April 18, 2007: From the Editor

One of the delights of the PAW editor’s job is interacting with the alumni who serve on our board. Twice each year, they get together on campus for discussions that are lively, fun, and almost always filled with varying opinions about PAW’s next steps.

Our April 13 meeting was the last for several dedicated board members whose terms are ending. These include our long-serving chairman, Todd Purdum ’82, and vice chairwoman, Jan Trembley *81. Their departures represent a loss for PAW and a personal loss for me, as both board members have been sources of infinite guidance and support since my first days on the job. For more than four years, they have made the time to hear my concerns, help me think through sensitive issues of policy, and navigate the conflicting demands that come with the territory.

Purdum’s dedication as board chairman did not diminish even when, in late 2005, he moved from his position as Washington correspondent for The New York Times to become national editor at Vanity Fair. Announcing Purdum’s move, Times editor Philip Taubman sent colleagues a note that complimented his extraordinary writing and reporting skills, and added: “He also happens to be one of the nicest, most collegial people in our profession.” We at PAW totally concur, and hope that the results of his generosity and clear thinking are evident in our pages.

Like Purdum, Trembley has been an unusually helpful and involved board member. As the editor of the alumnae magazine at Bryn Mawr College, where she was an undergraduate, she knows firsthand the ins and outs of our unique corner of the publishing world. Officially, Trembley represents graduate alumni on the board, and she has been a forceful proponent of their interests. Her suggestions have improved the magazine for all its readers — graduate and undergraduate alumni alike.

We also are losing David Siegfried ’64 and Joel Rudell ’65, who have served ex officio as Alumni Council officers, and faculty representative Sean Wilentz. All have made major contributions to the magazine.

Joining our board in the fall are Pulitzer Prize-winning author Annalyn Swan ’73 and Carlos Lozada *97. Swan and her husband, Mark Stevens ’73, shared a Pulitzer in 2005 for their biography of artist Willem de Kooning. In addition to her many contributions to major American magazines, Swan has been a PAW contributor, writing a profile of Broadway producer Roger Berlind ’52 in 2006. Lozada, who will succeed Trembley as the graduate-alumni representative on the board, recently was named national security editor of The Washington Post, following stints editing the Post’s Outlook section and Foreign Policy magazine, where his work was honored with a National Magazine Award.

We welcome our new members, and say to our departing ones: Thank you for all that you have done.

Marilyn H. Marks *86
mmarks@princeton.edu