Notebook - February 9, 2000
Shapiro earns 18th highest salary
among nation's college presidents
Three Ivy League presidents were among the top 10 highest-paid college
and university leaders in the nation in 1997-98, according to a survey by
The Chronicle of Higher Education. Judith Rodin, of the University of Pennsylvania,
placed fifth with $529,677 in pay and $18,697 in benefits for a total compensation
package of $548,374. Richard C. Levin, of Yale, ranked ninth, earning $495,823
in pay and benefits. George Rupp '64, of Columbia, landed 10th with $477,383.
President Shapiro, who earned $376,120 in pay and $40,891 in benefits
for a total of $417,011, ranked 18th. Among Ivy League presidents, he placed
fifth.
The Chronicle collected data from the federal tax returns filed by 475
private colleges and universities for 1997-98, the most recent year available.
Howard J. Burnett, of Washington and Jefferson College, who left his
office in 1998, pocketed the highest salary in the nation. His earnings,
including one year's sabbatical leave and payment for exemplary service,
topped $1 million.
The survey found that the leaders of eight institutions earned more than
$500,000 in pay and benefits and 13 others topped $400,000, making 1997-98
the most lucrative year for college presidents since the Chronicle began
tracking their salaries in 1991-92. The median total salary for heads of
research universities was $380,701, an 8.3 percent increase from 1996-97.
Shapiro's salary jumped 9 percent from 1996-97. The Board of Trustees
determines the president's pay and raises. Shapiro's salary increase falls
at the high end for the university, said Vice-President for Finance and
Administration Richard R. Spies *72, but it is not the highest. The board
believes Shapiro is "one of the best if not the best" college
president today, said Spies, and the university should convey that to him
in his salary.
After Shapiro, Andrew K. Golden, president of Princeton University Investment
Company, earned the next highest salary at Princeton-$281,988 in pay and
$37,810 in benefits.
-Kathryn Federici Greenwood
Eggleston '42 and Tien *59 to receive
awards on Alumni Day
Forrest C. Eggleston '42 and Chang-Lin Tien *59 will receive the university's
highest awards for alumni and deliver speeches on Alumni Day, February 26.
Eggleston, a physician who served for 33 years as a Presbyterian missionary
in India, will accept the Woodrow Wilson Award, given to an undergraduate
alumnus or alumna who exemplifies "Princeton in the Nation's Service."
Tien, a professor and former chancellor of the University of California,
Berkeley, will be awarded the Madison Medal, which recognizes an outstanding
alumnus or alumna of the Graduate School.
A graduate of Cornell Medical School, Eggleston went in 1953 to India,
where he ran a small tuberculosis hospital in the foothills of the Himalayas
for a year before becoming professor and head of the department of surgery
at the Christian Medical College and its associated hospital in Ludhiana;
he later became director of the institution. He retired in 1986. After leaving
India, he and his wife, Barbara, served as volunteers in Cameroon. They
now live in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. Last year he published his memoir,
Where Is God Not? An American Surgeon in India (Providence House).
Internationally known for his work in heat transfer technology, Tien
was born in China and earned his doctorate in mechanical engineering from
Princeton in 1959, the same year he joined the mechanical engineering faculty
at Berkeley. Now he is University Professor for the University of California
system and NEC Distinguished Professor at Berkeley.
The day before Alumni Day, the university will bestow an honorary degree
on Nelson Mandela, South Africa's first black president, in Jadwin Gym.
Making sense of world trade
When protesters caused havoc at the meeting of the World Trade Organization
in Seattle in late November-delaying sessions, wrecking stores, and fighting
with police officers-many people were surprised. Why were anarchists, consumer
advocates, animal rights activists, and union members so upset about world
trade? To find answers, paw turned to Gene M. Grossman, the Jacob Viner
Professor of International Affairs, to help make sense of the WTO and the
recent uproar.
What is the World Trade Organization?
The WTO serves as a standing forum for multilateral trade negotiations
and to adjudicate trade disputes.
Why the sudden burst of outrage about free trade?
I think it's a result of "globalization," by which I mean the
increasing integration of the world economy. Those who produce things that
compete with imports-especially imports from places like Mexico and China-feel
that expanding trade is holding down their wages and contributing to a widening
gap between rich and poor. But even more people worry that globalization
spells a loss of control for national governments. In the past, governments
could set any regulations they wanted, without worrying about the international
implications. But now, with global markets . . . governments are not as
free as they once were to pursue their domestic objectives.
Is free trade bad for the environment?
On the whole, no. Several studies have shown that freer trade benefits
the environment, by giving poor countries the wherewithal to afford greater
environmental protection and by shifting dirty production to countries with
more advanced technologies.
Then why do environmentalists object to the WTO?
The WTO has ruled that some U.S. environmental regulations are inconsistent
with our obligations under the trade treaties we have signed. For example,
the WTO ruled against a U.S. law requiring dolphin-safe tuna fishing. It
said that governments should not discriminate in trade based on the way
a good is produced, and that the specific way the U.S. law was written made
it more difficult for Mexican fishermen to comply than for their American
counterparts. The organization believes that environmental laws should not
be used to disguise protectionist intentions.
Why do labor rights advocates object to world trade?
They object to our trading with countries with fewer labor standards
and worse working conditions than the
U.S. Intolerable conditions prevail in many places, but shutting our
markets to goods from these countries will only make matters worse. Poor
labor conditions are the result of poverty, not trade opportunities. To
put an end to child labor, for example, we need to help build more schools
in the developing countries and to buy freely the goods that are produced
by the children's parents.
Where should the WTO go from here?
The WTO must continue its efforts to eliminate impediments to world trade.
American trade barriers will not further environmental objectives or workers'
rights, but they will condemn the poorest people in the world to a life
of continuing poverty.
Beauty and the academic beast
Hard to imagine, perhaps, but hair, fingernails, and skin treatments
were the focus of a multidisciplinary symposium sponsored by the Program
in African-American Studies on December 3. Scholars from various fields
such as biology, African-American studies, anthropology, and history gathered
in McCosh Hall to discuss the idea of beauty and its relation to race in
American culture at "Everyday Challenges: A Symposium on Race and Beauty."
More than 150 participants turned out for the symposium, many more than
its organizers, Noliwe M. Rooks, a visiting assistant professor of history,
English, and African-American studies, and Nell Irvin Painter, Edwards Professor
of American History and director of the Program in African-American Studies,
had anticipated.
The scholars seemed to agree that the modern American ideal of beauty
is much more than skin-deep. Assumptions about race, class, and personal
worth influence our perceptions of beauty. As a result, immigrants and minorities
have felt pressure to "improve" their looks to improve their status.
As discussion continued, it became clear that humans use beauty stereotypes
as markers for prestige and power, and as a way to extend racial inequity.
And, of course, beauty plays a highly charged role in consumerism.
To clear a path through all these assumptions, Lee M. Silver, a professor
of molecular biology and public affairs, clarified the scientific meaning
of beauty. He deftly narrowed the possible evolutionary bases for our idea
of beauty to the one that is scientifically viable: Creatures are drawn
to mates who appear to be highly reproductive-admittedly a rather dry form
of sexiness. Does that mean that Kate Moss makes it onto the cover of Vogue
or Cosmopolitan because she can be fruitful and multiply? No, said Silver.
Humans manage to complicate the issue, using sex for more than just procreating.
Many participants questioned why Americans adhere to the accepted ideals
of beauty even when they prove harmful. Ultimately, there was no consensus,
but Painter was still pleased, because "we would like to get people
to think in these terms."
-Diane Krumrey
Side Notes
Nikola Who? . . . riding rescuers . . . Atlantic City glitz
Everyone knows who Thomas Edison was, but does Nikola Tesla (1856-1943)
ring a bell? A contemporary of Edison, Tesla was a pioneer in the field
of high-voltage electricity and a proponent of alternating current for electricity,
while Edison favored direct current. Recently, Steve Forrest, chairman of
the Department of Electrical Engineering and well aware of Tesla's importance,
accepted a bronze bust of Tesla, given by John W. Wagner, whose goal is
to heighten awareness of the man and his work and is doing so by donating
busts to the best electrical engineering departments in the land. "The
whole world uses alternating current," said Forrest. "Direct current
cannot be transported over long distances without huge losses." And
the bust? "I think it will become the department's mascot. It is so
beautiful. We put it in the department's lounge."
A number of students give back to the community by working on the Princeton
First Aid and Rescue Squad. A recent story in The Daily Princetonian explained
the history of student involvement in the squad and noted that Greg Paulson
'98 was recently elected chief. Paulson, the first alumnus to serve as chief,
assumed his duties January 1. Jonathan Slutzman '01, who joined the squad
as a freshman, was elected president. According to the Prince, students
first joined the squad in 1972. Now, one-third of the 60-member squad are
university students. You would think that when the university is not in
session the squad would suffer, but Slutzman said, "We have a large
number of members from the town, so our ability to respond . . . is never
really affected."
Students tired of the same old scene on Prospect Street occasionally
make their way to the lights and glitz of Atlantic City, reported the Prince.
A two-hour drive from Princeton, Atlantic City offers slot machines, gambling
tables, and high-profile entertainment. None of the students interviewed
by the student newspaper confessed to losing a lot of money-the largest
amount reported lost was $80 by a freshman who asked not to be named. He
added, though, that the next time he went, he won $80. Will Staples '00
goes to Atlantic City for the camaraderie. Shep Ryen '01 went last year
during spring break to tour the city, and Josh Diehl '00 likes to go there
to celebrate birthdays. Casinos require their customers to be 21, but Tom
Nugent '01, who lives 10 minutes away from Atlantic City and presumably
knows the ropes, said, "Certain casinos card a lot less than other
casinos do."
Movies at the click of a mouse
Princeton students no longer need to rearrange their hectic schedules
to show up at a specific time to view a required film or video. Now, students
in Assistant Professor of English William A. Gleason's course American Best
Sellers, for example, can see Murder My Sweet and Gone With the Wind online
using video streaming technology whenever their schedules allow. They need
only stroll over to one of two specially wired computer centers, called
Distributed Media Centers (DMCs)-in Forbes library and Butler-Wilson library-each
of which offers 5 to 10 workstations dedicated to accessing high-bandwidth
video material assigned by professors. And no muss or fuss: a scroll bar
on the computer screen provides virtually instant access to any point in
the program, moving forward or backward with just a click of the mouse.
Several students can watch the same film simultaneously yet independently.
Only students registered in courses using these media programs can access
the files on the servers in the DMCs, thereby avoiding copyright infringement.
Ultimately, the university plans to have five DMCs: three in the residential
colleges, one in the Graduate School, and one at Firestone Library.
Video streaming technology, new to Princeton this year, was originally
developed to support foreign language courses. "But many professors
in other disciplines immediately imagined the possibilities for their own
courses," said Marianne C. Crusius, manager of academic services' language
resource center, who with Serge J. Goldstein, director of academic services,
and S. Georgia Nugent '73, associate provost, brought video streaming to
Princeton. Crusius predicts that, after this semester, more professors will
clamor to incorporate online video material into their syllabi.
-Diane Krumrey
In Memoriam
McConville, Martin
Mary Eva McConville '00, from Salinas, California, died in Paris, France,
on January 1 of injuries sustained in an accidental four-story fall from
the window of an apartment building. She was 21. McConville, who majored
in romance languages and literatures, studied in Paris last spring at the
Center for University Programs Abroad and at the University of Paris. She
had returned to spend New Year's Eve with friends. At Princeton she worked
as a research assistant to Karl D. Uitti, John N. Woodhull Professor of
Modern Languages, and as an office assistant in the Office of Communications.
During her freshman and sophomore years, she lived in Mathey College and
later belonged to Terrace Club.
Robert B. Martin, a professor of English, emeritus, died on November
29 in Madison, Wisconsin. He was 81. Martin taught English at Princeton
from 1951 to 1975 before retiring to become a full-time writer in Oxford,
England. An expert on Victorian literature, he published 10 books, including
biographies of Alfred, Lord Tennyson and four mystery novels. Martin earned
his B. Litt. in 1950 from Oxford University, where he was a Fulbright Scholar.
He was an Army Air Corps veteran of World War II.
A French kiss
Robert C. Darnton, Shelby Cullom Davis '30 Professor of European History,
received a congratulatory kiss on both cheeks from the French ambassador
for being named a Chevalier of the Légion d'Honneur, the most prestigious
award given by the French government. Darnton, who has written dozens of
books on French history, was honored for his research and analysis of French
history at a ceremony held at the French Consulate in New York City last
October. He has also applied his expertise to other media. Last year he
codirected a French television series titled "Democracy," and
he is now working on an electronic book about the history of texts written
during the 18th century. "It's very nice to be kissed on both cheeks
by the French ambassador, but it's even nicer to be recognized as someone
struggling for many years to make sense of French history," he told
The Daily Princetonian.
Marshall scholar
Susan Rea '00 was awarded Princeton's only Marshall Scholarship for two
years of study in Great Britain. Seven students from Harvard-the most from
any one institution-received Marshalls. A chemical engineering major and
two-sport varsity athlete, Rea plans to study at either Cambridge University
or the University of Strathclyde in Scotland and continue pursuing research
that combines engineering and medicine. She plays basketball and soccer
and was named to the all-Ivy second team for soccer this year. Last year,
she studied at the University of Melbourne in Australia for a semester.
First director
Paul Breitman became the first director of the Frist Campus Center in
January. He comes to Princeton from Rutgers University, where he was associate
dean for student centers and student activities. He will oversee the functioning
of the facility, coordinate food services and maintenance, and work with
students, faculty, and staff to design extracurricular programs. Due to
open next fall, the campus center will provide the university with new dining,
social, and performance spaces and programs.
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