Publication: A Princeton Companion
Secretary of the University, The, assists the Clerk of the Board of Trustees and in this capacity makes arrangements for meetings of the board and of its executive committee, and prepares the minutes; he is secretary of the committee on honorary degrees. He notifies by letter all persons in the faculty or administration elected or appointed to office by the board or appointed by action of the president. As secretary of the corporation known as The Trustees of Princeton University, he has custody of the University seal and affixes it to all documents that require its use, including diplomas. In the words of the Charter he is ``the agent . . . upon whom process against the corporation may be served.'' He also has oversight of Commencement and other University convocations.
The office of the secretary serves as an arm of the president's office, and at one time or another has been headquarters for a variety of University activities including alumni affairs, student aid, public information, and departmental advisory councils. For many years the office housed archives of the University, and during his incumbency V. Lansing Collins wrote extensively about the history of the University and of the town of Princeton. Until 1974 the secretary was responsible for the preparation and distribution of the several catalogs and other publications issued under the heading, ``The Official Register,'' as well as The Weekly Bulletin.
The bylaws charge the secretary with ``responsibility, under the President, for such other areas of the University's affairs, not specifically assigned to another officer, as the Board or the President may designate.'' One incumbent characterized the office as ``the department of everything else.'' Those who have endeavored with the help of their loyal associates to cope with these manifold obligations have been: Charles W. McAlpin 1888, 1901-1917; V. Lansing Collins 1892, 1917-1936; Alexander Leitch '24, 1936-1966; Jeremiah S. Finch hc '31 and '42, 1966-1974; Thomas H. Wright '62, 1974-.
From Alexander Leitch, A Princeton Companion, copyright Princeton University Press (1978).