Trustees name scholars to endowed professorshipsPrinceton NJ -- University trustees approved the creation of several new professorships at their Nov. 15 meeting and named three faculty members to endowed chairs. "These professorships recognize extraordinary faculty members who are important scholars in their fields and teachers who contribute greatly to the intellectual life here at Princeton," President Tilghman said. "And I would like to express my gratitude to our loyal alumni, whose gifts of endowed chairs so significantly advance our academic mission." All appointments were effective Sept. 1, 2003. The Bert G. Kerstetter '66 University ProfessorshipAnne-Marie Slaughter, dean of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and professor of politics and international affairs, was named the Bert G. Kerstetter '66 University Professor of Politics and International Affairs. The newly endowed chair, which honors excellence in teaching, research and scholarship, was established by a gift from Bert G. Kerstetter, who graduated from Princeton in 1966 with a degree in philosophy. Kerstetter, who was an early advocate of Princeton's Center for Human Values, has made many gifts to Princeton, including the Russell B. Kerstetter Room in Marx Hall. Bringing together his interests in philosophy and athletics, he endowed a freshman seminar that focuses on the relationship between the sports experience and personal ethical development; to encourage informal interaction between students and faculty, he also endowed the Human Values Forum, a series of dinner meetings that address emerging ethical issues. Kerstetter, who graduated from Yale Law School in 1969, has been president of Everfast Inc., based in Kennett Square, Pa., for 33 years. He serves on the advisory boards of both the University Center for Human Values and the philosophy department.
"The Woodrow Wilson School has earned a world-class reputation for excellence. I am pleased to be able to support Princeton's continued development of this extraordinary legacy," Kerstetter said. "Dean Slaughter has shown exceptional leadership, and it is indeed an honor to be associated with her efforts." Slaughter, who received her A.B. from the Woodrow Wilson School in 1980, writes and lectures widely on international law and foreign policy issues. She has written on subjects such as the effectiveness of international courts and tribunals, the legal dimensions of the war on terrorism, building global democracy, international law and international relations theory. Prior to returning to Princeton in 2002, Slaughter was the J. Sinclair Armstrong Professor of International, Foreign and Comparative Law and director of graduate and international legal studies at Harvard Law School, where she earned her law degree. She received her M. Phil. and D.Phil. degrees from Oxford University. She is president of the American Society of International Law, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. The George Van Ness Lothrop ProfessorshipVincent Poor, professor of electrical engineering, was named the George Van Ness Lothrop Professor in Engineering. Poor conducts research in advanced cellular and other wireless technologies. He also regularly teaches a general interest course, "The Wireless Revolution," which is one of the most popular undergraduate courses at Princeton.
He is the recipient of the National Science Foundation's Director's Award for Distinguished Teaching Scholars and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' Graduate Teaching Award. He was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering in 2001. Poor earned a bachelor of science from Auburn University and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Princeton in 1977. He was a faculty member at the University of Illinois for 13 years. He returned to Princeton in 1990 as professor of electrical engineering. The professorship was established from a 1970 gift by a bequest of Marion Lewis Lothrop, widow of class of 1908 member George V. Lothrop. George Lothrop received a graduate degree in electrical engineering from Princeton in 1910. The gift also created the George Van Ness Lothrop Fellowships, one of the highest awards conferrable in the School of Engineering and Applied Science. As a graduate student, Poor also was a recipient of the George Van Ness Lothrop Fellowship. The Henry L. Hillman ProfessorshipDavid Tank, professor of molecular biology and physics, was named the Henry L. Hillman Professor in Molecular Biology.
Tank develops and applies physics-based measurement techniques to study dynamic aspects of the nervous system, from the level of single neurons to the whole brain. He currently is investigating a form of neural activity important in holding and manipulating information in short-term memory. Tank joined the Princeton faculty in the Department of Molecular Biology and the Department of Physics in 2001. He is currently a member of the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics and co-director of the Neuroscience Certificate Program. He was a researcher from 1983 to 2001 at Bell Laboratories, where he also served for more than a decade as the director of the biological computation research department. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Physical Society and, in 2001, was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences. Tank earned his B.S. in physics and mathematics from Case Western Reserve University and a Ph.D. in physics from Cornell University. The professorship was established in 1987 by gifts from philanthropist Henry L. Hillman, class of 1941, and the Hillman Foundation. Hillman, a longtime supporter of Princeton and his class, is the chair of the executive committee of the Pittsburgh-based Hillman Co. and leader of the Hillman Foundation, which seeks to support programs that improve the quality of life in the Pittsburgh area. Two more to be namedThe University will name distinguished faculty members to the following two chairs in the future. The Edward E. Matthews, Class of 1953, Professorship in Finance was established by gifts from Marie and Edward E. Matthews -- a Princeton trustee emeritus and retired senior vice chairman of American International Group Inc. -- and from the Starr Foundation, which makes grants in a number of areas, including education, medicine and health care, public policy, human needs and culture. Matthews, who earned his M.B.A. at Harvard University, is one of the University's most prominent alumni leaders. Among many volunteer activities, he has served as the chair of PRINCO (the Princeton University Investment Co.), which manages Princeton's endowment. He also has been a generous donor, supporting projects such as Princeton University Stadium, Class of '52 Stadium and -- reflecting his and his wife's special interest in the arts -- the Marie and Edward E. Matthews '53 Acting Studio at 185 Nassau St. and the new Roger S. Berlind Theatre. "Finance-related issues have become so central to the study of economics and other social sciences," said Matthews. "We are enormously pleased to be able to support Princeton's important research and teaching in this field." The Frederick L. Moore, Class of 1918, Professorship in Finance was established by a gift from Edward B. Goodnow, class of 1947. Moore was a senior partner at Kidder, Peabody, where he made pioneering investments to develop new oil and gas resources in western Canada. He also was the investment banker for Walt Disney, leading the initial public offering of Disney stock in the early 1940s. Moore, who died in 1987, gave Goodnow his first job after he graduated from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. "He was my mentor," said Goodnow, who was at Kidder, Peabody for 17 years before leaving to form a private investment company, Goodnow, Gray & Co. in 1969. "But what I remember most about him was he loved Princeton more than anyone I ever knew." |
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