Nan Wells, director of Princeton's Office of Government Affairs in Washington, D.C., has announced that she plans to retire from the University in December. She will remain as a senior consultant in government affairs until the end of 2003.
"I would include among the successes of the Office of Government Affairs establishing and maintaining strong support for the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory from the U.S. Congress and the Department of Energy," said Wells, who has been in her current position since 1978. "With our faculty, we have also worked very hard to increase funding at the National Science Foundation and to sustain the National Endowment for the Humanities during difficult periods."
"Princeton has led the effort to create and fund the Education Department's Jacob Javits Fellowships," she continued, "and we have tried to speak out on behalf of graduate students and programs throughout the government, particularly at the National Science Foundation. I also count as a special accomplishment creating a joint office with Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, in order to express a more united effort to the New Jersey Congressional delegation."
Wells joined the Princeton staff in 1976 as associate director of the Office of Research and Project Administration and as federal relations officer. She said that while she will retire from Princeton, she expects to continue to represent higher education.
Robert Durkee, vice president for public affairs, soon will launch a search for Wells' successor.
"As the only director our government affairs office has ever had, Nan has played a central role in Princeton's multifaceted relationships with the federal government for more than two decades," Durkee said. "She has made countless friends for Princeton and has represented the University on a broad range of issues. Our challenge now is to find someone who can help us in the years ahead to build on the foundation she has established."
Contact: Marilyn Marks (609) 258-3601