The first meeting of the Trustee Ad Hoc Committee on Diversity at Princeton University was held last week. The new committee’s stated goal is to identify ways to enhance diversity of the faculty, senior administration, and graduate student body. The committee will develop recommendations for strategies to attract people of color and women to positions in which they have historically been underrepresented.
“In the last several decades Princeton has made significant progress in creating a vibrant and diverse community, and our ability to build upon this success will be critical to the University’s future,” stated Princeton President Shirley M. Tilghman. “We can take pride in the fact that our undergraduate student body is now more diverse than ever before in terms of socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and citizenship. On the other hand, our success in diversifying the graduate student body, faculty and senior administration has proceeded more slowly.”
The 19-member committee includes members of the faculty, graduate student body, trustees, and staff members. It is co-chaired by Brent Henry, a 1969 graduate of Princeton and a member of the board of trustees and Deborah Prentice, the Alexander Stewart 1886 Professor of Psychology at the University.
My son, African American, will be graduating early from Stony Brook University in New York with a double major in Math and Applied Math. He will have completed his B.A. in 3 years vs. the typical 4 years with a 3.5+ GPA. When he applies to various schools, including the Ivy league schools like Princeton, I assume Mr. Brent Henry of Princeton will look to recruit and fully support my son with a nice package of tuition, room and board, stipend and ancillary expenses. I will make sure that I give him a call.