Notebook - March 8, 2000

Wythes Committee plans for coming decade

Recommends more students, new residential college, distance learning

How Princeton evolves in the next decade-in size, shape, and technological reach-will be influenced by a special trustee committee's recommendations that the full board will consider April 15.

"We have to keep working at issues that will keep Princeton at the top," said Paul M. Wythes '55, who chaired the committee that produced the report. The committee was appointed in the fall of 1997 to consider a number of long-term strategic issues facing Princeton over the coming decade. The major change advocated by the Wythes Report is to increase Princeton's student body by 500 students (see related story on page 20). The report also recommends the construction of a sixth residential college and a new dorm, but not the hiring of additional faculty beyond the pace of the past 20 years-a 1-percent increase on average.

"If the increase in students is approved in April, we will move fairly quickly after that to recommend a site for the new residential college," said Richard R. Spies *72, vice president for finance and

administration. While the report does not propose a location, the committee reviewed several possibilities. The earliest a new college might open is in three years, said Spies. On completion, the sixth college would reduce the number of students in the other five colleges, providing more flexibility in their use of common space.

The report supported efforts by Dean of the Faculty Joseph H. Taylor for controlled growth, with some redistribution of positions in selected fields and the hiring of younger faculty members. Additionally, the committee addressed faculty diversity, urging the university to aggressively attract minorities (currently, 8 percent of the faculty is Asian-American and 5 percent is African-American). The number of women professors, now at about 20 percent, is expected to grow to between 30 and 40 percent in the next six to eight years as current junior staff is promoted.

The report also suggested that by next fall, Princeton develop a distance learning program, in which course work and research are enhanced by the use of computer technology. The Alumni Council will continue to offer online courses to alumni; eventually the university might make them available to a broader audience. To achieve this, Princeton might pursue partnerships with other universities or with outside companies that can provide marketing or technical expertise. "We're not lagging, but we want to get on with it, and we want to do it with quality," Wythes says of this initiative.

The 68-page report, released January 29, also offers recommendations for the Graduate School, financial resources, administrative and support staff, physical facilities, and the library. n

-Maria LoBiondo

 

The Wythes Report is located at www.princeton.edu/pr/reports/wythes.

Paw welcomes new editor

Peter G. Brown '70, chair of Princeton Alumni Weekly's board of directors, announced that Jane Chapman Martin '89, an editor experienced in producing a variety of university magazines and other publications, became editor of paw on February 1. Martin, who majored in English at Princeton and earned a master's, also in English, from the University of Chicago in 1990, has consulted in the editing and design of magazines for clients including Drew University, Montclair State University, the Lawrenceville School, and the University of Chicago. At Princeton, Martin was a sports editor for The Daily Princetonian.

"This is a job I've had my eye on ever since I started working in alumni magazines 10 years ago," said Martin, whose husband, James K. Martin, is also a member of the Class of 1989. "It's an especially meaningful opportunity because paw is celebrating its centennial in April.

"I hope to bring a sense of immediacy to the magazine," said Martin, and to make it a "link to campus" for alumni.

Martin takes over the helm of paw as it prepares to go through a restructuring later this spring. Under the proposal created by a special review committee, paw's current parent organization, Princeton Alumni Publications, will be dissolved, and the magazine will come under the administrative umbrella of the Alumni Council, but Martin will retain sole responsibility for the editorial content of the magazine.

The tone of the magazine might change in the future, she said, because of new leadership, but not because of the new governing structure. "I don't expect paw to become a softball magazine or to shy away from controversy," but "there probably will be some battles."

As an editorial assistant at University of Chicago Magazine in 1990-91, Martin shared a Gold Award from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education for staff writing. She then worked for two years as associate editor of Salt Lake City magazine. In 1994, she became founding director of a publications office for the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and served as editor-in-chief of its alumni magazine, Kellogg World.

Tuition and fees rise 3.3 percent,to $32,636 for undergraduates

More money earmarked for financial aid

The budget-setting Priorities Committee has recommended a 3.3 percent hike in undergraduate tuition and fees, bringing the cost of a Princeton education for the 2000-2001 year to $32,636. (Last year's increase was 3.5 percent.) While running ahead of a national inflation rate of 2.7 percent, the 3.3 increase is the lowest percentage increase in more than 30 years.

Next year, tuition will go up 3.25 percent to $25,430; room charges will increase 5 percent to $3,425; and board charges will rise 2 percent to $3,781. Tuition for graduate students will also rise 3.25 percent to $25,430; their room and board charges will go up at similar rates to those for undergraduates.

The trustees acted January 29 on budget recommendations based on a report by the Priorities Committee.

The trustees approved another change to the financial aid program: The university will further reduce the amount that students from middle-income families will be asked to borrow and will eliminate any consideration of home equity in calculating expected parental contributions for all families. These changes build on initiatives begun in 1998 to increase Princeton's affordability for students from lower- and middle-income families. The university had already eliminated loans from the financial aid packages of lower-income students and had excluded the value of the family home in calculating what many families are expected to pay.

The changes made in 1998 have improved the situation for students from lower-

income families, but they did not adequately improve the situation for students from families with incomes of about $50,000 to $150,000, said Provost Jeremiah P. Ostriker, who chairs the Priorities Committee. The yield (the percentage of students who accept Princeton's offer of admission) for middle-income students of the Class of 2003 (61 percent) was below that for lower-income students (68 percent) and the class as a whole (68 percent). "There seemed to be a significant need that we weren't addressing," said Ostriker. He hopes that these changes will increase the percentage of students on financial aid to at least 43 percent. According to Don M. Betterton, director of undergraduate financial aid, 42.5 percent of the Class of 2003 are on financial aid.

The changes to financial aid are expected to cost almost $2 million by the time they have been phased in.

The Priorities Committee presented a balanced budget for next year totaling $661 million, including $125,000 for graduate students in the form of Centennial Fellowships; money for Career Services and Media Services to add staff members; stipends for graduate students who will help faculty members in taking better advantage of new technology; funds for library acquisitions; and money for the Frist Campus Center and Dillon Gym's new fitness center.

-Kathryn Federici Greenwood

Alumni and faculty launch Princeton-in-Africa program

There's a tremendous demand on the part of Princeton students to do community service overseas," said Jeffrey I. Herbst '83, director of the Program in African Studies, who along with other faculty members, administrators, and alumni launched Princeton-in-Africa in February. Based on the 100-year-old Princeton-in-Asia program, Princeton-in-Africa will act as a clearinghouse for community service and teaching internships in Africa for undergraduates and young alumni, said Frank C. Strasburger '67, president of Princeton-in-Africa's board of directors.

Princeton-in-Africa will work with nongovernmental organizations and other organizations-such as the International Rescue Committee (IRC), which provides relief, protection, and resettlement services for refugees and victims of oppression or violent conflict-to secure summer internships and full-year, paid internships in Africa, said Princeton-in-Africa board member George F. Hritz '69. There are three internships available through the IRC for next year, said Hritz, who is a volunteer lawyer for that organization. Those interns will work with refugees, assessing their needs and putting together proposals for funding that may improve their water supply or rebuild their schools. At press time, Hritz didn't know where the three interns would be placed, but they are likely to end up in either Rwanda, Guinea, or Tanzania, where Princeton students have gone for summer internships. Last summer, for example, Renee Hsia '99 and Emily Holland '01 were IRC interns in Rwanda. Hsia worked in a health unit and Holland for an orphanage as well as for the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission, which attempted to jump-start dialogue between Hutus and Tutsis. Board members are trying to secure more internships for next year, said Hritz.

The new program grew out of the Class of 1969 Community Service Fund project, which for several years has provided money and coordinated summer internships for students and young alumni to work in community service in Africa.

For more information or to make a contribution to the program, contact Princeton-in-Africa at Piaf@princeton.edu or the program's administrator, Seva Kramer, at the Center for Civic Leadership, 32 Nassau Street, Princeton, NJ 08542. n

-Kathryn Federici Greenwood

Exhibit celebrates the life of Adlai Stevenson '22

This photograph of Harry S. Truman and Adlai E. Stevenson '22 at the 1952 Democratic National Convention is among the items on display in an exhibition at Firestone Library titled "A Voice of Conscience: The Legacy of Adlai Stevenson," which runs through April 9. It marks the 100th anniversary of Stevenson's birth and explores the life of a principled politician who was governor of Illinois, twice Democratic candidate for president, and ambassador to the United Nations. Drawing chiefly on photographs, documents, recorded material, and memorabilia at Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library, the exhibit reveals both the private and public facets of Stevenson's life (1900-1965). Visitors pass from a childhood drawing of a farmer and a cow, to mementos of his years at Princeton, to an invitation to the inaugural ball that celebrated his landslide election as governor in 1948. The presidential elections of 1952 and 1956, which pitted Stevenson against Dwight D. Eisenhower, are well represented. There is, for example, a photograph of Stevenson, a tireless campaigner, with a hole in his shoe, as well as a pair of "Win with Adlai" stockings. Rounding out the exhibition are two audiovisual components: a condensed version of Andrew Schlesinger's 1990 PBS documentary narrated by Gregory Peck, entitled "Adlai Stevenson: The Man from Libertyville," and an interactive presentation of political commercials, interviews, speeches, and other material that captures Stevenson in the act of reaching out to his fellow citizens. n

In Brief


Center for Peace and Justice

The Elmer and Mamdouha Bobst Foundation, which promotes initiatives ranging from medical research to cultural programs to higher education, has given the university $10 million to create a new academic center for peace and justice. The Mamdouha S. Bobst Center for Peace and Justice will be located at 83 Prospect Street when renovation is completed in 2001. The building (currently home to Stevenson Hall) will be renamed Bobst Hall.

An arm of the Department of Politics, the center will sponsor conferences concerned with issues of ethnic, religious, and territorial conflict; bring officials from around the world to serve as guest speakers; fund field research for students; and offer officials from other countries involved in conflicts a place to reflect and meet with each other, said Jameson W. Doig *61, chair of the politics department. The center's activities will start next fall.

Chapel renovations

Men wearing hard hats are entering the University Chapel; they aren't a group of worshippers; they have begun a two-year restoration of the chapel. The work, which started February 1, will involve repair of the stonework and masonry and releading the stained glass windows. To prevent damage from the dust during the restoration, the pipe organ has been covered with plastic sheeting and the chamber sealed. In its place, musicians will play an electronic digital organ.

Although seating might be tight, the university still plans to hold the Baccalaureate ceremony in the chapel, said Joseph C. Williamson, dean of religious life and dean of the chapel.

Plasma ampere record

Nine months ahead of schedule, the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory's experimental nuclear fusion device set a world record in December by producing a million-ampere plasma current. By comparison, a toaster uses five amperes. The world record sets the stage for the lab to create and study plasma conditions that are relevant to the production of fusion energy. The machine that produced the record, called NSTX, was first powered up a year ago. It replaced the lab's previous fusion device, TFTR, which was dismantled in 1997. NSTX might have advantages over TFTR that could lead to the more efficient development of fusion energy. Martin Peng, who codirects NSTX with Masa Ono, said an important goal for NSTX is to provide the scientific knowledge to build a machine that will put out three times the power of TFTR at one-third the cost.

Read a good e-book lately?

Could it be that three months into the third millennium, you still don't have an electronic book? Don't worry, you aren't alone. By all reports, the rapid development of e-books-portable devices with screens designed just for reading-and their accompanying software is being met with a decidedly sluggish response by the book-loving public. According to Robert C. Darnton, Shelby Cullom Davis '30 Professor of European History, the industry's mistake is the assumption that these devices will substitute for traditional books. "People will still be reading books written on paper. The truly new development, instead, is what you could call 'instantaneously customized paperback books,' " said Darnton. On the horizon, readers will be able to download selections of personal interest from an electronic text, then have the selection bound as a book. "It will be spreading like wildfire over the next few years," predicted Darnton. "That to me is very exciting-there will be a new character of writing books and reading books."

The electronic text that Darnton envisions will be structured in layers, like a pyramid. The top layer could be a concise account of the subject, available as a traditional book as well as an electronic text. The supporting layers could contain expanded versions, original manuscript material, different aspects of the argument, or even a layer with reader responses, all as self-contained units that feed into the topmost story. Rather than following the narrative horizontally, line to line, the reader could "click down," that is, read vertically through to the layer that interests him or her, eventually amassing a

sort of customized personal paperback.

Not satisfied with mere prognostication, Darnton himself is currently writing a 21st-century e-text which, appropriately, will be about the origins of the printing trade in 18th-century France. In fact, he is writing several books simultaneously, then integrating them. With support from the American Council of Learned Societies and the help of five graduate students, Darnton is spending the spring in Oxford to complete the project. Although he ruefully wonders if "this is my punishment for championing the electronic publishing movement," he cannot contain his elation over a technological change that will make reading "much more rich and complex. The whole human comedy behind the book is made accessible through this medium." n

-Diane Krumrey

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