Remarks by Matthew J. Fouse

Good afternoon. On behalf of the graduate student body, it is both an honor and a pleasure to have this opportunity to formally welcome Shirley Tilghman as the 19th President of Princeton University.

As a visionary leader in molecular biology and the life sciences and a member of the Princeton University faculty, President Tilghman has already developed a reputation among graduate students for giving valuable advice and guidance. We are all confident that, in much the same way that she has offered direction and assistance to her students, she will offer many years of outstanding leadership to this great University.

We have, in fact, already witnessed her leadership in action. We have all been affected by, both directly and indirectly, the tragic events of September 11. During this difficult time, President Tilghman has demonstrated her commitment to the University Community by forging a balanced, forward-thinking, and campus-wide response to this crisis. Princeton remains a unified community, where diversity of thought and experience are not just tolerated, but celebrated. We have a duty and a responsibility, in service to this nation and all peoples, to maintain such a community, to work constantly to improve it, and to offer its ideals to the larger world community. I sincerely believe that President Tilghman's leadership will guide us on our journey towards those goals.

Graduate students at Princeton are lucky to be part of such a vibrant University Community. And, while being a graduate student can be hard work, we are fortunate to have an administration that listens to our concerns and is always striving to make the graduate student experience at Princeton even better. I know that I speak for all graduate students when I say that we are excited about our future at the University, and we look forward to the leadership that President Shirley Tilghman will bring to the entire Princeton community as we meet the challenges of this new century.

Thank you. And once more welcome and all the very best to you President Tilghman from the Graduate Student Government and the entire graduate student body.

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