the Princeton University School of Engineering and Applied Science is one of the oldest and most highly recognized institutions of its kind in the United States. Since its inception in 1921, the School of Engineering has been guided by an academic ethos which situates the typically specialized engineering field comfortably within the greater schemes of well-rounded undergraduate education and public service, Princeton's traditional hallmarks. Today the School of Engineering and Applied Science oversees six departments as well as an even larger number of interdisciplinary programs and affiliated research centers, and offers degrees on both the undergraduate and the graduate level.
The teaching and study of engineering at Princeton dates back to the late 19th century with the founding of the Department of Civil Engineering in 1875 by Professor Charles McMillan. Predating the eventual formation of the School of Engineering by nearly 50 years, the Department of Civil Engineering with its modest faculty of three professors produced a remarkable group of young men who energetically went forth into the engineering fields. The most notable feature of the early Department of Civil Engineering was the incorporation of liberal arts electives into the undergraduate curriculum. At a time when the primary emphasis in engineering education was upon rote memorization of classic engineering principles, the Princeton method offered a broader sense of the science's potential to aid society at large.
While the Department of Civil Engineering set a standard early on for undergraduate engineering education at Princeton, the fledgling Department of Electrical Engineering demonstrated how original research on the graduate level could advance the bank of knowledge in an entire field. Originated in 1889 by Professor of Physics Cyrus Fogg Brackett (a friend and colleague of Thomas Edison), Princeton's two-year graduate program in electrical engineering was the first of its kind in the United States.
With engineering still a small but rapidly growing field, both professionally and academically, it is hardly surprising that Princeton alumni from each of these programs came to form working relationships in the field, and grew to collectively recognize the value of their respective educations. From this recognition arose in 1912 the Princeton Engineering Association, a dedicated alumni group in support of the Department(s) of Engineering. As the number of engineering graduates increased and the vocalizations of those alumni and faculty who considered the expansion of the University's engineering programs to be of the utmost importance grew louder, it became apparent that a new academic body within the University was necessary. The start of World War I also brought a heightened awareness of the importance of engineering to the future of the world at large. At this time as it would later in the century, American military conflict played an integral role in shaping the development of the engineering field.
In 1921 representatives from the Princeton Engineering Association convened to formulate a plan for a School of Engineering at Princeton. The eventual outline submitted to the trustees called for freshman and sophomore years dedicated to the learning of engineering fundamentals. In these years all students would take nearly the same courses. The junior and senior years would allow the student to choose a specialized form of engineering from those offered by the school, and fill out their remaining courses with electives. Four years of study would result in the degree of Bachelor of Science in Engineering, and one or more years of additional study would lead to a technical degree in Civil, Electrical, Mechanical, Mining, or Chemical Engineering.
On the recommendation of the Engineering Association, the trustees secured the services of Arthur M. Greene, Jr. as the inaugural dean of the School of Engineering. In his impressive career, the 40-year-old Greene had served on the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania, the Drexel Institute of Technology, the University of Missouri, and most recently the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. His contributions at these institutions extended beyond the classroom however, as he wrote numerous textbooks and designed the campus power plants at Missouri and Drexel.
In addition to taking on the role of the school's first dean, Greene occupied another position, that of the chairman of the newly formed Department of Mechanical Engineering. The formation of the School of Engineering according to the proposed plan called for the creation of three new departments, Mechanical Engineering, Mining Engineering (soon to be changed to Geological), and Chemical Engineering. Each of these departments would require a faculty, laboratory and research facilities, and a curriculum. The early Department of Mechanical Engineering, which had Greene as its chairman and sole faculty member, is exemplary of the challenges facing these fledgling engineering departments. With only 84 students in its initial year, it was no surprise that the school developed somewhat slowly at first.
Despite these challenges, the singular momentum of Greene planted a seed within each of the five engineering departments that would bloom over the next twenty years into a dynamic network of students, faculty, and alumni engaged in cutting edge engineering research and experimentation. Underscoring all of this was Greene's educational vision which he termed "Engineering Plus." In a 1926 statement, Greene set forth that "the purpose accordingly of the Princeton School of Engineering is to develop engineers of dependability, resourcefulness, vision; men who will perceive the larger aspects of the projects they undertake, who in addition to controlling the merely technical engineering factors will, because of their education in the humanistic atmosphere of a university primarily devoted to the liberal arts and sciences, also comprehend and mold intelligently the human, social, and economic elements encountered in these projects."
Previously scattered about campus in whatever facilities were available for use, the School of Engineering was finally organized under a single roof for the first time in 1928 with the construction of Green Hall, and two significant developments over the next decade would leave Dean Greene's permanent mark on the School of Engineering and the University prior to his retirement in 1940. The first of these was the formation of advisory committees for each of the engineering departments in 1935. Comprised of practicing engineers drawn from Princeton alumni, these committees served a dual purpose. The first was to obtain input from men attuned to the type of work being done in the field, so as to keep the Engineering School's curriculum as relevant as possible. The second underlying purpose of the advisory committees was to develop relationships among engineering professionals, faculty, and students. So successful was this experiment that it was eventually adopted on a University-wide basis in 1941.
From the recommendation of the advisory committees emerged the second major development at the School of Engineering in the 1930s, the Basic Engineering program. The program offered an even broader range of courses than any of the standard engineering programs, and left the student ably equipped for additional graduate study, particularly in business and administration.
The Second World War and the post-War period marked a time of rapid growth and change for the School of Engineering. During the war, the government dedicated enormous levels of funding to engineering research in hopes of maintaining a technological edge over the Axis, with much of this money flowing to institutions such as Princeton who were at the forefront of the field. Despite great advances, wartime growth in the engineering was also hampered by a concurrent decrease in enrollment and wartime restrictions on many of the materials integral to experimentation and research.
In 1942 Associate Administrator of the Civil Aeronautics Board undertook a study of Princeton's Engineering Program at the behest of Greene's successor, Dean Kenneth H. Condit. The result was the formation of the Department of Aeronautical Engineering in the fall of that year, of which Daniel Sayre soon found himself the sole faculty member and administrator. The department's early growth was facilitated by funding from the armed forces, specifically the Navy which was eager to fuel research in applied aeronautical engineering and jet propulsion.
Following the war, Ph.D. programs were instituted in each of the departments and enrollment in the School of Engineering mushroomed to over 500 students, placing a severe strain on the facilities in Green Hall. Some relief was offered in the form of the Forrestal Campus which provided laboratory space for the Department of Aeronautical Engineering; however, other departments suffered due to the cramped conditions and makeshift accommodations. A 1949 story in the Princeton Alumni Weekly that featured informative segments on each engineering department rang with a common theme: the need for a new and expanded School of Engineering building. The canvassing of the Engineering Association resulted in a temporary solution to a ceaseless problem, the addition of a wing to Green Hall for the use of the Mechanical Engineering Department. Nonetheless as Dean Condit retired in 1954, the incredible growth of the school's faculty and research interests was held back by its physical limitations.
Condit's successor was Joseph Clifton Elgin, who had been an integral player in the early formation of the School of Engineering as well as the Department of Chemical Engineering's first professor and chairman. Elgin, though an old hand on the faculty, made the revision of the engineering curriculum a top priority early on in his deanship. While maintaining the general focus of the "Engineering Plus" concept, Elgin adopted a new approach to the study of engineering, focusing on basic principles. The school's experience during World War II had shown that engineering as a field was so vibrant and full of momentum that to teach a student any one specific technology or set of skills was futile. Rather, graduates would be better served by a firm understanding of the scientific basis for these skills and technologies, and henceforth would be able to adapt readily once in the field. The new program soon earned a reputation for turning out highly capable engineers, and the recognition resulted in a 1962 award of one million dollars from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
While the momentous million dollar grant was not a sum large enough to underwrite a new engineering building, the notable gift was supplemented by funds previously raised during the $53 Million Campaign of the late 1950s. With the necessary $8 million allocated for the purpose, construction began almost immediately and in 1962 the School of Engineering moved into the new Engineering Quadrangle on Olden Street, a facility almost four times the size of Green Hall.
The large-scale move of the school brought about several shifts in organization and nomenclature, most notably the change of the school's name to the School of Engineering and Applied Science, to better reflect Elgin's curriculum. Aeronautical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering also merged at this time to form the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Sciences, and the Geological Engineering Department was demoted to the program level and absorbed into the Department of Civil Engineering. The decade of the 1960s also witnessed the creation of several interdepartmental programs, sometimes invoking the cooperation of departments outside the School of Engineering. Just one such example was the Transportation Engineering program, undertaken in conjunction with the Department of Economics and the School of Architecture and Urban Planning.
During the deanship of Joseph C. Elgin, which stretched from 1954-1971, the School of Engineering responded ably to changes both within the University and in the engineering field. Nuclear energy and solid state science emerged in the engineering lexicon. Perhaps more so than any other department, Electrical Engineering witnessed great advances in its scientific domain in the form of early computing and digitization. The introduction of new courses in 1957 and the acquisition of an IBM machine that same year resulted in the University's first computer center, administered through the School of Engineering.
Robert G. Jahn, the fourth Dean of the School of Engineering, was among the candidates awarded doctoral degrees during Elgin's first year in the position. Returning as Dean in 1971, Jahn presided over a school which was gaining a growing reputation as a leader in research, despite a high attrition rate of undergraduates who felt uncertain of their future as engineers in society. Jahn attempted to relate his vision of a future for engineering education that would tie the sciences to critical problems in society. Said the Dean in a 1971 interview, "We shall not attempt to train a man for a trade. Our goal is to give him the confidence, born of a certain amount of experience, to approach any technical problem in a constructive, analytical way; to show him how to assemble his resources, to organize his thinking, to consider the human implications of what he is doing, and to come to grips with new situations." Balancing this broad scope with the rush of specialized technology proved difficult. The school saw the creation of the Department of Computer Science, a new department formed out of what had previously been a program under Electrical Engineering. Other new research initiatives such as the Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research Laboratory (PEAR Lab) sought to connect the engineering sciences to the greater needs of society at large.
The two decades after Jahn's retirement in 1986 were a time of change for the School of Engineering in terms of administration and curriculum. During the deanships of Hisashi Kobayashi (1986-1991) and James Wei (1991-2001), shifting focuses placed a new emphasis upon the business aspects of the engineering profession, and the need for the modern engineer to grapple alternately with the tangible realities of materials and substances as well as the more abstract realms of statistics and mathematics. The most significant sign of this was the formation of the Department of Operations Research and Financial Engineering in 1999. The Department, the first of its kind in the nation, proved popular with students and plans for a dedicated building to house it were enacted in 2006.
As the School of Engineering and Applied Science moved forward into the 21st century it did so with a renewed sense of purpose and a new awareness of engineering's place in the world. Particularly notable was the appointment of the school's first female dean, Maria Klawe, who served from 2003-2006. New special programs and centers focused upon robotics, engineering education, and biology demonstrated a forward-thinking mindset with an emphasis on humanism, carrying on the legacy of engineering as an extension of the liberal arts so integral to Dean Greene's "Engineering Plus" concept nearly a century ago.
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The Dean of the College is Princeton University's third-oldest deanship. President Woodrow Wilson established the office in the spring of 1909 to oversee disciplinary and extra-curricular concerns. Today, the Dean of the College has administrative oversight of admission to the undergraduate college, the curriculum of the College, and the services and agencies designed to promote the academic development of undergraduates. The Dean of the College is also charged with the application and enforcement of the rules and standards relating to undergraduate scholarship, standing, and attendance in the University.
Over the years, deans of the college have presided over committees including the Faculty Committee on Examinations and Standing, the University Committee on Discipline, the Probation Board, the Committee on Non-Athletic Activities, the Faculty Committee on Athletic Eligibility, and the Program for Servicemen. The Dean of the College is ex-officio chair of the Faculty Committees on the Course of Study, Examinations and Standing, Continuing Education, and Undergraduate Admission and Financial Aid. The dean is an ex-officio member of the Council of the Princeton University Community, the Faculty Committees on Discipline, Public Lectures, Schedule, and Undergraduate Life, and sits with the Faculty Advisory Committee on Appointments and Advancements. Often, the Dean of the College is called upon to speak to alumni and student groups and at events outside of the University.
Edward G. Elliott, a professor of politics, served as the first Dean of the College, from 1909 until 1912. Howard McClenahan, who held the office until 1925, succeeded Elliott and was heavily involved in preparing the campus for World War I. McClenahan spent a significant portion of his tenure embroiled in a dispute after he declared several athletes ineligible. A group of alumni charged that the faculty was biased against athletes, and some called for McClenahan's resignation from the Intercollegiate Athletics board. In the face of calls for his resignation as dean, McClenahan maintained that Princeton must put academics first.
Christian Gauss, who had been one of Woodrow Wilson's original preceptors, served as Dean of the College from 1925 to 1946. Much admired for his sense of justice and fairness, Gauss became an almost legendary figure whom Howard Medina '09 called "perhaps the best-known and best-liked college dean in America." Gauss faced immense changes on campus after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, from the implementation of the Selective Service Act to an increase in withdrawals to students' requests for permission to marry. Gauss temporarily left office in 1943 to plan a post-war curriculum that, at President Dodds' urging, focused on maintaining Princeton's standards as a liberal arts school after many students switched to math and sciences during wartime. In addition to his efforts to meet the challenges wrought by World War II, Gauss, a great fan of athletics, garnered much favor during his tenure through his efforts to keep football at Princeton and his advocacy for the repeal of Prohibition.
Dean Francis Godolphin, a World War II veteran, took office in the postwar years (1946-1955). During a time of resurgence in campus activities and extreme overcrowding, the University administration was faced with the problem of providing housing for married veterans and their families. Godolphin in particular contended with, among other workload increases, a surge in correspondence with local draft boards and work with Selective Service issues. Godolphin also saw scholarship funds and employment opportunities under pressure and an increase in recommendations to graduate and professional schools. Amid the bustle of post-war adjustments, the Office of the Dean of Students was created to take on extra-curricular and social functions previously overseen by the Office of the Dean of the College. The Dean of the College still dealt with issues of discipline, and Godolphin came to the defense of the University Discipline Committee following a Daily Princetonian editorial that criticized suspensions as a form of punishment. Godolphin also defended University regulations when students protested a rule that barred women from dorms after 7 p.m., restrictions against cars on campus, and state liquor laws.
The latter half of the 1950s saw continued high enrollment and overcrowding everywhere on campus, but Dean Jeremiah Finch (1955-1961) used his time as dean to become more involved in classroom activities than his predecessors. He played a significant role in the development of the undergraduate program of study and focused on undergraduate advisors' evolving roles. Finch's efforts led to an expanded curricular focus on Russia and Asia, and the development of engineering science programs. He initiated reading periods, advanced placement, and early concentration, and increased the emphasis on independent work for upperclassmen. Finch also developed the Princeton Scholars program, a highly selective program in which a number of freshmen were offered exemption from all formal course requirements in their first year. During Finch's tenure students' interest in religious and political activities grew, as did the number of complaints from alumni, trustees and some outside of the University regarding the liberal nature of upper class club regulations. In response the dean ordered a cut in entertainment privileges, which caused controversy that evolved into an unprecedented demonstration against the administration.
J. Merrill Knapp (1961-1966) served as Dean of the College at a time of national concern over the college attrition rate, which Knapp addressed in several articles in national publications. He strengthened interdepartmental programs and created new opportunities in regional studies. He also made it possible for students to take one class per year on a pass/fail option. Knapp further developed the University Scholar Program and started the Experimental Research Scholar Program in the Department of Politics and the Woodrow Wilson School. He also formed the Cooperative Undergraduate Program for Critical Language and revised the Sociology Department curriculum.
Dean of the College Edward Sullivan (1966-1972) played a major role in initiating coeducation at Princeton. Sullivan sought to increase both variety and flexibility in the life of the undergraduate and encourage self-education and discovery. He introduced the course reduction system, which reduced course loads for freshmen, sophomores, and seniors. This move went against a national trend at the time toward heavier course loads and increased specialization. Early in his tenure he revamped the School of Architecture curriculum and the Latin American Affairs Program. During a time of political unrest on campus following the United States' invasion of Cambodia, Dean Sullivan quelled parental fears about the University shutting its doors after 4,000 students, faculty, and staff endorsed an anti-war strike. In part to allow for political involvement, students were allowed to postpone completion of academic work at the end of the spring term.
From the early 1970s deans of the college have focused heavily on matters of teaching and curriculum. Neil Rudenstine (1972-1977) moved into the position after serving as dean of students and contending with the 1972 anti-war strike, and focused his interest on the interrelationship of social and intellectual pursuits of undergraduates. Rudenstine served as a member of the Commission on the Future of the College, a major study of the college which had been commissioned by President Robert Goheen in 1970 to review undergraduate education at Princeton.
Under Dean Joan Girgus (1977-1987) the use of computers and technology in the classroom rose, and curriculum became more interdisciplinary in nature. Among her other duties, Girgus served as Princeton's representative to the Ivy Policy Committee. As a member of the Faculty Committee on Examinations and Standing, Dean Nancy Weiss Malkiel (1987-present) has devoted much of her work to studying grading patterns at Princeton, with an eye to grade inflation. She has also worked to encourage students to broaden their intellectual pursuits and explore the offerings of Princeton's smaller academic departments. During Malkiel's tenure as dean, the Office of the Dean of the College has developed new core requirements, expanded the Freshman Seminar Program, and diversified the curriculum. Malkiel's administration has also focused on improving the teaching of science to non-majors and writing instruction for all undergraduates.
Deans of the College, Department, Tenure as Dean
Edward G. Elliott, politics, 1909-1912
Howard McClenahan, physics, 1912-1925
Christian Gauss, modern languages, 1925-1946
Francis R. B. Godolphin, classics, 1946-1955
Jeremiah S. Finch, English, 1955-1961
J. Merrill Knapp, music, 1961-1966
Edward D. Sullivan, French, 1966-1972
Neil L. Rudenstine, English, 1972-1977
Joan S. Girgus, psychology, 1977-1987
Nancy Weiss Malkiel, history, 1987-2011
Valerie A. Smith, English, 2011-2015
Physical Description1 box
1 box
1 box
The Dean of the College is Princeton University's third-oldest deanship. President Woodrow Wilson established the office in the spring of 1909 to oversee disciplinary and extra-curricular concerns. Today, the Dean of the College has administrative oversight of admission to the undergraduate college, the curriculum of the College, and the services and agencies designed to promote the academic development of undergraduates. The Dean of the College is also charged with the application and enforcement of the rules and standards relating to undergraduate scholarship, standing, and attendance in the University.
Over the years, deans of the college have presided over committees including the Faculty Committee on Examinations and Standing, the University Committee on Discipline, the Probation Board, the Committee on Non-Athletic Activities, the Faculty Committee on Athletic Eligibility, and the Program for Servicemen. The Dean of the College is ex-officio chair of the Faculty Committees on the Course of Study, Examinations and Standing, Continuing Education, and Undergraduate Admission and Financial Aid. The dean is an ex-officio member of the Council of the Princeton University Community, the Faculty Committees on Discipline, Public Lectures, Schedule, and Undergraduate Life, and sits with the Faculty Advisory Committee on Appointments and Advancements. Often, the Dean of the College is called upon to speak to alumni and student groups and at events outside of the University.
Edward G. Elliott, a professor of politics, served as the first Dean of the College, from 1909 until 1912. Howard McClenahan, who held the office until 1925, succeeded Elliott and was heavily involved in preparing the campus for World War I. McClenahan spent a significant portion of his tenure embroiled in a dispute after he declared several athletes ineligible. A group of alumni charged that the faculty was biased against athletes, and some called for McClenahan's resignation from the Intercollegiate Athletics board. In the face of calls for his resignation as dean, McClenahan maintained that Princeton must put academics first.
Christian Gauss, who had been one of Woodrow Wilson's original preceptors, served as Dean of the College from 1925 to 1946. Much admired for his sense of justice and fairness, Gauss became an almost legendary figure whom Howard Medina '09 called "perhaps the best-known and best-liked college dean in America." Gauss faced immense changes on campus after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, from the implementation of the Selective Service Act to an increase in withdrawals to students' requests for permission to marry. Gauss temporarily left office in 1943 to plan a post-war curriculum that, at President Dodds' urging, focused on maintaining Princeton's standards as a liberal arts school after many students switched to math and sciences during wartime. In addition to his efforts to meet the challenges wrought by World War II, Gauss, a great fan of athletics, garnered much favor during his tenure through his efforts to keep football at Princeton and his advocacy for the repeal of Prohibition.
Dean Francis Godolphin, a World War II veteran, took office in the postwar years (1946-1955). During a time of resurgence in campus activities and extreme overcrowding, the University administration was faced with the problem of providing housing for married veterans and their families. Godolphin in particular contended with, among other workload increases, a surge in correspondence with local draft boards and work with Selective Service issues. Godolphin also saw scholarship funds and employment opportunities under pressure and an increase in recommendations to graduate and professional schools. Amid the bustle of post-war adjustments, the Office of the Dean of Students was created to take on extra-curricular and social functions previously overseen by the Office of the Dean of the College. The Dean of the College still dealt with issues of discipline, and Godolphin came to the defense of the University Discipline Committee following a Daily Princetonian editorial that criticized suspensions as a form of punishment. Godolphin also defended University regulations when students protested a rule that barred women from dorms after 7 p.m., restrictions against cars on campus, and state liquor laws.
The latter half of the 1950s saw continued high enrollment and overcrowding everywhere on campus, but Dean Jeremiah Finch (1955-1961) used his time as dean to become more involved in classroom activities than his predecessors. He played a significant role in the development of the undergraduate program of study and focused on undergraduate advisors' evolving roles. Finch's efforts led to an expanded curricular focus on Russia and Asia, and the development of engineering science programs. He initiated reading periods, advanced placement, and early concentration, and increased the emphasis on independent work for upperclassmen. Finch also developed the Princeton Scholars program, a highly selective program in which a number of freshmen were offered exemption from all formal course requirements in their first year. During Finch's tenure students' interest in religious and political activities grew, as did the number of complaints from alumni, trustees and some outside of the University regarding the liberal nature of upper class club regulations. In response the dean ordered a cut in entertainment privileges, which caused controversy that evolved into an unprecedented demonstration against the administration.
J. Merrill Knapp (1961-1966) served as Dean of the College at a time of national concern over the college attrition rate, which Knapp addressed in several articles in national publications. He strengthened interdepartmental programs and created new opportunities in regional studies. He also made it possible for students to take one class per year on a pass/fail option. Knapp further developed the University Scholar Program and started the Experimental Research Scholar Program in the Department of Politics and the Woodrow Wilson School. He also formed the Cooperative Undergraduate Program for Critical Language and revised the Sociology Department curriculum.
Dean of the College Edward Sullivan (1966-1972) played a major role in initiating coeducation at Princeton. Sullivan sought to increase both variety and flexibility in the life of the undergraduate and encourage self-education and discovery. He introduced the course reduction system, which reduced course loads for freshmen, sophomores, and seniors. This move went against a national trend at the time toward heavier course loads and increased specialization. Early in his tenure he revamped the School of Architecture curriculum and the Latin American Affairs Program. During a time of political unrest on campus following the United States' invasion of Cambodia, Dean Sullivan quelled parental fears about the University shutting its doors after 4,000 students, faculty, and staff endorsed an anti-war strike. In part to allow for political involvement, students were allowed to postpone completion of academic work at the end of the spring term.
From the early 1970s deans of the college have focused heavily on matters of teaching and curriculum. Neil Rudenstine (1972-1977) moved into the position after serving as dean of students and contending with the 1972 anti-war strike, and focused his interest on the interrelationship of social and intellectual pursuits of undergraduates. Rudenstine served as a member of the Commission on the Future of the College, a major study of the college which had been commissioned by President Robert Goheen in 1970 to review undergraduate education at Princeton.
Under Dean Joan Girgus (1977-1987) the use of computers and technology in the classroom rose, and curriculum became more interdisciplinary in nature. Among her other duties, Girgus served as Princeton's representative to the Ivy Policy Committee. As a member of the Faculty Committee on Examinations and Standing, Dean Nancy Weiss Malkiel (1987-present) has devoted much of her work to studying grading patterns at Princeton, with an eye to grade inflation. She has also worked to encourage students to broaden their intellectual pursuits and explore the offerings of Princeton's smaller academic departments. During Malkiel's tenure as dean, the Office of the Dean of the College has developed new core requirements, expanded the Freshman Seminar Program, and diversified the curriculum. Malkiel's administration has also focused on improving the teaching of science to non-majors and writing instruction for all undergraduates.
Deans of the College, Department, Tenure as Dean
Edward G. Elliott, politics, 1909-1912
Howard McClenahan, physics, 1912-1925
Christian Gauss, modern languages, 1925-1946
Francis R. B. Godolphin, classics, 1946-1955
Jeremiah S. Finch, English, 1955-1961
J. Merrill Knapp, music, 1961-1966
Edward D. Sullivan, French, 1966-1972
Neil L. Rudenstine, English, 1972-1977
Joan S. Girgus, psychology, 1977-1987
Nancy Weiss Malkiel, history, 1987-2011
Valerie A. Smith, English, 2011-2015
Physical Description1 box
The Dean of the College is Princeton University's third-oldest deanship. President Woodrow Wilson established the office in the spring of 1909 to oversee disciplinary and extra-curricular concerns. Today, the Dean of the College has administrative oversight of admission to the undergraduate college, the curriculum of the College, and the services and agencies designed to promote the academic development of undergraduates. The Dean of the College is also charged with the application and enforcement of the rules and standards relating to undergraduate scholarship, standing, and attendance in the University.
Over the years, deans of the college have presided over committees including the Faculty Committee on Examinations and Standing, the University Committee on Discipline, the Probation Board, the Committee on Non-Athletic Activities, the Faculty Committee on Athletic Eligibility, and the Program for Servicemen. The Dean of the College is ex-officio chair of the Faculty Committees on the Course of Study, Examinations and Standing, Continuing Education, and Undergraduate Admission and Financial Aid. The dean is an ex-officio member of the Council of the Princeton University Community, the Faculty Committees on Discipline, Public Lectures, Schedule, and Undergraduate Life, and sits with the Faculty Advisory Committee on Appointments and Advancements. Often, the Dean of the College is called upon to speak to alumni and student groups and at events outside of the University.
Edward G. Elliott, a professor of politics, served as the first Dean of the College, from 1909 until 1912. Howard McClenahan, who held the office until 1925, succeeded Elliott and was heavily involved in preparing the campus for World War I. McClenahan spent a significant portion of his tenure embroiled in a dispute after he declared several athletes ineligible. A group of alumni charged that the faculty was biased against athletes, and some called for McClenahan's resignation from the Intercollegiate Athletics board. In the face of calls for his resignation as dean, McClenahan maintained that Princeton must put academics first.
Christian Gauss, who had been one of Woodrow Wilson's original preceptors, served as Dean of the College from 1925 to 1946. Much admired for his sense of justice and fairness, Gauss became an almost legendary figure whom Howard Medina '09 called "perhaps the best-known and best-liked college dean in America." Gauss faced immense changes on campus after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, from the implementation of the Selective Service Act to an increase in withdrawals to students' requests for permission to marry. Gauss temporarily left office in 1943 to plan a post-war curriculum that, at President Dodds' urging, focused on maintaining Princeton's standards as a liberal arts school after many students switched to math and sciences during wartime. In addition to his efforts to meet the challenges wrought by World War II, Gauss, a great fan of athletics, garnered much favor during his tenure through his efforts to keep football at Princeton and his advocacy for the repeal of Prohibition.
Dean Francis Godolphin, a World War II veteran, took office in the postwar years (1946-1955). During a time of resurgence in campus activities and extreme overcrowding, the University administration was faced with the problem of providing housing for married veterans and their families. Godolphin in particular contended with, among other workload increases, a surge in correspondence with local draft boards and work with Selective Service issues. Godolphin also saw scholarship funds and employment opportunities under pressure and an increase in recommendations to graduate and professional schools. Amid the bustle of post-war adjustments, the Office of the Dean of Students was created to take on extra-curricular and social functions previously overseen by the Office of the Dean of the College. The Dean of the College still dealt with issues of discipline, and Godolphin came to the defense of the University Discipline Committee following a Daily Princetonian editorial that criticized suspensions as a form of punishment. Godolphin also defended University regulations when students protested a rule that barred women from dorms after 7 p.m., restrictions against cars on campus, and state liquor laws.
The latter half of the 1950s saw continued high enrollment and overcrowding everywhere on campus, but Dean Jeremiah Finch (1955-1961) used his time as dean to become more involved in classroom activities than his predecessors. He played a significant role in the development of the undergraduate program of study and focused on undergraduate advisors' evolving roles. Finch's efforts led to an expanded curricular focus on Russia and Asia, and the development of engineering science programs. He initiated reading periods, advanced placement, and early concentration, and increased the emphasis on independent work for upperclassmen. Finch also developed the Princeton Scholars program, a highly selective program in which a number of freshmen were offered exemption from all formal course requirements in their first year. During Finch's tenure students' interest in religious and political activities grew, as did the number of complaints from alumni, trustees and some outside of the University regarding the liberal nature of upper class club regulations. In response the dean ordered a cut in entertainment privileges, which caused controversy that evolved into an unprecedented demonstration against the administration.
J. Merrill Knapp (1961-1966) served as Dean of the College at a time of national concern over the college attrition rate, which Knapp addressed in several articles in national publications. He strengthened interdepartmental programs and created new opportunities in regional studies. He also made it possible for students to take one class per year on a pass/fail option. Knapp further developed the University Scholar Program and started the Experimental Research Scholar Program in the Department of Politics and the Woodrow Wilson School. He also formed the Cooperative Undergraduate Program for Critical Language and revised the Sociology Department curriculum.
Dean of the College Edward Sullivan (1966-1972) played a major role in initiating coeducation at Princeton. Sullivan sought to increase both variety and flexibility in the life of the undergraduate and encourage self-education and discovery. He introduced the course reduction system, which reduced course loads for freshmen, sophomores, and seniors. This move went against a national trend at the time toward heavier course loads and increased specialization. Early in his tenure he revamped the School of Architecture curriculum and the Latin American Affairs Program. During a time of political unrest on campus following the United States' invasion of Cambodia, Dean Sullivan quelled parental fears about the University shutting its doors after 4,000 students, faculty, and staff endorsed an anti-war strike. In part to allow for political involvement, students were allowed to postpone completion of academic work at the end of the spring term.
From the early 1970s deans of the college have focused heavily on matters of teaching and curriculum. Neil Rudenstine (1972-1977) moved into the position after serving as dean of students and contending with the 1972 anti-war strike, and focused his interest on the interrelationship of social and intellectual pursuits of undergraduates. Rudenstine served as a member of the Commission on the Future of the College, a major study of the college which had been commissioned by President Robert Goheen in 1970 to review undergraduate education at Princeton.
Under Dean Joan Girgus (1977-1987) the use of computers and technology in the classroom rose, and curriculum became more interdisciplinary in nature. Among her other duties, Girgus served as Princeton's representative to the Ivy Policy Committee. As a member of the Faculty Committee on Examinations and Standing, Dean Nancy Weiss Malkiel (1987-present) has devoted much of her work to studying grading patterns at Princeton, with an eye to grade inflation. She has also worked to encourage students to broaden their intellectual pursuits and explore the offerings of Princeton's smaller academic departments. During Malkiel's tenure as dean, the Office of the Dean of the College has developed new core requirements, expanded the Freshman Seminar Program, and diversified the curriculum. Malkiel's administration has also focused on improving the teaching of science to non-majors and writing instruction for all undergraduates.
Deans of the College, Department, Tenure as Dean
Edward G. Elliott, politics, 1909-1912
Howard McClenahan, physics, 1912-1925
Christian Gauss, modern languages, 1925-1946
Francis R. B. Godolphin, classics, 1946-1955
Jeremiah S. Finch, English, 1955-1961
J. Merrill Knapp, music, 1961-1966
Edward D. Sullivan, French, 1966-1972
Neil L. Rudenstine, English, 1972-1977
Joan S. Girgus, psychology, 1977-1987
Nancy Weiss Malkiel, history, 1987-2011
Valerie A. Smith, English, 2011-2015
Physical Description1 box
1 box
The Dean of the College is Princeton University's third-oldest deanship. President Woodrow Wilson established the office in the spring of 1909 to oversee disciplinary and extra-curricular concerns. Today, the Dean of the College has administrative oversight of admission to the undergraduate college, the curriculum of the College, and the services and agencies designed to promote the academic development of undergraduates. The Dean of the College is also charged with the application and enforcement of the rules and standards relating to undergraduate scholarship, standing, and attendance in the University.
Over the years, deans of the college have presided over committees including the Faculty Committee on Examinations and Standing, the University Committee on Discipline, the Probation Board, the Committee on Non-Athletic Activities, the Faculty Committee on Athletic Eligibility, and the Program for Servicemen. The Dean of the College is ex-officio chair of the Faculty Committees on the Course of Study, Examinations and Standing, Continuing Education, and Undergraduate Admission and Financial Aid. The dean is an ex-officio member of the Council of the Princeton University Community, the Faculty Committees on Discipline, Public Lectures, Schedule, and Undergraduate Life, and sits with the Faculty Advisory Committee on Appointments and Advancements. Often, the Dean of the College is called upon to speak to alumni and student groups and at events outside of the University.
Edward G. Elliott, a professor of politics, served as the first Dean of the College, from 1909 until 1912. Howard McClenahan, who held the office until 1925, succeeded Elliott and was heavily involved in preparing the campus for World War I. McClenahan spent a significant portion of his tenure embroiled in a dispute after he declared several athletes ineligible. A group of alumni charged that the faculty was biased against athletes, and some called for McClenahan's resignation from the Intercollegiate Athletics board. In the face of calls for his resignation as dean, McClenahan maintained that Princeton must put academics first.
Christian Gauss, who had been one of Woodrow Wilson's original preceptors, served as Dean of the College from 1925 to 1946. Much admired for his sense of justice and fairness, Gauss became an almost legendary figure whom Howard Medina '09 called "perhaps the best-known and best-liked college dean in America." Gauss faced immense changes on campus after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, from the implementation of the Selective Service Act to an increase in withdrawals to students' requests for permission to marry. Gauss temporarily left office in 1943 to plan a post-war curriculum that, at President Dodds' urging, focused on maintaining Princeton's standards as a liberal arts school after many students switched to math and sciences during wartime. In addition to his efforts to meet the challenges wrought by World War II, Gauss, a great fan of athletics, garnered much favor during his tenure through his efforts to keep football at Princeton and his advocacy for the repeal of Prohibition.
Dean Francis Godolphin, a World War II veteran, took office in the postwar years (1946-1955). During a time of resurgence in campus activities and extreme overcrowding, the University administration was faced with the problem of providing housing for married veterans and their families. Godolphin in particular contended with, among other workload increases, a surge in correspondence with local draft boards and work with Selective Service issues. Godolphin also saw scholarship funds and employment opportunities under pressure and an increase in recommendations to graduate and professional schools. Amid the bustle of post-war adjustments, the Office of the Dean of Students was created to take on extra-curricular and social functions previously overseen by the Office of the Dean of the College. The Dean of the College still dealt with issues of discipline, and Godolphin came to the defense of the University Discipline Committee following a Daily Princetonian editorial that criticized suspensions as a form of punishment. Godolphin also defended University regulations when students protested a rule that barred women from dorms after 7 p.m., restrictions against cars on campus, and state liquor laws.
The latter half of the 1950s saw continued high enrollment and overcrowding everywhere on campus, but Dean Jeremiah Finch (1955-1961) used his time as dean to become more involved in classroom activities than his predecessors. He played a significant role in the development of the undergraduate program of study and focused on undergraduate advisors' evolving roles. Finch's efforts led to an expanded curricular focus on Russia and Asia, and the development of engineering science programs. He initiated reading periods, advanced placement, and early concentration, and increased the emphasis on independent work for upperclassmen. Finch also developed the Princeton Scholars program, a highly selective program in which a number of freshmen were offered exemption from all formal course requirements in their first year. During Finch's tenure students' interest in religious and political activities grew, as did the number of complaints from alumni, trustees and some outside of the University regarding the liberal nature of upper class club regulations. In response the dean ordered a cut in entertainment privileges, which caused controversy that evolved into an unprecedented demonstration against the administration.
J. Merrill Knapp (1961-1966) served as Dean of the College at a time of national concern over the college attrition rate, which Knapp addressed in several articles in national publications. He strengthened interdepartmental programs and created new opportunities in regional studies. He also made it possible for students to take one class per year on a pass/fail option. Knapp further developed the University Scholar Program and started the Experimental Research Scholar Program in the Department of Politics and the Woodrow Wilson School. He also formed the Cooperative Undergraduate Program for Critical Language and revised the Sociology Department curriculum.
Dean of the College Edward Sullivan (1966-1972) played a major role in initiating coeducation at Princeton. Sullivan sought to increase both variety and flexibility in the life of the undergraduate and encourage self-education and discovery. He introduced the course reduction system, which reduced course loads for freshmen, sophomores, and seniors. This move went against a national trend at the time toward heavier course loads and increased specialization. Early in his tenure he revamped the School of Architecture curriculum and the Latin American Affairs Program. During a time of political unrest on campus following the United States' invasion of Cambodia, Dean Sullivan quelled parental fears about the University shutting its doors after 4,000 students, faculty, and staff endorsed an anti-war strike. In part to allow for political involvement, students were allowed to postpone completion of academic work at the end of the spring term.
From the early 1970s deans of the college have focused heavily on matters of teaching and curriculum. Neil Rudenstine (1972-1977) moved into the position after serving as dean of students and contending with the 1972 anti-war strike, and focused his interest on the interrelationship of social and intellectual pursuits of undergraduates. Rudenstine served as a member of the Commission on the Future of the College, a major study of the college which had been commissioned by President Robert Goheen in 1970 to review undergraduate education at Princeton.
Under Dean Joan Girgus (1977-1987) the use of computers and technology in the classroom rose, and curriculum became more interdisciplinary in nature. Among her other duties, Girgus served as Princeton's representative to the Ivy Policy Committee. As a member of the Faculty Committee on Examinations and Standing, Dean Nancy Weiss Malkiel (1987-present) has devoted much of her work to studying grading patterns at Princeton, with an eye to grade inflation. She has also worked to encourage students to broaden their intellectual pursuits and explore the offerings of Princeton's smaller academic departments. During Malkiel's tenure as dean, the Office of the Dean of the College has developed new core requirements, expanded the Freshman Seminar Program, and diversified the curriculum. Malkiel's administration has also focused on improving the teaching of science to non-majors and writing instruction for all undergraduates.
Deans of the College, Department, Tenure as Dean
Edward G. Elliott, politics, 1909-1912
Howard McClenahan, physics, 1912-1925
Christian Gauss, modern languages, 1925-1946
Francis R. B. Godolphin, classics, 1946-1955
Jeremiah S. Finch, English, 1955-1961
J. Merrill Knapp, music, 1961-1966
Edward D. Sullivan, French, 1966-1972
Neil L. Rudenstine, English, 1972-1977
Joan S. Girgus, psychology, 1977-1987
Nancy Weiss Malkiel, history, 1987-2011
Valerie A. Smith, English, 2011-2015
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The Dean of the College is Princeton University's third-oldest deanship. President Woodrow Wilson established the office in the spring of 1909 to oversee disciplinary and extra-curricular concerns. Today, the Dean of the College has administrative oversight of admission to the undergraduate college, the curriculum of the College, and the services and agencies designed to promote the academic development of undergraduates. The Dean of the College is also charged with the application and enforcement of the rules and standards relating to undergraduate scholarship, standing, and attendance in the University.
Over the years, deans of the college have presided over committees including the Faculty Committee on Examinations and Standing, the University Committee on Discipline, the Probation Board, the Committee on Non-Athletic Activities, the Faculty Committee on Athletic Eligibility, and the Program for Servicemen. The Dean of the College is ex-officio chair of the Faculty Committees on the Course of Study, Examinations and Standing, Continuing Education, and Undergraduate Admission and Financial Aid. The dean is an ex-officio member of the Council of the Princeton University Community, the Faculty Committees on Discipline, Public Lectures, Schedule, and Undergraduate Life, and sits with the Faculty Advisory Committee on Appointments and Advancements. Often, the Dean of the College is called upon to speak to alumni and student groups and at events outside of the University.
Edward G. Elliott, a professor of politics, served as the first Dean of the College, from 1909 until 1912. Howard McClenahan, who held the office until 1925, succeeded Elliott and was heavily involved in preparing the campus for World War I. McClenahan spent a significant portion of his tenure embroiled in a dispute after he declared several athletes ineligible. A group of alumni charged that the faculty was biased against athletes, and some called for McClenahan's resignation from the Intercollegiate Athletics board. In the face of calls for his resignation as dean, McClenahan maintained that Princeton must put academics first.
Christian Gauss, who had been one of Woodrow Wilson's original preceptors, served as Dean of the College from 1925 to 1946. Much admired for his sense of justice and fairness, Gauss became an almost legendary figure whom Howard Medina '09 called "perhaps the best-known and best-liked college dean in America." Gauss faced immense changes on campus after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, from the implementation of the Selective Service Act to an increase in withdrawals to students' requests for permission to marry. Gauss temporarily left office in 1943 to plan a post-war curriculum that, at President Dodds' urging, focused on maintaining Princeton's standards as a liberal arts school after many students switched to math and sciences during wartime. In addition to his efforts to meet the challenges wrought by World War II, Gauss, a great fan of athletics, garnered much favor during his tenure through his efforts to keep football at Princeton and his advocacy for the repeal of Prohibition.
Dean Francis Godolphin, a World War II veteran, took office in the postwar years (1946-1955). During a time of resurgence in campus activities and extreme overcrowding, the University administration was faced with the problem of providing housing for married veterans and their families. Godolphin in particular contended with, among other workload increases, a surge in correspondence with local draft boards and work with Selective Service issues. Godolphin also saw scholarship funds and employment opportunities under pressure and an increase in recommendations to graduate and professional schools. Amid the bustle of post-war adjustments, the Office of the Dean of Students was created to take on extra-curricular and social functions previously overseen by the Office of the Dean of the College. The Dean of the College still dealt with issues of discipline, and Godolphin came to the defense of the University Discipline Committee following a Daily Princetonian editorial that criticized suspensions as a form of punishment. Godolphin also defended University regulations when students protested a rule that barred women from dorms after 7 p.m., restrictions against cars on campus, and state liquor laws.
The latter half of the 1950s saw continued high enrollment and overcrowding everywhere on campus, but Dean Jeremiah Finch (1955-1961) used his time as dean to become more involved in classroom activities than his predecessors. He played a significant role in the development of the undergraduate program of study and focused on undergraduate advisors' evolving roles. Finch's efforts led to an expanded curricular focus on Russia and Asia, and the development of engineering science programs. He initiated reading periods, advanced placement, and early concentration, and increased the emphasis on independent work for upperclassmen. Finch also developed the Princeton Scholars program, a highly selective program in which a number of freshmen were offered exemption from all formal course requirements in their first year. During Finch's tenure students' interest in religious and political activities grew, as did the number of complaints from alumni, trustees and some outside of the University regarding the liberal nature of upper class club regulations. In response the dean ordered a cut in entertainment privileges, which caused controversy that evolved into an unprecedented demonstration against the administration.
J. Merrill Knapp (1961-1966) served as Dean of the College at a time of national concern over the college attrition rate, which Knapp addressed in several articles in national publications. He strengthened interdepartmental programs and created new opportunities in regional studies. He also made it possible for students to take one class per year on a pass/fail option. Knapp further developed the University Scholar Program and started the Experimental Research Scholar Program in the Department of Politics and the Woodrow Wilson School. He also formed the Cooperative Undergraduate Program for Critical Language and revised the Sociology Department curriculum.
Dean of the College Edward Sullivan (1966-1972) played a major role in initiating coeducation at Princeton. Sullivan sought to increase both variety and flexibility in the life of the undergraduate and encourage self-education and discovery. He introduced the course reduction system, which reduced course loads for freshmen, sophomores, and seniors. This move went against a national trend at the time toward heavier course loads and increased specialization. Early in his tenure he revamped the School of Architecture curriculum and the Latin American Affairs Program. During a time of political unrest on campus following the United States' invasion of Cambodia, Dean Sullivan quelled parental fears about the University shutting its doors after 4,000 students, faculty, and staff endorsed an anti-war strike. In part to allow for political involvement, students were allowed to postpone completion of academic work at the end of the spring term.
From the early 1970s deans of the college have focused heavily on matters of teaching and curriculum. Neil Rudenstine (1972-1977) moved into the position after serving as dean of students and contending with the 1972 anti-war strike, and focused his interest on the interrelationship of social and intellectual pursuits of undergraduates. Rudenstine served as a member of the Commission on the Future of the College, a major study of the college which had been commissioned by President Robert Goheen in 1970 to review undergraduate education at Princeton.
Under Dean Joan Girgus (1977-1987) the use of computers and technology in the classroom rose, and curriculum became more interdisciplinary in nature. Among her other duties, Girgus served as Princeton's representative to the Ivy Policy Committee. As a member of the Faculty Committee on Examinations and Standing, Dean Nancy Weiss Malkiel (1987-present) has devoted much of her work to studying grading patterns at Princeton, with an eye to grade inflation. She has also worked to encourage students to broaden their intellectual pursuits and explore the offerings of Princeton's smaller academic departments. During Malkiel's tenure as dean, the Office of the Dean of the College has developed new core requirements, expanded the Freshman Seminar Program, and diversified the curriculum. Malkiel's administration has also focused on improving the teaching of science to non-majors and writing instruction for all undergraduates.
Deans of the College, Department, Tenure as Dean
Edward G. Elliott, politics, 1909-1912
Howard McClenahan, physics, 1912-1925
Christian Gauss, modern languages, 1925-1946
Francis R. B. Godolphin, classics, 1946-1955
Jeremiah S. Finch, English, 1955-1961
J. Merrill Knapp, music, 1961-1966
Edward D. Sullivan, French, 1966-1972
Neil L. Rudenstine, English, 1972-1977
Joan S. Girgus, psychology, 1977-1987
Nancy Weiss Malkiel, history, 1987-2011
Valerie A. Smith, English, 2011-2015
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The Dean of the College is Princeton University's third-oldest deanship. President Woodrow Wilson established the office in the spring of 1909 to oversee disciplinary and extra-curricular concerns. Today, the Dean of the College has administrative oversight of admission to the undergraduate college, the curriculum of the College, and the services and agencies designed to promote the academic development of undergraduates. The Dean of the College is also charged with the application and enforcement of the rules and standards relating to undergraduate scholarship, standing, and attendance in the University.
Over the years, deans of the college have presided over committees including the Faculty Committee on Examinations and Standing, the University Committee on Discipline, the Probation Board, the Committee on Non-Athletic Activities, the Faculty Committee on Athletic Eligibility, and the Program for Servicemen. The Dean of the College is ex-officio chair of the Faculty Committees on the Course of Study, Examinations and Standing, Continuing Education, and Undergraduate Admission and Financial Aid. The dean is an ex-officio member of the Council of the Princeton University Community, the Faculty Committees on Discipline, Public Lectures, Schedule, and Undergraduate Life, and sits with the Faculty Advisory Committee on Appointments and Advancements. Often, the Dean of the College is called upon to speak to alumni and student groups and at events outside of the University.
Edward G. Elliott, a professor of politics, served as the first Dean of the College, from 1909 until 1912. Howard McClenahan, who held the office until 1925, succeeded Elliott and was heavily involved in preparing the campus for World War I. McClenahan spent a significant portion of his tenure embroiled in a dispute after he declared several athletes ineligible. A group of alumni charged that the faculty was biased against athletes, and some called for McClenahan's resignation from the Intercollegiate Athletics board. In the face of calls for his resignation as dean, McClenahan maintained that Princeton must put academics first.
Christian Gauss, who had been one of Woodrow Wilson's original preceptors, served as Dean of the College from 1925 to 1946. Much admired for his sense of justice and fairness, Gauss became an almost legendary figure whom Howard Medina '09 called "perhaps the best-known and best-liked college dean in America." Gauss faced immense changes on campus after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, from the implementation of the Selective Service Act to an increase in withdrawals to students' requests for permission to marry. Gauss temporarily left office in 1943 to plan a post-war curriculum that, at President Dodds' urging, focused on maintaining Princeton's standards as a liberal arts school after many students switched to math and sciences during wartime. In addition to his efforts to meet the challenges wrought by World War II, Gauss, a great fan of athletics, garnered much favor during his tenure through his efforts to keep football at Princeton and his advocacy for the repeal of Prohibition.
Dean Francis Godolphin, a World War II veteran, took office in the postwar years (1946-1955). During a time of resurgence in campus activities and extreme overcrowding, the University administration was faced with the problem of providing housing for married veterans and their families. Godolphin in particular contended with, among other workload increases, a surge in correspondence with local draft boards and work with Selective Service issues. Godolphin also saw scholarship funds and employment opportunities under pressure and an increase in recommendations to graduate and professional schools. Amid the bustle of post-war adjustments, the Office of the Dean of Students was created to take on extra-curricular and social functions previously overseen by the Office of the Dean of the College. The Dean of the College still dealt with issues of discipline, and Godolphin came to the defense of the University Discipline Committee following a Daily Princetonian editorial that criticized suspensions as a form of punishment. Godolphin also defended University regulations when students protested a rule that barred women from dorms after 7 p.m., restrictions against cars on campus, and state liquor laws.
The latter half of the 1950s saw continued high enrollment and overcrowding everywhere on campus, but Dean Jeremiah Finch (1955-1961) used his time as dean to become more involved in classroom activities than his predecessors. He played a significant role in the development of the undergraduate program of study and focused on undergraduate advisors' evolving roles. Finch's efforts led to an expanded curricular focus on Russia and Asia, and the development of engineering science programs. He initiated reading periods, advanced placement, and early concentration, and increased the emphasis on independent work for upperclassmen. Finch also developed the Princeton Scholars program, a highly selective program in which a number of freshmen were offered exemption from all formal course requirements in their first year. During Finch's tenure students' interest in religious and political activities grew, as did the number of complaints from alumni, trustees and some outside of the University regarding the liberal nature of upper class club regulations. In response the dean ordered a cut in entertainment privileges, which caused controversy that evolved into an unprecedented demonstration against the administration.
J. Merrill Knapp (1961-1966) served as Dean of the College at a time of national concern over the college attrition rate, which Knapp addressed in several articles in national publications. He strengthened interdepartmental programs and created new opportunities in regional studies. He also made it possible for students to take one class per year on a pass/fail option. Knapp further developed the University Scholar Program and started the Experimental Research Scholar Program in the Department of Politics and the Woodrow Wilson School. He also formed the Cooperative Undergraduate Program for Critical Language and revised the Sociology Department curriculum.
Dean of the College Edward Sullivan (1966-1972) played a major role in initiating coeducation at Princeton. Sullivan sought to increase both variety and flexibility in the life of the undergraduate and encourage self-education and discovery. He introduced the course reduction system, which reduced course loads for freshmen, sophomores, and seniors. This move went against a national trend at the time toward heavier course loads and increased specialization. Early in his tenure he revamped the School of Architecture curriculum and the Latin American Affairs Program. During a time of political unrest on campus following the United States' invasion of Cambodia, Dean Sullivan quelled parental fears about the University shutting its doors after 4,000 students, faculty, and staff endorsed an anti-war strike. In part to allow for political involvement, students were allowed to postpone completion of academic work at the end of the spring term.
From the early 1970s deans of the college have focused heavily on matters of teaching and curriculum. Neil Rudenstine (1972-1977) moved into the position after serving as dean of students and contending with the 1972 anti-war strike, and focused his interest on the interrelationship of social and intellectual pursuits of undergraduates. Rudenstine served as a member of the Commission on the Future of the College, a major study of the college which had been commissioned by President Robert Goheen in 1970 to review undergraduate education at Princeton.
Under Dean Joan Girgus (1977-1987) the use of computers and technology in the classroom rose, and curriculum became more interdisciplinary in nature. Among her other duties, Girgus served as Princeton's representative to the Ivy Policy Committee. As a member of the Faculty Committee on Examinations and Standing, Dean Nancy Weiss Malkiel (1987-present) has devoted much of her work to studying grading patterns at Princeton, with an eye to grade inflation. She has also worked to encourage students to broaden their intellectual pursuits and explore the offerings of Princeton's smaller academic departments. During Malkiel's tenure as dean, the Office of the Dean of the College has developed new core requirements, expanded the Freshman Seminar Program, and diversified the curriculum. Malkiel's administration has also focused on improving the teaching of science to non-majors and writing instruction for all undergraduates.
Deans of the College, Department, Tenure as Dean
Edward G. Elliott, politics, 1909-1912
Howard McClenahan, physics, 1912-1925
Christian Gauss, modern languages, 1925-1946
Francis R. B. Godolphin, classics, 1946-1955
Jeremiah S. Finch, English, 1955-1961
J. Merrill Knapp, music, 1961-1966
Edward D. Sullivan, French, 1966-1972
Neil L. Rudenstine, English, 1972-1977
Joan S. Girgus, psychology, 1977-1987
Nancy Weiss Malkiel, history, 1987-2011
Valerie A. Smith, English, 2011-2015
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Since its incorporation in 1746, the College of New Jersey (renamed Princeton University in 1896) has been governed by a Board of Trustees, headed ex officio by the Governor of New Jersey and the president of the college. The Trustees are responsible for the overarching policies that guide the trajectory of the university. Traditionally, committees of Trustees have concerned themselves with the major aspects of maintaining and running a university: finance, infrastructure, staff, curriculum, and student life.
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The Dean of the College is Princeton University's third-oldest deanship. President Woodrow Wilson established the office in the spring of 1909 to oversee disciplinary and extra-curricular concerns. Today, the Dean of the College has administrative oversight of admission to the undergraduate college, the curriculum of the College, and the services and agencies designed to promote the academic development of undergraduates. The Dean of the College is also charged with the application and enforcement of the rules and standards relating to undergraduate scholarship, standing, and attendance in the University.
Over the years, deans of the college have presided over committees including the Faculty Committee on Examinations and Standing, the University Committee on Discipline, the Probation Board, the Committee on Non-Athletic Activities, the Faculty Committee on Athletic Eligibility, and the Program for Servicemen. The Dean of the College is ex-officio chair of the Faculty Committees on the Course of Study, Examinations and Standing, Continuing Education, and Undergraduate Admission and Financial Aid. The dean is an ex-officio member of the Council of the Princeton University Community, the Faculty Committees on Discipline, Public Lectures, Schedule, and Undergraduate Life, and sits with the Faculty Advisory Committee on Appointments and Advancements. Often, the Dean of the College is called upon to speak to alumni and student groups and at events outside of the University.
Edward G. Elliott, a professor of politics, served as the first Dean of the College, from 1909 until 1912. Howard McClenahan, who held the office until 1925, succeeded Elliott and was heavily involved in preparing the campus for World War I. McClenahan spent a significant portion of his tenure embroiled in a dispute after he declared several athletes ineligible. A group of alumni charged that the faculty was biased against athletes, and some called for McClenahan's resignation from the Intercollegiate Athletics board. In the face of calls for his resignation as dean, McClenahan maintained that Princeton must put academics first.
Christian Gauss, who had been one of Woodrow Wilson's original preceptors, served as Dean of the College from 1925 to 1946. Much admired for his sense of justice and fairness, Gauss became an almost legendary figure whom Howard Medina '09 called "perhaps the best-known and best-liked college dean in America." Gauss faced immense changes on campus after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, from the implementation of the Selective Service Act to an increase in withdrawals to students' requests for permission to marry. Gauss temporarily left office in 1943 to plan a post-war curriculum that, at President Dodds' urging, focused on maintaining Princeton's standards as a liberal arts school after many students switched to math and sciences during wartime. In addition to his efforts to meet the challenges wrought by World War II, Gauss, a great fan of athletics, garnered much favor during his tenure through his efforts to keep football at Princeton and his advocacy for the repeal of Prohibition.
Dean Francis Godolphin, a World War II veteran, took office in the postwar years (1946-1955). During a time of resurgence in campus activities and extreme overcrowding, the University administration was faced with the problem of providing housing for married veterans and their families. Godolphin in particular contended with, among other workload increases, a surge in correspondence with local draft boards and work with Selective Service issues. Godolphin also saw scholarship funds and employment opportunities under pressure and an increase in recommendations to graduate and professional schools. Amid the bustle of post-war adjustments, the Office of the Dean of Students was created to take on extra-curricular and social functions previously overseen by the Office of the Dean of the College. The Dean of the College still dealt with issues of discipline, and Godolphin came to the defense of the University Discipline Committee following a Daily Princetonian editorial that criticized suspensions as a form of punishment. Godolphin also defended University regulations when students protested a rule that barred women from dorms after 7 p.m., restrictions against cars on campus, and state liquor laws.
The latter half of the 1950s saw continued high enrollment and overcrowding everywhere on campus, but Dean Jeremiah Finch (1955-1961) used his time as dean to become more involved in classroom activities than his predecessors. He played a significant role in the development of the undergraduate program of study and focused on undergraduate advisors' evolving roles. Finch's efforts led to an expanded curricular focus on Russia and Asia, and the development of engineering science programs. He initiated reading periods, advanced placement, and early concentration, and increased the emphasis on independent work for upperclassmen. Finch also developed the Princeton Scholars program, a highly selective program in which a number of freshmen were offered exemption from all formal course requirements in their first year. During Finch's tenure students' interest in religious and political activities grew, as did the number of complaints from alumni, trustees and some outside of the University regarding the liberal nature of upper class club regulations. In response the dean ordered a cut in entertainment privileges, which caused controversy that evolved into an unprecedented demonstration against the administration.
J. Merrill Knapp (1961-1966) served as Dean of the College at a time of national concern over the college attrition rate, which Knapp addressed in several articles in national publications. He strengthened interdepartmental programs and created new opportunities in regional studies. He also made it possible for students to take one class per year on a pass/fail option. Knapp further developed the University Scholar Program and started the Experimental Research Scholar Program in the Department of Politics and the Woodrow Wilson School. He also formed the Cooperative Undergraduate Program for Critical Language and revised the Sociology Department curriculum.
Dean of the College Edward Sullivan (1966-1972) played a major role in initiating coeducation at Princeton. Sullivan sought to increase both variety and flexibility in the life of the undergraduate and encourage self-education and discovery. He introduced the course reduction system, which reduced course loads for freshmen, sophomores, and seniors. This move went against a national trend at the time toward heavier course loads and increased specialization. Early in his tenure he revamped the School of Architecture curriculum and the Latin American Affairs Program. During a time of political unrest on campus following the United States' invasion of Cambodia, Dean Sullivan quelled parental fears about the University shutting its doors after 4,000 students, faculty, and staff endorsed an anti-war strike. In part to allow for political involvement, students were allowed to postpone completion of academic work at the end of the spring term.
From the early 1970s deans of the college have focused heavily on matters of teaching and curriculum. Neil Rudenstine (1972-1977) moved into the position after serving as dean of students and contending with the 1972 anti-war strike, and focused his interest on the interrelationship of social and intellectual pursuits of undergraduates. Rudenstine served as a member of the Commission on the Future of the College, a major study of the college which had been commissioned by President Robert Goheen in 1970 to review undergraduate education at Princeton.
Under Dean Joan Girgus (1977-1987) the use of computers and technology in the classroom rose, and curriculum became more interdisciplinary in nature. Among her other duties, Girgus served as Princeton's representative to the Ivy Policy Committee. As a member of the Faculty Committee on Examinations and Standing, Dean Nancy Weiss Malkiel (1987-present) has devoted much of her work to studying grading patterns at Princeton, with an eye to grade inflation. She has also worked to encourage students to broaden their intellectual pursuits and explore the offerings of Princeton's smaller academic departments. During Malkiel's tenure as dean, the Office of the Dean of the College has developed new core requirements, expanded the Freshman Seminar Program, and diversified the curriculum. Malkiel's administration has also focused on improving the teaching of science to non-majors and writing instruction for all undergraduates.
Deans of the College, Department, Tenure as Dean
Edward G. Elliott, politics, 1909-1912
Howard McClenahan, physics, 1912-1925
Christian Gauss, modern languages, 1925-1946
Francis R. B. Godolphin, classics, 1946-1955
Jeremiah S. Finch, English, 1955-1961
J. Merrill Knapp, music, 1961-1966
Edward D. Sullivan, French, 1966-1972
Neil L. Rudenstine, English, 1972-1977
Joan S. Girgus, psychology, 1977-1987
Nancy Weiss Malkiel, history, 1987-2011
Valerie A. Smith, English, 2011-2015
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The Dean of the College is Princeton University's third-oldest deanship. President Woodrow Wilson established the office in the spring of 1909 to oversee disciplinary and extra-curricular concerns. Today, the Dean of the College has administrative oversight of admission to the undergraduate college, the curriculum of the College, and the services and agencies designed to promote the academic development of undergraduates. The Dean of the College is also charged with the application and enforcement of the rules and standards relating to undergraduate scholarship, standing, and attendance in the University.
Over the years, deans of the college have presided over committees including the Faculty Committee on Examinations and Standing, the University Committee on Discipline, the Probation Board, the Committee on Non-Athletic Activities, the Faculty Committee on Athletic Eligibility, and the Program for Servicemen. The Dean of the College is ex-officio chair of the Faculty Committees on the Course of Study, Examinations and Standing, Continuing Education, and Undergraduate Admission and Financial Aid. The dean is an ex-officio member of the Council of the Princeton University Community, the Faculty Committees on Discipline, Public Lectures, Schedule, and Undergraduate Life, and sits with the Faculty Advisory Committee on Appointments and Advancements. Often, the Dean of the College is called upon to speak to alumni and student groups and at events outside of the University.
Edward G. Elliott, a professor of politics, served as the first Dean of the College, from 1909 until 1912. Howard McClenahan, who held the office until 1925, succeeded Elliott and was heavily involved in preparing the campus for World War I. McClenahan spent a significant portion of his tenure embroiled in a dispute after he declared several athletes ineligible. A group of alumni charged that the faculty was biased against athletes, and some called for McClenahan's resignation from the Intercollegiate Athletics board. In the face of calls for his resignation as dean, McClenahan maintained that Princeton must put academics first.
Christian Gauss, who had been one of Woodrow Wilson's original preceptors, served as Dean of the College from 1925 to 1946. Much admired for his sense of justice and fairness, Gauss became an almost legendary figure whom Howard Medina '09 called "perhaps the best-known and best-liked college dean in America." Gauss faced immense changes on campus after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, from the implementation of the Selective Service Act to an increase in withdrawals to students' requests for permission to marry. Gauss temporarily left office in 1943 to plan a post-war curriculum that, at President Dodds' urging, focused on maintaining Princeton's standards as a liberal arts school after many students switched to math and sciences during wartime. In addition to his efforts to meet the challenges wrought by World War II, Gauss, a great fan of athletics, garnered much favor during his tenure through his efforts to keep football at Princeton and his advocacy for the repeal of Prohibition.
Dean Francis Godolphin, a World War II veteran, took office in the postwar years (1946-1955). During a time of resurgence in campus activities and extreme overcrowding, the University administration was faced with the problem of providing housing for married veterans and their families. Godolphin in particular contended with, among other workload increases, a surge in correspondence with local draft boards and work with Selective Service issues. Godolphin also saw scholarship funds and employment opportunities under pressure and an increase in recommendations to graduate and professional schools. Amid the bustle of post-war adjustments, the Office of the Dean of Students was created to take on extra-curricular and social functions previously overseen by the Office of the Dean of the College. The Dean of the College still dealt with issues of discipline, and Godolphin came to the defense of the University Discipline Committee following a Daily Princetonian editorial that criticized suspensions as a form of punishment. Godolphin also defended University regulations when students protested a rule that barred women from dorms after 7 p.m., restrictions against cars on campus, and state liquor laws.
The latter half of the 1950s saw continued high enrollment and overcrowding everywhere on campus, but Dean Jeremiah Finch (1955-1961) used his time as dean to become more involved in classroom activities than his predecessors. He played a significant role in the development of the undergraduate program of study and focused on undergraduate advisors' evolving roles. Finch's efforts led to an expanded curricular focus on Russia and Asia, and the development of engineering science programs. He initiated reading periods, advanced placement, and early concentration, and increased the emphasis on independent work for upperclassmen. Finch also developed the Princeton Scholars program, a highly selective program in which a number of freshmen were offered exemption from all formal course requirements in their first year. During Finch's tenure students' interest in religious and political activities grew, as did the number of complaints from alumni, trustees and some outside of the University regarding the liberal nature of upper class club regulations. In response the dean ordered a cut in entertainment privileges, which caused controversy that evolved into an unprecedented demonstration against the administration.
J. Merrill Knapp (1961-1966) served as Dean of the College at a time of national concern over the college attrition rate, which Knapp addressed in several articles in national publications. He strengthened interdepartmental programs and created new opportunities in regional studies. He also made it possible for students to take one class per year on a pass/fail option. Knapp further developed the University Scholar Program and started the Experimental Research Scholar Program in the Department of Politics and the Woodrow Wilson School. He also formed the Cooperative Undergraduate Program for Critical Language and revised the Sociology Department curriculum.
Dean of the College Edward Sullivan (1966-1972) played a major role in initiating coeducation at Princeton. Sullivan sought to increase both variety and flexibility in the life of the undergraduate and encourage self-education and discovery. He introduced the course reduction system, which reduced course loads for freshmen, sophomores, and seniors. This move went against a national trend at the time toward heavier course loads and increased specialization. Early in his tenure he revamped the School of Architecture curriculum and the Latin American Affairs Program. During a time of political unrest on campus following the United States' invasion of Cambodia, Dean Sullivan quelled parental fears about the University shutting its doors after 4,000 students, faculty, and staff endorsed an anti-war strike. In part to allow for political involvement, students were allowed to postpone completion of academic work at the end of the spring term.
From the early 1970s deans of the college have focused heavily on matters of teaching and curriculum. Neil Rudenstine (1972-1977) moved into the position after serving as dean of students and contending with the 1972 anti-war strike, and focused his interest on the interrelationship of social and intellectual pursuits of undergraduates. Rudenstine served as a member of the Commission on the Future of the College, a major study of the college which had been commissioned by President Robert Goheen in 1970 to review undergraduate education at Princeton.
Under Dean Joan Girgus (1977-1987) the use of computers and technology in the classroom rose, and curriculum became more interdisciplinary in nature. Among her other duties, Girgus served as Princeton's representative to the Ivy Policy Committee. As a member of the Faculty Committee on Examinations and Standing, Dean Nancy Weiss Malkiel (1987-present) has devoted much of her work to studying grading patterns at Princeton, with an eye to grade inflation. She has also worked to encourage students to broaden their intellectual pursuits and explore the offerings of Princeton's smaller academic departments. During Malkiel's tenure as dean, the Office of the Dean of the College has developed new core requirements, expanded the Freshman Seminar Program, and diversified the curriculum. Malkiel's administration has also focused on improving the teaching of science to non-majors and writing instruction for all undergraduates.
Deans of the College, Department, Tenure as Dean
Edward G. Elliott, politics, 1909-1912
Howard McClenahan, physics, 1912-1925
Christian Gauss, modern languages, 1925-1946
Francis R. B. Godolphin, classics, 1946-1955
Jeremiah S. Finch, English, 1955-1961
J. Merrill Knapp, music, 1961-1966
Edward D. Sullivan, French, 1966-1972
Neil L. Rudenstine, English, 1972-1977
Joan S. Girgus, psychology, 1977-1987
Nancy Weiss Malkiel, history, 1987-2011
Valerie A. Smith, English, 2011-2015
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"Princeton has developed so much in recent years," read the statement in the 27 October 1900 edition of the Princeton Alumni Weekly, "that, like many other American institutions of learning, a University Secretary is now required." This announcement reflected the administrative changes that had been deemed necessary to better manage the daily affairs of a rapidly expanding and developing institution. To date, six individuals have served as secretary: Charles McAlpin (1901-1917), Varnum Lansing Collins (1917-1936), Alexander Leitch (1936-1966), Jeremiah Finch (1966-1974), Thomas Wright, (1974-2004), and Robert K. Durkee (2004–). The secretary has charge of general correspondence of the University and is responsible for arranging Commencement and other convocations.
With the assistance of the registrar, the secretary is responsible for the preparation, and has custody of, all diplomas. In addition, the secretary has the custody of the University seal and affixes it to any documents requiring the signature of the secretary as an officer of the Corporation. The secretary also assists the clerk of the Board of Trustees in the performance of the clerk's duties and, in the absence or disability of the clerk, performs such duties of the clerk as the Board or the president may designate. The secretary also serves as the senior adviser to the president and oversees the official convocations of the University such as Commencement. The office also has administrative responsibility for the Council of the Princeton University Community.
Charles McAlpin, Princeton's first secretary, was a member of an old Mahopac, New York family connected prominently with the industrial and social development of New York City at the turn of the twentieth century. When he graduated from the prestigious Exeter Academy in 1884, McAlpin joined Princeton's class of 1888. As an undergraduate he was a member of the Ivy Club, joined the baseball team in his junior year, and was president of the Dramatic Association during his senior year. Throughout his life he continued his affiliation with Princeton affairs, serving as chair of class committees and, most notably, as University secretary from 1901-1917. Elected unanimously by the Board of Trustees to the post on 13 December 1900 for a yearly salary of $2,500, the Princeton Alumni Weekly noted that the job of secretary was to "coordinate the various departments, keep in touch with the outside world, and many other things which modern life and the modern methods of higher education require." In the same year, McAlpin received an honorary A.M. from Princeton. After his retirement in 1917, McAlpin devoted most of his time to charities, serving as trustee and director of many philanthropic institutions. In an alumni survey he noted that his favorite pastime was "collecting engraved portraits of Washington," and at the time of his death in 1942 he had amassed one of the best-known and most complete series of Washington prints and engravings in the country.
Princeton's next secretary, Varnum Lansing Collins, would leave an indelible mark not only on the office itself, but also on the way the history of the University was preserved. Born in Hong Kong, Collins obtained his education in Paris and London before coming to Princeton as a member of the class of 1892. As an undergraduate, he was editor of The Nassau Literary Magazine, president of the Cliosophic Society, leader of the Glee Club, and a member of the Triangle Club. After receiving an Honorary A.M. from Princeton in 1895, Collins worked in the University Library as a reference librarian until he joined the faculty of the Department of Modern Languages in 1906. He was made full professor six years later and assumed the position of clerk of the faculty—a position he held until 1935. Collins also served as the secretary of the Graduate Council from 1917 until 1927 and was an instrumental figure during the years that the Council successfully conducted its $2,000,000 campaign for faculty salaries. In 1917 he became University secretary and served in this pivotal role for nineteen years. When ill health forced Collins to retire in 1936, the Board accepted his resignation "with regret" and named him Historiographer to Princeton University. Collins had long been recognized as the foremost authority on Princeton history, and authored a number of books on the subject, notably a biography of President John Witherspoon, a history of Princeton, and a guide to the town and the University. His love and knowledge of Princeton led to the grassroots development of the University Archives. Named editor of the General Catalogue/Biographical Catalogue in 1906, he compiled files on alumni and on possible, doubtful, and fraudulent "alumni" that have been gold mines for researchers ever since. As secretary he began what is now known as the Historical Subject File (HSF), an enormously valuable (and still growing) cache of Princeton history, lore, and trivia.
Filling Collins's shoes was not an easy prospect, and the Board passed the baton of service to Alexander Leitch. As a Princeton undergraduate, Leitch was a member of the lacrosse squad, a member of the Terrace Club, and served on the staff of The Daily Princetonian for three years. Leitch enjoyed a long period of service to Princeton that began immediately after graduation in 1924. He served for one year as the director of the Bureau of Student Appointments and Student Employment, before being appointed director of the newly created Department of Public Information. He became one of the right-hand men of University President John G. Hibben, and in 1928 was appointed assistant to the president, a post he continued to hold under Edward Duffield, acting president in 1932-33, and President Harold Dodds. As secretary he oversaw a wide range of administrative responsibilities, including supervising official correspondence and publications, providing essential services for the University's Board of Trustees, and arranging Commencements and special convocations. The staging of the dedication of the Woodrow Wilson School building, at which President Lyndon B. Johnson spoke, topped off his final year at Princeton. Upon his retirement at age 65, Leitch began working on what would become A Princeton Companion, an assemblage of 400 alphabetically arranged articles on Princeton life and tradition. Of the work, Leitch remarked that while "older people sometimes write their memoirs to analyze the past and philosophize about it," he was writing not his own memoir, but Princeton's. "Writing them has been a good way of enriching myself because I'm borrowing from a great institution."
Princeton's fourth secretary was not an alumnus, but he had strong ties to the University. Jeremiah Finch, who graduated from Cornell with a B.A. in 1931 and a Ph.D. in 1936, had been a member of Princeton's faculty in the Department of English since 1936 and had held the office of Dean of the College from 1955 until 1961. As Dean, Finch was responsible for undergraduate programs of study as well as the administration of various services and offices concerned with the academic development of undergraduates. Finch was a former chair of both the Committee on Examinations and Standing and the University Council on Athletics. As executive secretary of the Princeton Program for Servicemen, Finch was also very involved with the readjustment to university life of more than 1000 undergraduates whose studies had been interrupted by war service. As University secretary, Finch became one of the six officers of the Corporation, and had oversight over all publications and the general correspondence of the University.
Thomas H. Wright succeeded Finch as secretary in 1974. Wright, who majored in the Special Program in the Humanities, received his A.B. from Princeton in 1962, magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. After a year at Cambridge University as a Keasbey Scholar, he attended Harvard Law School and then went into private practice with the Washington, D.C., law firm of Covington and Burling. He then served for three years as assistant general counsel to the Ford Foundation in New York before joining the Princeton administration as General Counsel in 1972. In 1990, after serving as both secretary and general counsel, he gave up the responsibilities of the latter and was promoted to the position of vice president and secretary. In this capacity he served as a senior adviser to the president, provided administrative support for the Board of Trustees, and oversaw the official convocations of the University such as Commencement. His office also had administrative responsibility for the Council of the Princeton University Community. In addition, Wright also has supervised the offices of the general counsel and the vice president for campus life. The Board of Trustees designated Wright as vice president and secretary emeritus upon his retirement.
Robert K. Durkee, Princeton University's vice president for public affairs, succeeded Wright in the office of vice president and secretary in 2004. Durkee, a member of Princeton's class of 1969, joined the University administration in the spring of 1972 as assistant to the president and, after a year on leave to serve as executive assistant to the president of the Washington, D.C.-based Association of American Universities, was appointed vice president for public affairs in 1978. In this capacity he oversaw the offices of the Alumni Association, Communications, Community and Regional Affairs, Government Affairs, and Public Affairs. Durkee has served as a close adviser to Princeton presidents William G. Bowen, Harold Shapiro, Shirley Tilghman, and Christopher L. Eisgruber. He also has served on and staffed several trustee committees and has worked closely with the Board for more than 30 years.
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"Princeton has developed so much in recent years," read the statement in the 27 October 1900 edition of the Princeton Alumni Weekly, "that, like many other American institutions of learning, a University Secretary is now required." This announcement reflected the administrative changes that had been deemed necessary to better manage the daily affairs of a rapidly expanding and developing institution. To date, six individuals have served as secretary: Charles McAlpin (1901-1917), Varnum Lansing Collins (1917-1936), Alexander Leitch (1936-1966), Jeremiah Finch (1966-1974), Thomas Wright, (1974-2004), and Robert K. Durkee (2004–). The secretary has charge of general correspondence of the University and is responsible for arranging Commencement and other convocations.
With the assistance of the registrar, the secretary is responsible for the preparation, and has custody of, all diplomas. In addition, the secretary has the custody of the University seal and affixes it to any documents requiring the signature of the secretary as an officer of the Corporation. The secretary also assists the clerk of the Board of Trustees in the performance of the clerk's duties and, in the absence or disability of the clerk, performs such duties of the clerk as the Board or the president may designate. The secretary also serves as the senior adviser to the president and oversees the official convocations of the University such as Commencement. The office also has administrative responsibility for the Council of the Princeton University Community.
Charles McAlpin, Princeton's first secretary, was a member of an old Mahopac, New York family connected prominently with the industrial and social development of New York City at the turn of the twentieth century. When he graduated from the prestigious Exeter Academy in 1884, McAlpin joined Princeton's class of 1888. As an undergraduate he was a member of the Ivy Club, joined the baseball team in his junior year, and was president of the Dramatic Association during his senior year. Throughout his life he continued his affiliation with Princeton affairs, serving as chair of class committees and, most notably, as University secretary from 1901-1917. Elected unanimously by the Board of Trustees to the post on 13 December 1900 for a yearly salary of $2,500, the Princeton Alumni Weekly noted that the job of secretary was to "coordinate the various departments, keep in touch with the outside world, and many other things which modern life and the modern methods of higher education require." In the same year, McAlpin received an honorary A.M. from Princeton. After his retirement in 1917, McAlpin devoted most of his time to charities, serving as trustee and director of many philanthropic institutions. In an alumni survey he noted that his favorite pastime was "collecting engraved portraits of Washington," and at the time of his death in 1942 he had amassed one of the best-known and most complete series of Washington prints and engravings in the country.
Princeton's next secretary, Varnum Lansing Collins, would leave an indelible mark not only on the office itself, but also on the way the history of the University was preserved. Born in Hong Kong, Collins obtained his education in Paris and London before coming to Princeton as a member of the class of 1892. As an undergraduate, he was editor of The Nassau Literary Magazine, president of the Cliosophic Society, leader of the Glee Club, and a member of the Triangle Club. After receiving an Honorary A.M. from Princeton in 1895, Collins worked in the University Library as a reference librarian until he joined the faculty of the Department of Modern Languages in 1906. He was made full professor six years later and assumed the position of clerk of the faculty—a position he held until 1935. Collins also served as the secretary of the Graduate Council from 1917 until 1927 and was an instrumental figure during the years that the Council successfully conducted its $2,000,000 campaign for faculty salaries. In 1917 he became University secretary and served in this pivotal role for nineteen years. When ill health forced Collins to retire in 1936, the Board accepted his resignation "with regret" and named him Historiographer to Princeton University. Collins had long been recognized as the foremost authority on Princeton history, and authored a number of books on the subject, notably a biography of President John Witherspoon, a history of Princeton, and a guide to the town and the University. His love and knowledge of Princeton led to the grassroots development of the University Archives. Named editor of the General Catalogue/Biographical Catalogue in 1906, he compiled files on alumni and on possible, doubtful, and fraudulent "alumni" that have been gold mines for researchers ever since. As secretary he began what is now known as the Historical Subject File (HSF), an enormously valuable (and still growing) cache of Princeton history, lore, and trivia.
Filling Collins's shoes was not an easy prospect, and the Board passed the baton of service to Alexander Leitch. As a Princeton undergraduate, Leitch was a member of the lacrosse squad, a member of the Terrace Club, and served on the staff of The Daily Princetonian for three years. Leitch enjoyed a long period of service to Princeton that began immediately after graduation in 1924. He served for one year as the director of the Bureau of Student Appointments and Student Employment, before being appointed director of the newly created Department of Public Information. He became one of the right-hand men of University President John G. Hibben, and in 1928 was appointed assistant to the president, a post he continued to hold under Edward Duffield, acting president in 1932-33, and President Harold Dodds. As secretary he oversaw a wide range of administrative responsibilities, including supervising official correspondence and publications, providing essential services for the University's Board of Trustees, and arranging Commencements and special convocations. The staging of the dedication of the Woodrow Wilson School building, at which President Lyndon B. Johnson spoke, topped off his final year at Princeton. Upon his retirement at age 65, Leitch began working on what would become A Princeton Companion, an assemblage of 400 alphabetically arranged articles on Princeton life and tradition. Of the work, Leitch remarked that while "older people sometimes write their memoirs to analyze the past and philosophize about it," he was writing not his own memoir, but Princeton's. "Writing them has been a good way of enriching myself because I'm borrowing from a great institution."
Princeton's fourth secretary was not an alumnus, but he had strong ties to the University. Jeremiah Finch, who graduated from Cornell with a B.A. in 1931 and a Ph.D. in 1936, had been a member of Princeton's faculty in the Department of English since 1936 and had held the office of Dean of the College from 1955 until 1961. As Dean, Finch was responsible for undergraduate programs of study as well as the administration of various services and offices concerned with the academic development of undergraduates. Finch was a former chair of both the Committee on Examinations and Standing and the University Council on Athletics. As executive secretary of the Princeton Program for Servicemen, Finch was also very involved with the readjustment to university life of more than 1000 undergraduates whose studies had been interrupted by war service. As University secretary, Finch became one of the six officers of the Corporation, and had oversight over all publications and the general correspondence of the University.
Thomas H. Wright succeeded Finch as secretary in 1974. Wright, who majored in the Special Program in the Humanities, received his A.B. from Princeton in 1962, magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. After a year at Cambridge University as a Keasbey Scholar, he attended Harvard Law School and then went into private practice with the Washington, D.C., law firm of Covington and Burling. He then served for three years as assistant general counsel to the Ford Foundation in New York before joining the Princeton administration as General Counsel in 1972. In 1990, after serving as both secretary and general counsel, he gave up the responsibilities of the latter and was promoted to the position of vice president and secretary. In this capacity he served as a senior adviser to the president, provided administrative support for the Board of Trustees, and oversaw the official convocations of the University such as Commencement. His office also had administrative responsibility for the Council of the Princeton University Community. In addition, Wright also has supervised the offices of the general counsel and the vice president for campus life. The Board of Trustees designated Wright as vice president and secretary emeritus upon his retirement.
Robert K. Durkee, Princeton University's vice president for public affairs, succeeded Wright in the office of vice president and secretary in 2004. Durkee, a member of Princeton's class of 1969, joined the University administration in the spring of 1972 as assistant to the president and, after a year on leave to serve as executive assistant to the president of the Washington, D.C.-based Association of American Universities, was appointed vice president for public affairs in 1978. In this capacity he oversaw the offices of the Alumni Association, Communications, Community and Regional Affairs, Government Affairs, and Public Affairs. Durkee has served as a close adviser to Princeton presidents William G. Bowen, Harold Shapiro, Shirley Tilghman, and Christopher L. Eisgruber. He also has served on and staffed several trustee committees and has worked closely with the Board for more than 30 years.
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"Princeton has developed so much in recent years," read the statement in the 27 October 1900 edition of the Princeton Alumni Weekly, "that, like many other American institutions of learning, a University Secretary is now required." This announcement reflected the administrative changes that had been deemed necessary to better manage the daily affairs of a rapidly expanding and developing institution. To date, six individuals have served as secretary: Charles McAlpin (1901-1917), Varnum Lansing Collins (1917-1936), Alexander Leitch (1936-1966), Jeremiah Finch (1966-1974), Thomas Wright, (1974-2004), and Robert K. Durkee (2004–). The secretary has charge of general correspondence of the University and is responsible for arranging Commencement and other convocations.
With the assistance of the registrar, the secretary is responsible for the preparation, and has custody of, all diplomas. In addition, the secretary has the custody of the University seal and affixes it to any documents requiring the signature of the secretary as an officer of the Corporation. The secretary also assists the clerk of the Board of Trustees in the performance of the clerk's duties and, in the absence or disability of the clerk, performs such duties of the clerk as the Board or the president may designate. The secretary also serves as the senior adviser to the president and oversees the official convocations of the University such as Commencement. The office also has administrative responsibility for the Council of the Princeton University Community.
Charles McAlpin, Princeton's first secretary, was a member of an old Mahopac, New York family connected prominently with the industrial and social development of New York City at the turn of the twentieth century. When he graduated from the prestigious Exeter Academy in 1884, McAlpin joined Princeton's class of 1888. As an undergraduate he was a member of the Ivy Club, joined the baseball team in his junior year, and was president of the Dramatic Association during his senior year. Throughout his life he continued his affiliation with Princeton affairs, serving as chair of class committees and, most notably, as University secretary from 1901-1917. Elected unanimously by the Board of Trustees to the post on 13 December 1900 for a yearly salary of $2,500, the Princeton Alumni Weekly noted that the job of secretary was to "coordinate the various departments, keep in touch with the outside world, and many other things which modern life and the modern methods of higher education require." In the same year, McAlpin received an honorary A.M. from Princeton. After his retirement in 1917, McAlpin devoted most of his time to charities, serving as trustee and director of many philanthropic institutions. In an alumni survey he noted that his favorite pastime was "collecting engraved portraits of Washington," and at the time of his death in 1942 he had amassed one of the best-known and most complete series of Washington prints and engravings in the country.
Princeton's next secretary, Varnum Lansing Collins, would leave an indelible mark not only on the office itself, but also on the way the history of the University was preserved. Born in Hong Kong, Collins obtained his education in Paris and London before coming to Princeton as a member of the class of 1892. As an undergraduate, he was editor of The Nassau Literary Magazine, president of the Cliosophic Society, leader of the Glee Club, and a member of the Triangle Club. After receiving an Honorary A.M. from Princeton in 1895, Collins worked in the University Library as a reference librarian until he joined the faculty of the Department of Modern Languages in 1906. He was made full professor six years later and assumed the position of clerk of the faculty—a position he held until 1935. Collins also served as the secretary of the Graduate Council from 1917 until 1927 and was an instrumental figure during the years that the Council successfully conducted its $2,000,000 campaign for faculty salaries. In 1917 he became University secretary and served in this pivotal role for nineteen years. When ill health forced Collins to retire in 1936, the Board accepted his resignation "with regret" and named him Historiographer to Princeton University. Collins had long been recognized as the foremost authority on Princeton history, and authored a number of books on the subject, notably a biography of President John Witherspoon, a history of Princeton, and a guide to the town and the University. His love and knowledge of Princeton led to the grassroots development of the University Archives. Named editor of the General Catalogue/Biographical Catalogue in 1906, he compiled files on alumni and on possible, doubtful, and fraudulent "alumni" that have been gold mines for researchers ever since. As secretary he began what is now known as the Historical Subject File (HSF), an enormously valuable (and still growing) cache of Princeton history, lore, and trivia.
Filling Collins's shoes was not an easy prospect, and the Board passed the baton of service to Alexander Leitch. As a Princeton undergraduate, Leitch was a member of the lacrosse squad, a member of the Terrace Club, and served on the staff of The Daily Princetonian for three years. Leitch enjoyed a long period of service to Princeton that began immediately after graduation in 1924. He served for one year as the director of the Bureau of Student Appointments and Student Employment, before being appointed director of the newly created Department of Public Information. He became one of the right-hand men of University President John G. Hibben, and in 1928 was appointed assistant to the president, a post he continued to hold under Edward Duffield, acting president in 1932-33, and President Harold Dodds. As secretary he oversaw a wide range of administrative responsibilities, including supervising official correspondence and publications, providing essential services for the University's Board of Trustees, and arranging Commencements and special convocations. The staging of the dedication of the Woodrow Wilson School building, at which President Lyndon B. Johnson spoke, topped off his final year at Princeton. Upon his retirement at age 65, Leitch began working on what would become A Princeton Companion, an assemblage of 400 alphabetically arranged articles on Princeton life and tradition. Of the work, Leitch remarked that while "older people sometimes write their memoirs to analyze the past and philosophize about it," he was writing not his own memoir, but Princeton's. "Writing them has been a good way of enriching myself because I'm borrowing from a great institution."
Princeton's fourth secretary was not an alumnus, but he had strong ties to the University. Jeremiah Finch, who graduated from Cornell with a B.A. in 1931 and a Ph.D. in 1936, had been a member of Princeton's faculty in the Department of English since 1936 and had held the office of Dean of the College from 1955 until 1961. As Dean, Finch was responsible for undergraduate programs of study as well as the administration of various services and offices concerned with the academic development of undergraduates. Finch was a former chair of both the Committee on Examinations and Standing and the University Council on Athletics. As executive secretary of the Princeton Program for Servicemen, Finch was also very involved with the readjustment to university life of more than 1000 undergraduates whose studies had been interrupted by war service. As University secretary, Finch became one of the six officers of the Corporation, and had oversight over all publications and the general correspondence of the University.
Thomas H. Wright succeeded Finch as secretary in 1974. Wright, who majored in the Special Program in the Humanities, received his A.B. from Princeton in 1962, magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. After a year at Cambridge University as a Keasbey Scholar, he attended Harvard Law School and then went into private practice with the Washington, D.C., law firm of Covington and Burling. He then served for three years as assistant general counsel to the Ford Foundation in New York before joining the Princeton administration as General Counsel in 1972. In 1990, after serving as both secretary and general counsel, he gave up the responsibilities of the latter and was promoted to the position of vice president and secretary. In this capacity he served as a senior adviser to the president, provided administrative support for the Board of Trustees, and oversaw the official convocations of the University such as Commencement. His office also had administrative responsibility for the Council of the Princeton University Community. In addition, Wright also has supervised the offices of the general counsel and the vice president for campus life. The Board of Trustees designated Wright as vice president and secretary emeritus upon his retirement.
Robert K. Durkee, Princeton University's vice president for public affairs, succeeded Wright in the office of vice president and secretary in 2004. Durkee, a member of Princeton's class of 1969, joined the University administration in the spring of 1972 as assistant to the president and, after a year on leave to serve as executive assistant to the president of the Washington, D.C.-based Association of American Universities, was appointed vice president for public affairs in 1978. In this capacity he oversaw the offices of the Alumni Association, Communications, Community and Regional Affairs, Government Affairs, and Public Affairs. Durkee has served as a close adviser to Princeton presidents William G. Bowen, Harold Shapiro, Shirley Tilghman, and Christopher L. Eisgruber. He also has served on and staffed several trustee committees and has worked closely with the Board for more than 30 years.
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The U.S. Department of Energy Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) is a Collaborative National Center for plasma and fusion science. Its primary mission is to develop the scientific understanding and the key innovations which will lead to a new fusion energy source.
Magnetic fusion research at Princeton began in 1951 under the code name Project Matterhorn. Lyman Spitzer, Jr., Professor of Astronomy at Princeton University, had for many years been involved in the study of very hot rarefied gases in interstellar space. Princeton University's controlled fusion effort was born when Professor Spitzer took his design of a plasma being confined in a figure-eight-shaped tube by an externally generated magnetic field, the "stellarator," before the Atomic Energy Commission in Washington. In 1958, magnetic fusion research was declassified allowing all nations to share their results openly.
Since the 1970s, PPPL has been a leader in magnetic confinement experiments utilizing the tokamak approach. PPPL researchers continue to lead work on advanced fusion devices and are developing other innovated concepts. Laboratory scientists are collaborating with researchers on fusion science and technology at other facilities, both domestic and foreign. Staff are applying knowledge gained in fusion research to a number of theoretical and experimental areas including materials science, solar physics, chemistry, and manufacturing.
Other directors, succeeding Mr. Spitzer (1951-1961), were Melvin B. Gottlieb (1961-1980), Harold P. Furth (1981-1990), Ronald C. Davidson (1991-1996) and Robert J. Goldston (1997-Present).
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The President is the chief executive officer of the University. They preside at all meetings of the boards of trustees and of the faculty and at all academic functions at which they are present and represent the University before the public. The Trustee by-laws charge them with the general supervision of the interests of the University and with special oversight of the departments of instruction.
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Established in 1904 as the Department of Geology, and later known as the Department of Geological and Geophysical Sciences, the Department of Geosciences has grown to become the center for the study of Earth, atmospheric, oceanographic, and environmental sciences at Princeton. Geoscientific studies at Princeton University date from 1854, when Arnold Guyot was appointed Professor of Geography and Physical Geology. Guyot was the sole instructor in geological sciences for 19 years and he was primarily responsible for the creation of the Geological Museum (located first in Nassau Hall and later in Guyot Hall), which grew from the fossils and geological specimens he collected for instructional purposes. Even in its early years, the department was a leader in geological and paleontological fieldwork. In 1877, three of Guyot's students - William Berryman Scott, Henry F. Osborn and Francis Speer - participated in Princeton's first field expedition to Colorado and Wyoming in order to collect vertebrate fossils. It was the first in a series of expeditions to the American west made by Princeton students and faculty, eight of which Scott himself led between 1882-1893. Scott was awarded the Blair Professorship of Geology and Paleontology in 1884 and was the department chair from 1904-1930. In 1909, five years after its founding, the Department of Geology moved into its home in Guyot Hall, a facility that also housed the department's growing Geological (or Natural History) Museum. Guyot Hall was designed by members of the department and funded by the mother of Cleveland H. Dodge (Class of 1879) who was a University trustee. In 1926, Richard M. Field initiated Princeton's Summer School of Geology and Natural Resources, a still-extant annual field course designed to teach students in techniques of geological and geophysical research. Under the tenure of chairman Harry H. Hess (1950-1966), the Department of Geology expanded its course offerings to touch on many subjects under the umbrella of geological science. In 1968, the name of the department was changed to the Department of Geological and Geophysical Sciences to reflect the new curriculum. The department became known as the Department of Geosciences in 1996.
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The Dean of the College is Princeton University's third-oldest deanship. President Woodrow Wilson established the office in the spring of 1909 to oversee disciplinary and extra-curricular concerns. Today, the Dean of the College has administrative oversight of admission to the undergraduate college, the curriculum of the College, and the services and agencies designed to promote the academic development of undergraduates. The Dean of the College is also charged with the application and enforcement of the rules and standards relating to undergraduate scholarship, standing, and attendance in the University.
Over the years, deans of the college have presided over committees including the Faculty Committee on Examinations and Standing, the University Committee on Discipline, the Probation Board, the Committee on Non-Athletic Activities, the Faculty Committee on Athletic Eligibility, and the Program for Servicemen. The Dean of the College is ex-officio chair of the Faculty Committees on the Course of Study, Examinations and Standing, Continuing Education, and Undergraduate Admission and Financial Aid. The dean is an ex-officio member of the Council of the Princeton University Community, the Faculty Committees on Discipline, Public Lectures, Schedule, and Undergraduate Life, and sits with the Faculty Advisory Committee on Appointments and Advancements. Often, the Dean of the College is called upon to speak to alumni and student groups and at events outside of the University.
Edward G. Elliott, a professor of politics, served as the first Dean of the College, from 1909 until 1912. Howard McClenahan, who held the office until 1925, succeeded Elliott and was heavily involved in preparing the campus for World War I. McClenahan spent a significant portion of his tenure embroiled in a dispute after he declared several athletes ineligible. A group of alumni charged that the faculty was biased against athletes, and some called for McClenahan's resignation from the Intercollegiate Athletics board. In the face of calls for his resignation as dean, McClenahan maintained that Princeton must put academics first.
Christian Gauss, who had been one of Woodrow Wilson's original preceptors, served as Dean of the College from 1925 to 1946. Much admired for his sense of justice and fairness, Gauss became an almost legendary figure whom Howard Medina '09 called "perhaps the best-known and best-liked college dean in America." Gauss faced immense changes on campus after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, from the implementation of the Selective Service Act to an increase in withdrawals to students' requests for permission to marry. Gauss temporarily left office in 1943 to plan a post-war curriculum that, at President Dodds' urging, focused on maintaining Princeton's standards as a liberal arts school after many students switched to math and sciences during wartime. In addition to his efforts to meet the challenges wrought by World War II, Gauss, a great fan of athletics, garnered much favor during his tenure through his efforts to keep football at Princeton and his advocacy for the repeal of Prohibition.
Dean Francis Godolphin, a World War II veteran, took office in the postwar years (1946-1955). During a time of resurgence in campus activities and extreme overcrowding, the University administration was faced with the problem of providing housing for married veterans and their families. Godolphin in particular contended with, among other workload increases, a surge in correspondence with local draft boards and work with Selective Service issues. Godolphin also saw scholarship funds and employment opportunities under pressure and an increase in recommendations to graduate and professional schools. Amid the bustle of post-war adjustments, the Office of the Dean of Students was created to take on extra-curricular and social functions previously overseen by the Office of the Dean of the College. The Dean of the College still dealt with issues of discipline, and Godolphin came to the defense of the University Discipline Committee following a Daily Princetonian editorial that criticized suspensions as a form of punishment. Godolphin also defended University regulations when students protested a rule that barred women from dorms after 7 p.m., restrictions against cars on campus, and state liquor laws.
The latter half of the 1950s saw continued high enrollment and overcrowding everywhere on campus, but Dean Jeremiah Finch (1955-1961) used his time as dean to become more involved in classroom activities than his predecessors. He played a significant role in the development of the undergraduate program of study and focused on undergraduate advisors' evolving roles. Finch's efforts led to an expanded curricular focus on Russia and Asia, and the development of engineering science programs. He initiated reading periods, advanced placement, and early concentration, and increased the emphasis on independent work for upperclassmen. Finch also developed the Princeton Scholars program, a highly selective program in which a number of freshmen were offered exemption from all formal course requirements in their first year. During Finch's tenure students' interest in religious and political activities grew, as did the number of complaints from alumni, trustees and some outside of the University regarding the liberal nature of upper class club regulations. In response the dean ordered a cut in entertainment privileges, which caused controversy that evolved into an unprecedented demonstration against the administration.
J. Merrill Knapp (1961-1966) served as Dean of the College at a time of national concern over the college attrition rate, which Knapp addressed in several articles in national publications. He strengthened interdepartmental programs and created new opportunities in regional studies. He also made it possible for students to take one class per year on a pass/fail option. Knapp further developed the University Scholar Program and started the Experimental Research Scholar Program in the Department of Politics and the Woodrow Wilson School. He also formed the Cooperative Undergraduate Program for Critical Language and revised the Sociology Department curriculum.
Dean of the College Edward Sullivan (1966-1972) played a major role in initiating coeducation at Princeton. Sullivan sought to increase both variety and flexibility in the life of the undergraduate and encourage self-education and discovery. He introduced the course reduction system, which reduced course loads for freshmen, sophomores, and seniors. This move went against a national trend at the time toward heavier course loads and increased specialization. Early in his tenure he revamped the School of Architecture curriculum and the Latin American Affairs Program. During a time of political unrest on campus following the United States' invasion of Cambodia, Dean Sullivan quelled parental fears about the University shutting its doors after 4,000 students, faculty, and staff endorsed an anti-war strike. In part to allow for political involvement, students were allowed to postpone completion of academic work at the end of the spring term.
From the early 1970s deans of the college have focused heavily on matters of teaching and curriculum. Neil Rudenstine (1972-1977) moved into the position after serving as dean of students and contending with the 1972 anti-war strike, and focused his interest on the interrelationship of social and intellectual pursuits of undergraduates. Rudenstine served as a member of the Commission on the Future of the College, a major study of the college which had been commissioned by President Robert Goheen in 1970 to review undergraduate education at Princeton.
Under Dean Joan Girgus (1977-1987) the use of computers and technology in the classroom rose, and curriculum became more interdisciplinary in nature. Among her other duties, Girgus served as Princeton's representative to the Ivy Policy Committee. As a member of the Faculty Committee on Examinations and Standing, Dean Nancy Weiss Malkiel (1987-present) has devoted much of her work to studying grading patterns at Princeton, with an eye to grade inflation. She has also worked to encourage students to broaden their intellectual pursuits and explore the offerings of Princeton's smaller academic departments. During Malkiel's tenure as dean, the Office of the Dean of the College has developed new core requirements, expanded the Freshman Seminar Program, and diversified the curriculum. Malkiel's administration has also focused on improving the teaching of science to non-majors and writing instruction for all undergraduates.
Deans of the College, Department, Tenure as Dean
Edward G. Elliott, politics, 1909-1912
Howard McClenahan, physics, 1912-1925
Christian Gauss, modern languages, 1925-1946
Francis R. B. Godolphin, classics, 1946-1955
Jeremiah S. Finch, English, 1955-1961
J. Merrill Knapp, music, 1961-1966
Edward D. Sullivan, French, 1966-1972
Neil L. Rudenstine, English, 1972-1977
Joan S. Girgus, psychology, 1977-1987
Nancy Weiss Malkiel, history, 1987-2011
Valerie A. Smith, English, 2011-2015
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"Princeton has developed so much in recent years," read the statement in the 27 October 1900 edition of the Princeton Alumni Weekly, "that, like many other American institutions of learning, a University Secretary is now required." This announcement reflected the administrative changes that had been deemed necessary to better manage the daily affairs of a rapidly expanding and developing institution. To date, six individuals have served as secretary: Charles McAlpin (1901-1917), Varnum Lansing Collins (1917-1936), Alexander Leitch (1936-1966), Jeremiah Finch (1966-1974), Thomas Wright, (1974-2004), and Robert K. Durkee (2004–). The secretary has charge of general correspondence of the University and is responsible for arranging Commencement and other convocations.
With the assistance of the registrar, the secretary is responsible for the preparation, and has custody of, all diplomas. In addition, the secretary has the custody of the University seal and affixes it to any documents requiring the signature of the secretary as an officer of the Corporation. The secretary also assists the clerk of the Board of Trustees in the performance of the clerk's duties and, in the absence or disability of the clerk, performs such duties of the clerk as the Board or the president may designate. The secretary also serves as the senior adviser to the president and oversees the official convocations of the University such as Commencement. The office also has administrative responsibility for the Council of the Princeton University Community.
Charles McAlpin, Princeton's first secretary, was a member of an old Mahopac, New York family connected prominently with the industrial and social development of New York City at the turn of the twentieth century. When he graduated from the prestigious Exeter Academy in 1884, McAlpin joined Princeton's class of 1888. As an undergraduate he was a member of the Ivy Club, joined the baseball team in his junior year, and was president of the Dramatic Association during his senior year. Throughout his life he continued his affiliation with Princeton affairs, serving as chair of class committees and, most notably, as University secretary from 1901-1917. Elected unanimously by the Board of Trustees to the post on 13 December 1900 for a yearly salary of $2,500, the Princeton Alumni Weekly noted that the job of secretary was to "coordinate the various departments, keep in touch with the outside world, and many other things which modern life and the modern methods of higher education require." In the same year, McAlpin received an honorary A.M. from Princeton. After his retirement in 1917, McAlpin devoted most of his time to charities, serving as trustee and director of many philanthropic institutions. In an alumni survey he noted that his favorite pastime was "collecting engraved portraits of Washington," and at the time of his death in 1942 he had amassed one of the best-known and most complete series of Washington prints and engravings in the country.
Princeton's next secretary, Varnum Lansing Collins, would leave an indelible mark not only on the office itself, but also on the way the history of the University was preserved. Born in Hong Kong, Collins obtained his education in Paris and London before coming to Princeton as a member of the class of 1892. As an undergraduate, he was editor of The Nassau Literary Magazine, president of the Cliosophic Society, leader of the Glee Club, and a member of the Triangle Club. After receiving an Honorary A.M. from Princeton in 1895, Collins worked in the University Library as a reference librarian until he joined the faculty of the Department of Modern Languages in 1906. He was made full professor six years later and assumed the position of clerk of the faculty—a position he held until 1935. Collins also served as the secretary of the Graduate Council from 1917 until 1927 and was an instrumental figure during the years that the Council successfully conducted its $2,000,000 campaign for faculty salaries. In 1917 he became University secretary and served in this pivotal role for nineteen years. When ill health forced Collins to retire in 1936, the Board accepted his resignation "with regret" and named him Historiographer to Princeton University. Collins had long been recognized as the foremost authority on Princeton history, and authored a number of books on the subject, notably a biography of President John Witherspoon, a history of Princeton, and a guide to the town and the University. His love and knowledge of Princeton led to the grassroots development of the University Archives. Named editor of the General Catalogue/Biographical Catalogue in 1906, he compiled files on alumni and on possible, doubtful, and fraudulent "alumni" that have been gold mines for researchers ever since. As secretary he began what is now known as the Historical Subject File (HSF), an enormously valuable (and still growing) cache of Princeton history, lore, and trivia.
Filling Collins's shoes was not an easy prospect, and the Board passed the baton of service to Alexander Leitch. As a Princeton undergraduate, Leitch was a member of the lacrosse squad, a member of the Terrace Club, and served on the staff of The Daily Princetonian for three years. Leitch enjoyed a long period of service to Princeton that began immediately after graduation in 1924. He served for one year as the director of the Bureau of Student Appointments and Student Employment, before being appointed director of the newly created Department of Public Information. He became one of the right-hand men of University President John G. Hibben, and in 1928 was appointed assistant to the president, a post he continued to hold under Edward Duffield, acting president in 1932-33, and President Harold Dodds. As secretary he oversaw a wide range of administrative responsibilities, including supervising official correspondence and publications, providing essential services for the University's Board of Trustees, and arranging Commencements and special convocations. The staging of the dedication of the Woodrow Wilson School building, at which President Lyndon B. Johnson spoke, topped off his final year at Princeton. Upon his retirement at age 65, Leitch began working on what would become A Princeton Companion, an assemblage of 400 alphabetically arranged articles on Princeton life and tradition. Of the work, Leitch remarked that while "older people sometimes write their memoirs to analyze the past and philosophize about it," he was writing not his own memoir, but Princeton's. "Writing them has been a good way of enriching myself because I'm borrowing from a great institution."
Princeton's fourth secretary was not an alumnus, but he had strong ties to the University. Jeremiah Finch, who graduated from Cornell with a B.A. in 1931 and a Ph.D. in 1936, had been a member of Princeton's faculty in the Department of English since 1936 and had held the office of Dean of the College from 1955 until 1961. As Dean, Finch was responsible for undergraduate programs of study as well as the administration of various services and offices concerned with the academic development of undergraduates. Finch was a former chair of both the Committee on Examinations and Standing and the University Council on Athletics. As executive secretary of the Princeton Program for Servicemen, Finch was also very involved with the readjustment to university life of more than 1000 undergraduates whose studies had been interrupted by war service. As University secretary, Finch became one of the six officers of the Corporation, and had oversight over all publications and the general correspondence of the University.
Thomas H. Wright succeeded Finch as secretary in 1974. Wright, who majored in the Special Program in the Humanities, received his A.B. from Princeton in 1962, magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. After a year at Cambridge University as a Keasbey Scholar, he attended Harvard Law School and then went into private practice with the Washington, D.C., law firm of Covington and Burling. He then served for three years as assistant general counsel to the Ford Foundation in New York before joining the Princeton administration as General Counsel in 1972. In 1990, after serving as both secretary and general counsel, he gave up the responsibilities of the latter and was promoted to the position of vice president and secretary. In this capacity he served as a senior adviser to the president, provided administrative support for the Board of Trustees, and oversaw the official convocations of the University such as Commencement. His office also had administrative responsibility for the Council of the Princeton University Community. In addition, Wright also has supervised the offices of the general counsel and the vice president for campus life. The Board of Trustees designated Wright as vice president and secretary emeritus upon his retirement.
Robert K. Durkee, Princeton University's vice president for public affairs, succeeded Wright in the office of vice president and secretary in 2004. Durkee, a member of Princeton's class of 1969, joined the University administration in the spring of 1972 as assistant to the president and, after a year on leave to serve as executive assistant to the president of the Washington, D.C.-based Association of American Universities, was appointed vice president for public affairs in 1978. In this capacity he oversaw the offices of the Alumni Association, Communications, Community and Regional Affairs, Government Affairs, and Public Affairs. Durkee has served as a close adviser to Princeton presidents William G. Bowen, Harold Shapiro, Shirley Tilghman, and Christopher L. Eisgruber. He also has served on and staffed several trustee committees and has worked closely with the Board for more than 30 years.
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The Dean of the College is Princeton University's third-oldest deanship. President Woodrow Wilson established the office in the spring of 1909 to oversee disciplinary and extra-curricular concerns. Today, the Dean of the College has administrative oversight of admission to the undergraduate college, the curriculum of the College, and the services and agencies designed to promote the academic development of undergraduates. The Dean of the College is also charged with the application and enforcement of the rules and standards relating to undergraduate scholarship, standing, and attendance in the University.
Over the years, deans of the college have presided over committees including the Faculty Committee on Examinations and Standing, the University Committee on Discipline, the Probation Board, the Committee on Non-Athletic Activities, the Faculty Committee on Athletic Eligibility, and the Program for Servicemen. The Dean of the College is ex-officio chair of the Faculty Committees on the Course of Study, Examinations and Standing, Continuing Education, and Undergraduate Admission and Financial Aid. The dean is an ex-officio member of the Council of the Princeton University Community, the Faculty Committees on Discipline, Public Lectures, Schedule, and Undergraduate Life, and sits with the Faculty Advisory Committee on Appointments and Advancements. Often, the Dean of the College is called upon to speak to alumni and student groups and at events outside of the University.
Edward G. Elliott, a professor of politics, served as the first Dean of the College, from 1909 until 1912. Howard McClenahan, who held the office until 1925, succeeded Elliott and was heavily involved in preparing the campus for World War I. McClenahan spent a significant portion of his tenure embroiled in a dispute after he declared several athletes ineligible. A group of alumni charged that the faculty was biased against athletes, and some called for McClenahan's resignation from the Intercollegiate Athletics board. In the face of calls for his resignation as dean, McClenahan maintained that Princeton must put academics first.
Christian Gauss, who had been one of Woodrow Wilson's original preceptors, served as Dean of the College from 1925 to 1946. Much admired for his sense of justice and fairness, Gauss became an almost legendary figure whom Howard Medina '09 called "perhaps the best-known and best-liked college dean in America." Gauss faced immense changes on campus after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, from the implementation of the Selective Service Act to an increase in withdrawals to students' requests for permission to marry. Gauss temporarily left office in 1943 to plan a post-war curriculum that, at President Dodds' urging, focused on maintaining Princeton's standards as a liberal arts school after many students switched to math and sciences during wartime. In addition to his efforts to meet the challenges wrought by World War II, Gauss, a great fan of athletics, garnered much favor during his tenure through his efforts to keep football at Princeton and his advocacy for the repeal of Prohibition.
Dean Francis Godolphin, a World War II veteran, took office in the postwar years (1946-1955). During a time of resurgence in campus activities and extreme overcrowding, the University administration was faced with the problem of providing housing for married veterans and their families. Godolphin in particular contended with, among other workload increases, a surge in correspondence with local draft boards and work with Selective Service issues. Godolphin also saw scholarship funds and employment opportunities under pressure and an increase in recommendations to graduate and professional schools. Amid the bustle of post-war adjustments, the Office of the Dean of Students was created to take on extra-curricular and social functions previously overseen by the Office of the Dean of the College. The Dean of the College still dealt with issues of discipline, and Godolphin came to the defense of the University Discipline Committee following a Daily Princetonian editorial that criticized suspensions as a form of punishment. Godolphin also defended University regulations when students protested a rule that barred women from dorms after 7 p.m., restrictions against cars on campus, and state liquor laws.
The latter half of the 1950s saw continued high enrollment and overcrowding everywhere on campus, but Dean Jeremiah Finch (1955-1961) used his time as dean to become more involved in classroom activities than his predecessors. He played a significant role in the development of the undergraduate program of study and focused on undergraduate advisors' evolving roles. Finch's efforts led to an expanded curricular focus on Russia and Asia, and the development of engineering science programs. He initiated reading periods, advanced placement, and early concentration, and increased the emphasis on independent work for upperclassmen. Finch also developed the Princeton Scholars program, a highly selective program in which a number of freshmen were offered exemption from all formal course requirements in their first year. During Finch's tenure students' interest in religious and political activities grew, as did the number of complaints from alumni, trustees and some outside of the University regarding the liberal nature of upper class club regulations. In response the dean ordered a cut in entertainment privileges, which caused controversy that evolved into an unprecedented demonstration against the administration.
J. Merrill Knapp (1961-1966) served as Dean of the College at a time of national concern over the college attrition rate, which Knapp addressed in several articles in national publications. He strengthened interdepartmental programs and created new opportunities in regional studies. He also made it possible for students to take one class per year on a pass/fail option. Knapp further developed the University Scholar Program and started the Experimental Research Scholar Program in the Department of Politics and the Woodrow Wilson School. He also formed the Cooperative Undergraduate Program for Critical Language and revised the Sociology Department curriculum.
Dean of the College Edward Sullivan (1966-1972) played a major role in initiating coeducation at Princeton. Sullivan sought to increase both variety and flexibility in the life of the undergraduate and encourage self-education and discovery. He introduced the course reduction system, which reduced course loads for freshmen, sophomores, and seniors. This move went against a national trend at the time toward heavier course loads and increased specialization. Early in his tenure he revamped the School of Architecture curriculum and the Latin American Affairs Program. During a time of political unrest on campus following the United States' invasion of Cambodia, Dean Sullivan quelled parental fears about the University shutting its doors after 4,000 students, faculty, and staff endorsed an anti-war strike. In part to allow for political involvement, students were allowed to postpone completion of academic work at the end of the spring term.
From the early 1970s deans of the college have focused heavily on matters of teaching and curriculum. Neil Rudenstine (1972-1977) moved into the position after serving as dean of students and contending with the 1972 anti-war strike, and focused his interest on the interrelationship of social and intellectual pursuits of undergraduates. Rudenstine served as a member of the Commission on the Future of the College, a major study of the college which had been commissioned by President Robert Goheen in 1970 to review undergraduate education at Princeton.
Under Dean Joan Girgus (1977-1987) the use of computers and technology in the classroom rose, and curriculum became more interdisciplinary in nature. Among her other duties, Girgus served as Princeton's representative to the Ivy Policy Committee. As a member of the Faculty Committee on Examinations and Standing, Dean Nancy Weiss Malkiel (1987-present) has devoted much of her work to studying grading patterns at Princeton, with an eye to grade inflation. She has also worked to encourage students to broaden their intellectual pursuits and explore the offerings of Princeton's smaller academic departments. During Malkiel's tenure as dean, the Office of the Dean of the College has developed new core requirements, expanded the Freshman Seminar Program, and diversified the curriculum. Malkiel's administration has also focused on improving the teaching of science to non-majors and writing instruction for all undergraduates.
Deans of the College, Department, Tenure as Dean
Edward G. Elliott, politics, 1909-1912
Howard McClenahan, physics, 1912-1925
Christian Gauss, modern languages, 1925-1946
Francis R. B. Godolphin, classics, 1946-1955
Jeremiah S. Finch, English, 1955-1961
J. Merrill Knapp, music, 1961-1966
Edward D. Sullivan, French, 1966-1972
Neil L. Rudenstine, English, 1972-1977
Joan S. Girgus, psychology, 1977-1987
Nancy Weiss Malkiel, history, 1987-2011
Valerie A. Smith, English, 2011-2015
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The Dean of the College is Princeton University's third-oldest deanship. President Woodrow Wilson established the office in the spring of 1909 to oversee disciplinary and extra-curricular concerns. Today, the Dean of the College has administrative oversight of admission to the undergraduate college, the curriculum of the College, and the services and agencies designed to promote the academic development of undergraduates. The Dean of the College is also charged with the application and enforcement of the rules and standards relating to undergraduate scholarship, standing, and attendance in the University.
Over the years, deans of the college have presided over committees including the Faculty Committee on Examinations and Standing, the University Committee on Discipline, the Probation Board, the Committee on Non-Athletic Activities, the Faculty Committee on Athletic Eligibility, and the Program for Servicemen. The Dean of the College is ex-officio chair of the Faculty Committees on the Course of Study, Examinations and Standing, Continuing Education, and Undergraduate Admission and Financial Aid. The dean is an ex-officio member of the Council of the Princeton University Community, the Faculty Committees on Discipline, Public Lectures, Schedule, and Undergraduate Life, and sits with the Faculty Advisory Committee on Appointments and Advancements. Often, the Dean of the College is called upon to speak to alumni and student groups and at events outside of the University.
Edward G. Elliott, a professor of politics, served as the first Dean of the College, from 1909 until 1912. Howard McClenahan, who held the office until 1925, succeeded Elliott and was heavily involved in preparing the campus for World War I. McClenahan spent a significant portion of his tenure embroiled in a dispute after he declared several athletes ineligible. A group of alumni charged that the faculty was biased against athletes, and some called for McClenahan's resignation from the Intercollegiate Athletics board. In the face of calls for his resignation as dean, McClenahan maintained that Princeton must put academics first.
Christian Gauss, who had been one of Woodrow Wilson's original preceptors, served as Dean of the College from 1925 to 1946. Much admired for his sense of justice and fairness, Gauss became an almost legendary figure whom Howard Medina '09 called "perhaps the best-known and best-liked college dean in America." Gauss faced immense changes on campus after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, from the implementation of the Selective Service Act to an increase in withdrawals to students' requests for permission to marry. Gauss temporarily left office in 1943 to plan a post-war curriculum that, at President Dodds' urging, focused on maintaining Princeton's standards as a liberal arts school after many students switched to math and sciences during wartime. In addition to his efforts to meet the challenges wrought by World War II, Gauss, a great fan of athletics, garnered much favor during his tenure through his efforts to keep football at Princeton and his advocacy for the repeal of Prohibition.
Dean Francis Godolphin, a World War II veteran, took office in the postwar years (1946-1955). During a time of resurgence in campus activities and extreme overcrowding, the University administration was faced with the problem of providing housing for married veterans and their families. Godolphin in particular contended with, among other workload increases, a surge in correspondence with local draft boards and work with Selective Service issues. Godolphin also saw scholarship funds and employment opportunities under pressure and an increase in recommendations to graduate and professional schools. Amid the bustle of post-war adjustments, the Office of the Dean of Students was created to take on extra-curricular and social functions previously overseen by the Office of the Dean of the College. The Dean of the College still dealt with issues of discipline, and Godolphin came to the defense of the University Discipline Committee following a Daily Princetonian editorial that criticized suspensions as a form of punishment. Godolphin also defended University regulations when students protested a rule that barred women from dorms after 7 p.m., restrictions against cars on campus, and state liquor laws.
The latter half of the 1950s saw continued high enrollment and overcrowding everywhere on campus, but Dean Jeremiah Finch (1955-1961) used his time as dean to become more involved in classroom activities than his predecessors. He played a significant role in the development of the undergraduate program of study and focused on undergraduate advisors' evolving roles. Finch's efforts led to an expanded curricular focus on Russia and Asia, and the development of engineering science programs. He initiated reading periods, advanced placement, and early concentration, and increased the emphasis on independent work for upperclassmen. Finch also developed the Princeton Scholars program, a highly selective program in which a number of freshmen were offered exemption from all formal course requirements in their first year. During Finch's tenure students' interest in religious and political activities grew, as did the number of complaints from alumni, trustees and some outside of the University regarding the liberal nature of upper class club regulations. In response the dean ordered a cut in entertainment privileges, which caused controversy that evolved into an unprecedented demonstration against the administration.
J. Merrill Knapp (1961-1966) served as Dean of the College at a time of national concern over the college attrition rate, which Knapp addressed in several articles in national publications. He strengthened interdepartmental programs and created new opportunities in regional studies. He also made it possible for students to take one class per year on a pass/fail option. Knapp further developed the University Scholar Program and started the Experimental Research Scholar Program in the Department of Politics and the Woodrow Wilson School. He also formed the Cooperative Undergraduate Program for Critical Language and revised the Sociology Department curriculum.
Dean of the College Edward Sullivan (1966-1972) played a major role in initiating coeducation at Princeton. Sullivan sought to increase both variety and flexibility in the life of the undergraduate and encourage self-education and discovery. He introduced the course reduction system, which reduced course loads for freshmen, sophomores, and seniors. This move went against a national trend at the time toward heavier course loads and increased specialization. Early in his tenure he revamped the School of Architecture curriculum and the Latin American Affairs Program. During a time of political unrest on campus following the United States' invasion of Cambodia, Dean Sullivan quelled parental fears about the University shutting its doors after 4,000 students, faculty, and staff endorsed an anti-war strike. In part to allow for political involvement, students were allowed to postpone completion of academic work at the end of the spring term.
From the early 1970s deans of the college have focused heavily on matters of teaching and curriculum. Neil Rudenstine (1972-1977) moved into the position after serving as dean of students and contending with the 1972 anti-war strike, and focused his interest on the interrelationship of social and intellectual pursuits of undergraduates. Rudenstine served as a member of the Commission on the Future of the College, a major study of the college which had been commissioned by President Robert Goheen in 1970 to review undergraduate education at Princeton.
Under Dean Joan Girgus (1977-1987) the use of computers and technology in the classroom rose, and curriculum became more interdisciplinary in nature. Among her other duties, Girgus served as Princeton's representative to the Ivy Policy Committee. As a member of the Faculty Committee on Examinations and Standing, Dean Nancy Weiss Malkiel (1987-present) has devoted much of her work to studying grading patterns at Princeton, with an eye to grade inflation. She has also worked to encourage students to broaden their intellectual pursuits and explore the offerings of Princeton's smaller academic departments. During Malkiel's tenure as dean, the Office of the Dean of the College has developed new core requirements, expanded the Freshman Seminar Program, and diversified the curriculum. Malkiel's administration has also focused on improving the teaching of science to non-majors and writing instruction for all undergraduates.
Deans of the College, Department, Tenure as Dean
Edward G. Elliott, politics, 1909-1912
Howard McClenahan, physics, 1912-1925
Christian Gauss, modern languages, 1925-1946
Francis R. B. Godolphin, classics, 1946-1955
Jeremiah S. Finch, English, 1955-1961
J. Merrill Knapp, music, 1961-1966
Edward D. Sullivan, French, 1966-1972
Neil L. Rudenstine, English, 1972-1977
Joan S. Girgus, psychology, 1977-1987
Nancy Weiss Malkiel, history, 1987-2011
Valerie A. Smith, English, 2011-2015
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An edition of 125 published by The James H. Hall Memorial Gallery, Butler College, Princeton University, with a preface by Michael Graves and a foreword by Theodore K. Rabb
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The Princeton School of Public and International Affairs is a professional school dedicated to the preparation of undergraduate and graduate students for careers in public policy and government. Offering undergraduate bachelor of arts degrees, master's degrees in public policy and public affairs, and doctoral degrees, the school maintains a faculty of approximately 50 professors and admits less than 100 undergraduates on a selective basis every year.
Though it would be nearly 30 years before the institution would open its doors, the idea for such a school was born during the tenure of Woodrow Wilson, the University's 13th president. It was Wilson who in a 1903 letter to Andrew Carnegie wrote of his vision for "a School of Jurisprudence and Government...a school of law, but not in any narrow or technical sense: a school, rather, in which law and institutions would be interpreted as instruments of peace, of freedom, and of the advancement of civilization."
Almost immediately following Woodrow Wilson's departure from the University in 1910, the United States entered into a period of global conflict previously unseen, out of which emerged new perceptions about America's own place in the international sphere. Likewise, unparalleled economic growth in the post-War era raised awareness of the need for more soundly formulated fiscal policy on the state and national level. During this time the idea for a School of International Affairs and Public Policy germinated in the minds of University trustees, alumni and administration, with some becoming convinced that such a program of study was an absolute necessity if Princeton was to maintain its commitment to Wilson's oft-repeated phrase "Princeton in the Nation's Service."
One such individual was trustee William Church Osborn, Class of 1884. In the 1920s, Osborn was a leading member of the Trustees Special Committee on a Law School, which despite strongly recommending such a school, watched as the costly initiative was lost amid a flurry of campus building activity. In 1928, shortly before the disbanding of the Committee, Osborn informally assembled the group to discuss a separate but related proposal, that of a school of public affairs. Osborn, himself a lawyer and president of the Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad, found an ally in fellow trustee and lawyer Albert G. Milbank, Class of 1860. The two men, chairman and vice-chairman respectively of the Princeton Fund Committee, were intimately connected to the University's highest governing body as well as one of its major sources of revenue.
Several months later, Albridge C. Smith, Jr., president of the Class of 1903, approached the Princeton Fund Committee (in January 1929) with an offer of $25,000 from his class for the establishment of a memorial to Woodrow Wilson. Compelled by persuasive arguments from Osborn and Milbank, the Princeton Fund Committee agreed to direct the gift towards a school of public and international affairs, and throughout the remainder of 1929 called upon University faculty and alumni in the public service for advice on a curriculum, as well as to cultivate potential donors and trustees. In October of that year, the Board of Trustees and president John Grier Hibben formally established the Special Committee on the School of Public and International Affairs. One month later the first draft of a plan for such a school was presented to the Trustees, and after a series of revisions it was adopted unanimously on January 9, 1930.
Of the numerous challenges facing the Committee after its inception, none were as daunting as the selection of an able administrator to lead the school and formulate an entirely new curriculum. In preparing for this task, the Committee made a conscious decision to seek an individual from outside the ranks of Princeton's faculty, sending a clear message that the School of Public and International Affairs was going to be an educational institution radically different from any other at the University. A likely candidate emerged in the form of DeWitt Clinton Poole, a United States consul general stationed in Berlin. Along with Princeton alumnus and fellow diplomat, Norman Armour '09, Poole drafted a blueprint for a school of public and international affairs which formed much of the basis for the Committee's eventual submitted plan. With his finger on the pulse of international affairs and diplomacy in post-war Europe as well as an able diplomat and administrator, Poole possessed the qualities that would ostensibly be required of the school's initial chairman. His appointment in late 1929 as chair of the school's advisory board and as its first director three years later came with recommendations from such prominent statesmen as Charles Evans Hughes.
The initial curriculum of the school as outlined by the committee's proposal was conspicuously broad. Rather than focusing upon specific issues and areas of political science and affairs as was the trend at many institutions, undergraduates of the School of Public and International Affairs would embark upon an interdisciplinary course of study that included history, political theory, language, and economics. This manner of instruction was informed by Poole's own experiences as a diplomat, as evidenced in his statement to Hibben that "The need is for a broad culture which will enlarge the individual's mental scope to world dimensions."
Rather than a wholesale abandonment of the four-course departmental major plan then in place for undergraduates, it was decided that the course of study at the School of Public and International Affairs would be integrated into the regular undergraduate curriculum. Students were to enroll in introductory courses in one or more of the three existing social studies departments; history, political science, or economics. Upon completion of the sophomore year, students would then apply to the school, which would select between 80 and 100 of the most qualified students from the pool of applicants. If not admitted as juniors students could reapply in their senior year. The system allowed students to select a major of their choosing and take a wide variety of courses in their freshman and sophomore years, reaching the School of Public and International Affairs in their junior year with a broad interdisciplinary academic foundation already in place.
The second notable feature of the curriculum of the School of Public and International Affairs and one that would become an institutional hallmark was the Conference on Public Affairs. The brainchild of Poole, the Conference on Public Affairs was a uniquely designed undergraduate course that served as the centerpiece of the curriculum. Each Conference was focused on a singular issue or problem, often drawn from current events, and the students enrolled in the conference were charged with discussing, describing, and offering theoretical resolutions to the topic. Often punctuated by guest visits and participation from diplomats and policymakers, the conferences were widely considered to be the school's most valuable training tool, especially as many of the conference topics foreshadowed the issues that could come to dominate the professional lives of the school's graduates.
A final concern to those charged with the establishment of the school, albeit a major one, was the selection and appointment of a capable faculty to instruct the students and carry out the vision of public affairs education prescribed by Poole, Armour, Osborn, and Hibben. The resulting group included individuals from academia as well as diplomats and others involved in the realm of public and international affairs, many of whom received dual appointments to both the school and to one of the social studies departments.
Though the school's primary focus at the time of its founding was undergraduate education, it was also envisioned as an institution that would eventually play a role in public policy research and graduate studies. In the case of the latter, several early research programs contributed greatly to the School's survival. Notable among these were a series of government surveys undertaken by a committee of faculty at the behest of New Jersey governor A. Harry Moore, who in 1932 was seeking ways to relieve the state's financial woes at the height of the Great Depression. Two additional research units, the Office of Population Research and the Radio Research Project, were both established in 1936. Each of these units made valuable contributions to domestic and international affairs, and in 1951 the Center of International Studies was added, an expansion of research interests which was accompanied by a notable growth in the size of the faculty.
Begun in 1931 at the time of the school's founding, the initial graduate program of the School of Public and International Affairs was loosely defined and small in size. In the first three years of the school's existence only 12 Master of Arts degrees were awarded, primarily to undergraduates of Princeton who remained to study at their own expense. In 1933 the graduate program was discontinued and two years later a faculty committee recommended a new program, consisting of a one-year certificate and a two year Master in Public Affairs degree. Despite this recommendation, the graduate program was reinstated by the Board of Trustees in a form very similar to that in which it had previously existed, namely as a two-year Master of Arts degree subject to completion of the general examinations in one of the three social science fields. It was only much later in 1948 when the graduate program was restructured once again according to the recommendations of the faculty that a Master in Public Affairs program was instituted.
Despite the relative success of the fledgling school during its first decade of existence, the leadership of DeWitt Clinton Poole was often questioned by faculty who felt that the former diplomat was ill-suited for such an academic environment and that the School's curriculum was underdeveloped and a distraction. It was primarily the endorsement of University president Harold W. Dodds, a politics professor himself, which prevented outright dissension. Its popularity with undergraduate students also provided a measure of credibility unforeseen. Nonetheless, in late 1938 Dodds convened an administrative subcommittee to investigate possible adjustments to the School's organization. The resulting report called for the establishment of the School of Public and International Affairs as a scholastic entity unto itself, away from the existing social science departments. In practice, this meant that juniors and seniors enrolled in the school would select courses and complete their theses under the auspices of the school and its faculty, rather than precariously balancing the school's academic demands with that of another department. Recognizing that the institution was on the verge of a shift in direction, Poole resigned his post in February 1939. He was replaced by Dana Gardner Munro, chairman of Princeton's Department of History.
With a fresh administration in place, Munro and the growing faculty turned to two issues which had remained unresolved since the school's founding. The first of these was the School's facilities. Since its inception the School of Public and International Affairs had operated out of two locations, Dickinson Hall, and Whig Hall. The former housed the main offices of the school; the latter housed additional offices as well as the Policy Conference course. One of Munro's first actions as director was to purchase the Arbor Inn, a recently closed eating club on Ivy Lane. The organization of the school's administrators under a single roof provided a level of cohesion and accessibility previously unknown.
After the move to a dedicated facility in 1940, the school essentially remained in a state of stasis throughout the remainder of the Second World War, with many faculty and students departing to serve in the armed forces. After 1945 however, the administration turned its thoughts to another lingering concern: that of formally acknowledging the school's existence as a memorial to Woodrow Wilson. Although the school had come to fruition with funds originally designated for a memorial to Wilson, Edith Bolling Wilson, the former president's second wife and widow, expressed concerns about her husband's name being associated with an entity which had not yet proven financially solvent. Efforts by trustees and administrators to raise a substantial endowment had been stymied by depression and mobilization for war, and the school operated under a deficit every year until 1941. In 1935 the trustees adopted a confidential resolution stating that the school should be named for Wilson once a sufficient endowment had been raised and a suitable building constructed. The University's Bicentennial fundraising campaign yielded $2 million for such a purpose and Wilson's widow was convinced that the institution was worthy of her husband's name, largely through the intercession of Dodds. The school was officially renamed the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs by the trustees in 1948, coinciding with the adoption of the faculty's recommendations for a graduate professional program. Two years later in 1951 ground was broken on Woodrow Wilson Hall. Though the aesthetics of the red brick and limestone structure on Washington Road's were frequently contested, when the building opened the next year none could deny its functionality.
A final notable development at the school under Munro's leadership was the 1952 institution of the Rockefeller Public Service Awards, established with a gift from John D. Rockefeller III to "give special recognition to outstanding public service by civilians in the Federal Government and to establish incentives for the continuance and advancement of those in the service." The awards, given annually, provided recipients with funding for a six to twelve month period of study at the institution of their choice.
After nearly a decade of relative stability in Woodrow Wilson Hall, the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs in 1960 embarked upon its period of greatest expansion yet. The spark which initiated such growth came in the form of an anonymous donation of $35 million to the School in 1961, the largest single gift ever given to any American university. The donor and his wife, simply referred to as the "X Foundation," outlined a set of criteria for the gift, focusing upon the expansion of the school's graduate program. The identity of the donors, known only to President Dodds and Woodrow Wilson School director Gardner Patterson, were Charles and Marie Robertson. Charles, Class of 1926, was a banker. Marie's father had helped to found the A + P chain of grocery stores. Despite anonymity, Robertson was not content to allow the massive gift to be distributed at the whim of the school's administration. He took an active role in arguing the case for new post-graduate educational opportunities including mid-career professional training programs for those already in the public service. In general the curriculum additions brought about by the Robertson Gift emphasized a shift from an academic education to true professional development for those in the graduate program. Unhappy with this shift, Patterson stepped down, much as Poole had done years prior, and was replaced by professor Marver Bernstein, the first administrator to hold the title of Dean of the Woodrow Wilson School.
The most obvious and tangible product of the Robertson donation was the construction of a new building to house the school. Though Woodrow Wilson Hall was a mere ten years old, by 1962 it was apparent that space was becoming scarce. In response to this need, and as a celebration of the School's newfound vivacity, plans for a new structure to be designed by architect Minoru Yamasaki were initiated. The striking building flanked by white columns in a deliberate homage to the Parthenon was completed in 1965, and dedicated in May of 1966 in a ceremony attended by U.S. President Lyndon Johnson. The building's name was changed to Robertson Hall in 1972 when, after Marie Robertson's death, the identity of the donors was revealed. Elements of the structure would later be revisited by Yamasaki in his design for the World Trade Center.
Additional initiatives followed, driven directly or indirectly by funds from the Robertson Foundation's growing endowment. These included joint programs with the School of Architecture and Urban Planning, New York University and Columbia University's respective law schools, the Research Program in Development Studies, and the Sloan Fellows in Economic Journalism program. Much as it had always done in the past, the Woodrow Wilson School in the 1970s found itself again reshaping its course offerings and research interests to reflect current trends, shifting from international relations and diplomacy to the economic and political problems of America's urban centers as the Vietnam War limped to a close.
The arrival of a new dean, former dean of the University of Michigan Graduate School Donald Stokes '54 in 1974 was accompanied by the opening of the new Center for New Jersey Affairs, harkening back to the Local Government Surveys that had brought the school acclaim early in its existence. Building upon its past in another sense, Stokes' deanship, which lasted until 1992, was highlighted time and again by return visits from some of Princeton's and the Woodrow Wilson School's most prominent and successful graduates. More so than any other dean before him, Stokes was able to unite the school's past and future, balance the academic and the professional aspects of public policy education, and maintain open channels of communication between faculty, students, and University administrators. When he announced his retirement from the position of dean in 1992, the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs was a radically different place than it had ever been and the momentum acquired during the nearly two decades of Stokes' leadership carried on into the 21st century. The deanship passed to Center for International Studies director Henry S. Bienen, who served two years in the position before resigning to fill the role of president at Northwestern University.
The individual chosen as Bienen's successor was a relative outsider to Princeton, Michael Rothschild, the dean of University of California, San Diego's Social Sciences Division. The defining moment of Rothschild's tenure, which lasted from 1995-2002, was undoubtedly the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. As an institution dedicated to the study of public and international affairs, the Woodrow Wilson School stood singularly poised on campus as a body which might be able to provide some context for what seemed to many a senseless act of violence. As early as the afternoon of September 11th the school implemented a steady program of roundtable discussions, conferences, speaking engagements, and eventually course offerings designed to make sense of domestic and international policy in the post-9/11 era.
When Rothschild returned to full-time teaching and research in 2002, he was succeeded by Anne-Marie Slaughter '80, who became the first alumna of the Woodrow Wilson School to serve as its dean. Christina Paxson, who had founded the Center for Health and Well-Being at Princeton, served as dean from 2009-2012. In 2012, Cecilia Elena Rouse, professor of economics, became dean, serving until 2021, when she was confirmed Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers for the Biden Administration. In September, 2021, Amaney A. Jamal, professor of politics and former Director of the Mamdouha S. Bobst Center for Peace and Justice, became dean.
In 2020, the School was renamed the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs. Recognizing that Woodrow Wilson enacted racist and segregationist policies, students and some alumni had sought to change the name years earlier, especially during protests late in 2015. However, in 2016, a Trustee Committee on Woodrow Wilson's Legacy at Princeton decided to retain the name "Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs." In the summer of 2020, the Board of Trustees voted to remove Wilson's name from the school.
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Series 5: Princeton-related Publications and Articles are publiched materials that have authors or publishers that are not connected to the University.
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The Pennsylvania Gazette, November 3, 1748. The front page includes a letter from the Trustees of the College of New Jersey to New Jersey Governor Jonathan Belcher thanking him for granting the second charter for the institution, as well as a response to the letter by Governor Belcher.
The first charter of the College of New Jersey had been granted by Acting Governor John Hamilton in 1746; however its legality was questioned due to Hamilton's status as "Acting Governor." Governor Belcher issued a second charter on September 14, 1748, which dispelled the uncertainty around the first charter, and upheld its fundamental characteristics.The Pennsylvania Gazette is one of the earliest American newspapers; it was co-owned and printed by Benjamin Franklin.
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Series 6: Princeton Campus Photobooks include photographs and photogravures published by non-University entities featuring views of Princeton's campus from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Some books contain photographic postcards and others were meant to be given as souvenirs.
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Princeton University photograph booklet printed by Richard Roland Bookseller and Stationer.
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Series 7: Administrative Reports of Princeton University, also known as "Princeton Shelf Materials" were collected by and held at Firestone Library until 2011 as a central location for materials relating to the university, its students, and its faculty. The materials include university documents such as reports, surveys, and guides that relate to governance, administration and special initiatives.
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Files were arranged into digital folders by year.
Series 8 contains directories of undergraduate students, graduate students and faculty compiled by Administrative Information Services twice a year. These directories are csv files, beginning in 2008; digital files replaced the previous printed directories, housed in the Mudd Library stacks at P14.75 and P14.76. Student directories contain name, class year, college (for undergraduate students), department (for graduate students), campus contact information, status and affiliation. Faculty directories contain name, title, department, campus contact information, employee status and affiliation.
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Series 9 contains duplicates of Princeton University publications. These publications include announcements, catalogues, official registers, phone books, reports, student publications and year books. These are incomplete runs to be used for digitization.
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Missing the years 1927, 1930, 1940, 1941, and 1945.
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Missing the years 1951 - 1953, 1955, 2006 - 2010, and 2012.
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Missing the year 1874.
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Missing the years 1902, 1905, 1911, 1914, and 1922.
For the years 1915, 1916, 1918, 1919, and 1920 see Box 154.
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Includes the years 1915, 1916, 1918, 1919, 1920, and 1924
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Missing the years 1942, 1945, 1948, 1954, and 1955.
For the years 1939, 1941, 1952, 1955, and 1965 see Box 154.
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Includes the years 1939, 1941, 1952, and 1955
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For the year 1965 see Box 154.
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Includes the year 1965.
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Missing the years 1982, 1986, and 1990.
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Missing the years 1945 and 1947
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Missing the years 1953, 1959, 1960, and 1962 - 1965.
For the years 1952, 1954, 1955, 1966, and 1969 see Box 153.
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1952, 1954, 1955, 1966, 1969
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Missing the years 1969 - 1974, 1979, and 1981.
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Missing the year 1986.
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29 boxes
Vol. 1-6
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Vol. 7-12
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Vol. 13-18
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Vol. 19-24
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Vol. 25-28
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Vol. 29-33
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Vol. 34-38
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Vol. 39-45
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Vol. 46-53
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Vol. 54-59
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Vol. 60-64
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Vol. 65-70
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Vol. 71-75
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Vol. 76-80
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Vol. 81-86
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Vol. 87-93
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Vol. 94-100
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Vol. 101-102, 105-108
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Vol. 103
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Vol. 108-109
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Vol. 117-118
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Sexually suggestive images and content
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This box also contains loose issues from the years 1946-1974.
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Incomplete run.
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Incomplete run.
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No. 1-58, and No. 75. Incomplete run.
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Volumes 1-10.
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Missing volumes for 1950-1951, 1951-1952, 1960-1961.
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371 Volumes Volumes
Bric-A-Bracs for the following years could not be located: 1887, 1945, 1947.
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The Nassau Herald was not published for the following years: 1945, 1948, due to wartime.
Physical Description149 Volumes
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