To our readers
As part of both the University’s cost-savings efforts and sustainability initiatives,
the Princeton Weekly Bulletin will undergo some significant changes beginning in the 2009-10 academic year.
Starting with the Sept. 13, 2009, issue, the Bulletin will be published on a biweekly basis,
for a total of 15 issues during the academic year. Reflecting this new schedule, it will be renamed the Princeton University Bulletin.
Faculty and staff members, including retirees, will continue to receive the Bulletin at their homes free of charge, and copies will continue to be distributed around campus. A system to allow faculty and staff members to opt out of home delivery will be established by the fall. News and feature stories and event notices will continue to be published on the University homepage at www.princeton.edu as well as in the Bulletin.
The new rate for paid subscriptions to the Bulletin will be $20 for the academic year, or $15 for senior citizens and parents of Princeton students. Subscriptions can be mailed — with a check payable to Princeton University — to Office of Communications, 22 Chambers Street, Suite 201, Princeton, NJ 08542. A deadline schedule for the 2009-10 academic year will be published in August. For questions about the changes, contact Managing Editor Eric Quiñones at quinones@princeton.edu. For subscription questions, contact Elizabeth Patten at epatten@princeton.edu.
Tilghman to grads: Solve problems, seek meaning
by Ruth Stevens
With today’s Princeton graduates stepping out of FitzRandolph Gates and into the nation’s economic downturn, President Tilghman implored them to use their education to solve some of the world’s most challenging problems. In her annual Commencement address June 2, she also encouraged them to be seekers of purpose and meaning through engagement with the arts.
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Murphy’s worm studies may lead to new treatments to stop aging
by Kitta MacPherson
Coleen Murphy is no daydreamer. Yet, this practical-minded biologist possesses the boldest of visions, one she insists is rooted in solid science. It may be technologically possible, she believes, to someday stall aging sufficiently so that people can live in their adult prime bodies until they die. “Why not?” she says, half-defiantly, the trace of a twinkle in her eye.
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Victor Bruce, biological clocks expert, dies at 88
by Kitta MacPherson
Victor Bruce, a lecturer emeritus in biology at Princeton who conducted advanced studies for more than 25 years on the built-in cycles governing natural rhythms like the sleep-wake cycle, has died. He was 88. Bruce, who despite a background in engineering became drawn to biological studies, died May 29 at his home in Princeton after a short struggle with cancer.
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21 chosen for endowed professorships, 3 named Old Dominion Professors, 11 faculty promotions, 6 resignations
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Board approves 16 new faculty appointments
The appointments of 16 new faculty members, including five full professors and 11 assistant professors, have been approved by the Board of Trustees.
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Obama taps Wilson School’s Leach to lead NEH
President Barack Obama has announced that he intends to nominate Jim Leach, a 1964 Princeton alumnus and current faculty member in the University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, to chair the National Endowment for the Humanities. Leach, a former 15-term Republican Congressman representing Iowa, is the John L. Weinberg/Goldman Sachs & Co. Visiting Professor in the Wilson School. He also served as a member of Princeton’s Board of Trustees from 2002 to 2006.
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12 faculty members transfer to emeritus status
by Jennifer Greenstein Altmann
Twelve faculty members were transferred to emeritus status in recent action by the Board of Trustees.
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University names six to Board of Trustees
The University has named six new members of its Board of Trustees.
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Four faculty members recognized for outstanding teaching
by Ruth Stevens
Four Princeton faculty members received President’s Awards for Distinguished Teaching at Commencement ceremonies June 2. They are: Mitchell Duneier, professor of sociology; Eddie Glaude, the William S. Tod Professor of Religion and African American Studies; Sharad Malik, the George Van Ness Lothrop Professor in Engineering and director of the Keller Center for Innovation in Engineering Education; and Valerie Smith, the Woodrow Wilson Professor of Literature and director of the Center for African American Studies.
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Africa up close: Widner, students conduct firsthand studies of developing institutions
by Jennifer Greenstein Altmann
On numerous research trips to Africa over the last 25 years, politics scholar Jennifer Widner discovered important dynamics of the societies she studied that could only be gleaned by being there.
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Clay brings community-building zeal to Princeton and abroad
by Eric Quiñones
Makeba Clay’s mission as director of the Fields Center for Equality and Cultural Understanding is to foster an inclusive environment for campus community members from all backgrounds. Her community-building efforts, however, extend far beyond the center’s confines.
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Streicker Bridge begins to rise amid summer construction
by Eric Quiñones
The framework of the new pedestrian bridge spanning Washington Road will emerge as part of a series of summer construction projects that also includes continued progress on the new Chemistry Building and the completion of the Butler College renovation.
Anne St. Mauro, assistant vice president for facilities-design and construction, provided an update on the summer slate of projects:
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Managing editor: Eric Quiñones
Assistant editor: Jennifer Greenstein Altmann
Lead designer: Maggie Westergaard
Designer: Shani Hilton
Calendar editor: Shani Hilton
Contributing writers:
Cass Cliatt, Chris Emery, Kitta MacPherson, Ushma Patel, Ruth Stevens
Photographers: Denise Applewhite, Brian Wilson
Web edition: Mahlon Lovett
Subscription manager: Elizabeth Patten
The Bulletin is published weekly during the academic year, except during University breaks and exam weeks, by the Office of Communications. Permission is given to adapt, reprint or excerpt material from the Bulletin for use in other media.
Subscriptions. The Bulletin is distributed free to faculty, staff and students. Others may subscribe to the Bulletin for $30 for the 2008-09 academic year ($18 for current Princeton parents and people over 65). Send a check to Office of Communications, Princeton University, 22 Chambers St., Suite 201, Princeton, NJ 08542. Questions can be directed to (609) 258-3601 or pwb@princeton.edu.
Deadline. In general, the copy deadline for each issue is the Friday 10 days in advance of the Monday cover date. The deadline for the first Bulletin of 2009-10, which covers Sept. 13-27, is Friday, Sept. 4. A complete publication schedule is available at www.princeton.edu/pr/pwb/deadlines.html or by calling (609) 258-3601.
Nondiscrimination statement. In compliance with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and other federal, state and local laws, Princeton University does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national or ethnic origin, disability, or status as a disabled or Vietnam era veteran in any phase of its employment process, in any phase of its admission or financial aid programs, or other aspects of its educational programs or activities. The vice provost for institutional equity and diversity is the individual designated by the University to coordinate its efforts to comply with Title IX, Section 504 and other equal opportunity and affirmative action regulations and laws. Questions or concerns regarding Title IX, Section 504 or other aspects of Princeton’s equal opportunity or affirmative action programs should be directed to the Office of the Vice Provost for Institutional Equity and Diversity, Princeton University, 205 Nassau Hall, Princeton, NJ 08544 or (609) 258-6110.