The recently concluded celebration of the Centennial provided us with a wonderful opportunity to showcase the Graduate School, its centrality to Princeton’s mission of teaching and research, and the contributions of its alumni to scholarship and research, education, public policy and industry.

It is surely impossible to list all of those who made the celebration a notable success, for it required the imagination and dedication of a great many. I believe the heightened visibility and recognition positively affected the Graduate School and everyone associated with it. All Princetonians rightly should take pride in it as a primary vehicle of the University’s broader mission.

Association of Princeton Graduate Alumni

A major factor in the successful celebration of the Centennial was a splendid effort by the leaders of the Association of Princeton Graduate Alumni to strengthen their programs and more effectively reach out to alumni of the Graduate School. Through their initiatives, coupled with those of the Alumni Council, undergraduate as well as graduate alumni around the world were able to participate. The APGA kicked off the year with an extensive program at Reunions in May of 2000. Thereafter more than 25 alumni groups from Tulsa to Tokyo, and from Knoxville to the District of Columbia, sponsored special programs that recognized individual graduate alumni as well as the significance of the Graduate School to Princeton.

Academic Presentations

The spine of the celebration was the series of six public lectures, titled, Frontiers of Knowledge, which drew over 2,000 attendees. These lectures by distinguished graduate alumni are available on tape as well as in the University’s Web archives, and will be broadcast over the local cable network. Two major conferences were also extremely well received. A Constitution for the Ages: James Madison the Framer celebrated not only the Centennial but also the 250th anniversary of Madison’s birth. (Its proceedings are also available on tape and on the web.) An invitational conference, Critical Issues Facing Doctoral Education in the Arts and Sciences, brought together many scholars and deans of graduate education, casting Princeton as a leader among research universities. Graduate students and faculty members organized many other academic conferences.

The celebration of the Centennial also incorporated several special panels and presentations, including symposia with distinguished graduate alumni, university presidents and Madison Medalists sponsored by the APGA. The Alumni Council Committee on the Centennial organized a Reunions 2001 discussion of Princeton’s special profile as a research university with a single faculty and a very limited number of professional programs of study. J.T. Miller ’70 created an engaging slide presentation, The Surprising History of the Graduate School: An Illustrated Show, which he presented on campus and at numerous regional clubs and associations. A special dinner for the trustees and graduate alumni on the Princeton faculty was held in Procter Hall during January. Fireworks at Reunions 2000 featured the Centennial and included the presentation of a banner that had accompanied Daniel T. Barry *80 to the International Space Station on Mission STS-96 in May 2000.

Centennial Gala

At the center of the year’s celebration was the Centennial Gala that took place on December 15th to mark the day the trustees voted to establish a Graduate School, namely December 13, 1900. The Gala attracted over 1,700 faculty, staff and graduate students along with numerous alumni and friends from around the globe. A light show and an array of international flags transformed Jadwin Gymnasium while a band through its very broad repertoire provided music to suit the tastes of all generations.

Exhibitions and Publications

Several exhibitions and publications also marked the Centennial. At Firestone Library, A Community of Scholars: Graduate Education at Princeton, featured more than 100 photographs, documents and artifacts. Another smaller exhibition accompanied the conference on Madison.

A much enlarged edition of The Princeton Graduate School: A History was edited by Patricia Marks *72 and includes a new concluding chapter by Professor James Axtell of the College of William and Mary. Professor emeritus David Coffin ’40 *54 composed Princeton University’s Graduate College as a new volume in the University’s little book series.

A compact disc records a live concert performance in Procter Hall featuring University Organist Joan Lippincott and several student musicians pursuing research doctorates in various fields. The summer 2000 carillon concerts and a closing reception were dedicated to the Centennial, as was the final issue of Critical Matrix, a student journal of women, gender and culture.

The Alumni Council Committee on Princetoniana compiled an extensive roster of noteworthy alumni of the Graduate School; PAW editors published a partial list of 100 names in January 2001. Recognizing the Graduate School’s traditional symbol, Professor Paul Muldoon penned a poetic tribute, The Tower.

Community Outreach

In addition to the summer carillon series, several smaller programs made direct outreach to the greater Princeton community. This spring the Mercer County Chamber of Commerce hosted the dean and a number of graduate students at one of their monthly meetings, providing the opportunity for them to discuss the significance of Princeton as a center for basic research. A ceremony at Merwick Rehabilitation Unit of The Medical Center at Princeton recognized the original house and grounds as the first residential graduate college in the country; a plaque will so identify it. Graduate students were active participants in this year’s Communiversity event with the Arts Council.

Throughout the year, many campus publications and traditional activities carried a Centennial message. These included numerous receptions and lectures, as well as major events such as the Hooding Ceremony, Alumni Day, Stadium Day and the Staff Picnic. Additionally, graduate alumni received four complimentary issues of the PAW supplemented by Graduate News. Souvenirs included shakers, pins, buttons, water bottles, pencils, notepads and virtual records on an electronic website. The logo of rampant tigers, rendered in terra cotta, was ubiquitous.

In sum, celebration of its Centennial raised the profile of the Graduate School locally even as it more broadly strengthened the relationship of the University to the School’s alumni.