Remarks by Joann Mitchell

It is a very special honor and a great pleasure to convey the greetings of the staff to President Shirley Tilghman on the occasion of her installation as Princeton's 19th President. Her election to the staff represents yet another wonderful achievement in a magnificent career and we are delighted to count her as one of us!

The staff of the University play a pivotal role in supporting and sustaining all facets of the University's aspirations in teaching, research and service. Collectively, we have approximately 35,000 years of service to this great University and have roles, responsibilities, experiences and expertise that are as diverse as we are. During the course of the 15 years that she served as a member of Princeton's faculty, President Tilghman undoubtedly had an opportunity to witness the loyalty and dedication of the University's more than 3, 200 staff members. Each of us -- whether we work to create and maintain the spaces and places that are both functional and aesthetically pleasing on the main campus and at the Plasma Physics Laboratory, or whether we are responsible for the health and safety of students, faculty and staff as well as thousands of visitors to the campus every year, whether we are curators or conservators of the University's world-class art collection, whether we nurture relationships with alumni and friends of the University and build bridges to the world outside FitzRandolph Gate, whether we maintain hundreds of miles of data cabling that allow Princetonians to transmit 1.2 million e-mail messages each week, whether we deliver more than 2 million pieces of snail mail annually, whether we are responsible for preparing and serving more than 60,000 meals per week, whether we coach, advise, counsel or mentor students, whether we catalogue and shelve the 6 million volumes that are housed in the University Libraries, whether we process more than 22,000 applications for admission each year or handle 29,000 requests for transcripts, whether we process more than 250,000 checks annually, or whether we manage the University's most valuable resources, its people -- we are proud of our Princeton connection. For more than two and a half centuries, the myriad contributions of the staff, both large and small, have helped to make this the finest research university in the world. We are fortunate that the Trustees have selected a President who values the staff and recognizes us as a quiet and powerful force that supports and nurtures an incredibly talented student body, facilitates the teaching and research of an extraordinary faculty, and takes very seriously the stewardship of the University's vast physical, fiscal and human resources.

Since the moment she took office in June, President Tilghman's inclusive leadership style has invited the exchange of ideas. Her ability to listen as she formulates policies or makes difficult decisions has conveyed her appreciation of the expertise and experiences of others, and most of all her warm and engaging manner with all she encounters demonstrates her respect for the dignity and worth of each member of this community.

Since the devastating events of September 11th, President Tilghman has often spoken about the strength and cohesion of the Princeton family. It is with great joy that we welcome her as the new head of this family, and we look forward to working with her to mobilize its members to support the mission of the University. President Tilghman, we, the members of the staff of Princeton University, affirm our commitment to the University and pledge to aid you in building on its already impressive strengths as you endeavor to lead it to even higher heights.

We are confident that, under your leadership, Princeton will continue to flourish!

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