History - Fields Center

Fields Center History

A Brief History of the Center

The Fields Center was created in 1971 as a result of student prompting, originally as the Third World Center. The center was established to support students of color, who were arriving at Princeton in increasing numbers, but also to create greater awareness and understanding among all members of the campus community. For more than 30 years, the Third World Center played an invaluable role in providing a social, cultural and political environment that was responsive to issues of ethnic and racial diversity; that addressed the needs and aspirations of students of color; and that enriched the Princeton experience for all students. The center's student board planned and hosted a range of activities from special events to a once thriving student newspaper, The Vigil.

By 1995, many students expressed growing concerns about the ambiguous nature of the center's name. For many, the name was problematic -- even divisive. The center’s student governance board decided actively to address these concerns in 2001. After discussions, surveys and meetings with students, alumni and administrators, the governance board recommended that the center be renamed in honor of Dr. Carl A. Fields, who at Princeton became the first African American administrator in the Ivy League. On April 13, 2002, Princeton’s trustees approved the change, and the center became the Carl A. Fields Center for Equality and Cultural Understanding, effective July 1, 2002.

In the fall of 2009 the Fields Center moved from its former home on Olden Avenue to a new home, at 58 Prospect Avenue, which was designed specifically to facilitate the broad range of center activities that are open to Princeton University and its surrounding communities.