From the Princeton Weekly Bulletin, February 9, 1998
Trustees salute Shapiro on 10th anniversary
On
January 8, 1988 Harold Shapiro was installed as the 18th President
of Princeton University. Shortly after President Shapiro's
inauguration, he presided over the first meeting of this Board of
Trustees. In his inaugural address, he expressed his desire to
"enter into a sustained conversation with the Princeton community"
that would result in "increased fellowship, enduring friendship,
and continued leadership." To mark the occasion we Trustees
appropriately reflect on these past 10 years and offer the
following resolution:
WHEREAS
He was installed a decade ago as President of his alma mater, and blessed by clarity of vision he has led us through a decade of growth and change, all the while preserving the traditions that define our University;
A dedicated and popular teacher himself, he has led faculty efforts to reinvigorate teaching, inter alia creating the President's Teaching Initiatives and planning the Center for Teaching and Learning;
In
campaign kickoffs too numerous to count, both he and Vivian have
reached out to alumni and friends across the nation and throughout
the world, and in the plaque installed on the front lawn of Nassau
Hall, he has recorded a public tribute to the significant
contributions of alumni;
Leading the highly successful Anniversary Campaign for Princeton, he has encouraged volunteers and donors to catapult Annual Giving to new sustained high levels;
He has demonstrated his commitment to our informal motto of "Princeton in the Nation's Service," assuming most recently leadership for President Clinton of our nation's efforts to address with scientific accuracy and moral grounding the difficult issues of bioethics, including the cloning of humans;
As the leader of the University as she contemplates the next century, he has instilled new life into Woodrow Wilson's words, expanding Princeton's informal motto to "Princeton in the Service of All Nations," thus acknowledging both our world's shrinking size and the expanding influence of our scholarly community and alumni family;
Reinforcing
the University's commitment to diversity in the faculty, students
and staff, he also forcefully reminds us of the moral values that
undergird a liberal education;
Obvious proof of his background in economics, he has brought greater control to University budgeting, while decreasing the growth of tuition rates and increasing building space by over 600,000 square feet;
Leading the University's 250th Anniversary celebration of past accomplishments and "the idea of the place" to a glorious conclusion, he now turns our sights to the promise of the next decade and to the work of preserving the University's preeminence in the next century;
Drafting him as President, we succeeded in attracting to
Princeton the warm, intelligent and gracious addition of Vivian
Shapiro to our community;
NOW, THEREFORE, his fellow Trustees do hereby record our appreciation for his most remarkably able and wise leadership of Princeton, our respect for his personal integrity and commitment to human values, and our gratitude to Vivian Shapiro for the many ways she enriches the life of the University community, and we do hereby declare our enthusiastic support for the initiatives to safeguard and foster the teaching and research mission of the University. As we look forward to continuing our lively conversation with our colleague and friend, we take this opportunity to proclaim with one accord, for reasons spelled out boldly in the above resolution: HAIL HAROLD.