The Tilghman Years: A Timeline

By Allie Weiss ’13

Published Jan. 21, 2016

3 min read

Summer 2001 Tilghman, named president in May, says she hopes Princeton will broaden its applicant pool and begin to attract “students with green hair”
Sept. 28, 2001 Tilghman installed as Princeton’s first female president
Summer 2002 Yale website scandal: Princeton admission officials use Social Security numbers to access private data at Yale
July 1, 2003 Janet Rapelye becomes dean of admission; applicant pool soars as financial aid expands
April 26, 2004 Faculty approves controversial grade-deflation plan
Oct. 5, 2005 Tilghman appointed to Google’s board of directors
November 2005 Princeton Neuroscience Institute created; construction of its new home begins in 2010
Sept. 18, 2006 Center for African American Studies is launched
Sept. 28–30, 2006 “Coming Back and Looking Forward” conference draws 530 black alumni; event is first of several groundbreaking conferences for minorities, women, and – in 2013 – LGBT alumni
Oct. 12, 2006 LGBT Center opens in Frist Campus Center
September 2007 Whitman College opens, supported by a $30 million gift from Meg Whitman ’77 in 2002
Nov. 8, 2007 Lewis Center for the Arts opens, supported by Peter B. Lewis ’55’s record gift of $101 million in 2006
Nov. 9, 2007 Formal launch of Aspire fundraising campaign
Feb. 19, 2008 Bridge-year program announced
July 1, 2008 Gerhard R. Andlinger ’52 donates $100 million to create a center for energy and environmental research
Sept. 11, 2008 Frank Gehry-designed Lewis Science Library opens, supported by Peter Lewis’ $60 million gift
Dec. 12, 2008 End of a six-year, donor-intent legal battle over Woodrow Wilson School funding. Princeton will pay $90 million to gain control over Robertson Foundation assets
Sept. 17, 2009 Carl A. Fields Center for Equality and Cultural Understanding re-opens in a renovated former eating club
Sept. 29, 2009 Tilghman reports a 22.7% decline in the endowment’s value, leading to staff layoffs, a pay freeze, and delayed capital projects. The endowment’s return bounces back the next year
May 3, 2010 Eating Club Task Force recommends changes to the bicker system and increased cooperation between the University and the clubs
September 2010 $278 million Frick Chemistry Lab opens, funded by royalties from a cancer drug developed by professor emeritus Edward C. Taylor
Feb. 24, 2011 University announces it will reinstate an early-admission program, ending four years of a single application deadline
March 21, 2011 Study documents gender disparities among students in academic and extracurricular leadership positions
Aug. 23, 2011 Princeton announces that starting in the fall of 2012, it will ban freshmen from affiliating with a sorority or fraternity
Dec. 6, 2011 Princeton Borough Council grants zoning approval for the University’s arts and transit neighborhood, despite misgivings over moving the Dinky station
June 30, 2012 Aspire campaign comes to a conclusion after raising $1.88 billion
Sept. 22, 2012 Tilghman announces her decision to step down at the end of the academic year

Summer 2001 Tilghman, named president in May, says she hopes Princeton will broaden its applicant pool and begin to attract “students with green hair”
Sept. 28, 2001 Tilghman installed as Princeton’s first female president
Summer 2002 Yale website scandal: Princeton admission officials use Social Security numbers to access private data at Yale
July 1, 2003 Janet Rapelye becomes dean of admission; applicant pool soars as financial aid expands
April 26, 2004 Faculty approves controversial grade-deflation plan
Oct. 5, 2005 Tilghman appointed to Google’s board of directors
November 2005 Princeton Neuroscience Institute created; construction of its new home begins in 2010
Sept. 18, 2006 Center for African American Studies is launched
Sept. 28–30, 2006 “Coming Back and Looking Forward” conference draws 530 black alumni; event is first of several groundbreaking conferences for minorities, women, and – in 2013 – LGBT alumni
Oct. 12, 2006 LGBT Center opens in Frist Campus Center
September 2007 Whitman College opens, supported by a $30 million gift from Meg Whitman ’77 in 2002
Nov. 8, 2007 Lewis Center for the Arts opens, supported by Peter B. Lewis ’55’s record gift of $101 million in 2006
Nov. 9, 2007 Formal launch of Aspire fundraising campaign
Feb. 19, 2008 Bridge-year program announced
July 1, 2008 Gerhard R. Andlinger ’52 donates $100 million to create a center for energy and environmental research
Sept. 11, 2008 Frank Gehry-designed Lewis Science Library opens, supported by Peter Lewis’ $60 million gift
Dec. 12, 2008 End of a six-year, donor-intent legal battle over Woodrow Wilson School funding. Princeton will pay $90 million to gain control over Robertson Foundation assets
Sept. 17, 2009 Carl A. Fields Center for Equality and Cultural Understanding re-opens in a renovated former eating club
Sept. 29, 2009 Tilghman reports a 22.7% decline in the endowment’s value, leading to staff layoffs, a pay freeze, and delayed capital projects. The endowment’s return bounces back the next year
May 3, 2010 Eating Club Task Force recommends changes to the bicker system and increased cooperation between the University and the clubs
September 2010 $278 million Frick Chemistry Lab opens, funded by royalties from a cancer drug developed by professor emeritus Edward C. Taylor
Feb. 24, 2011 University announces it will reinstate an early-admission program, ending four years of a single application deadline
March 21, 2011 Study documents gender disparities among students in academic and extracurricular leadership positions
Aug. 23, 2011 Princeton announces that starting in the fall of 2012, it will ban freshmen from affiliating with a sorority or fraternity
Dec. 6, 2011 Princeton Borough Council grants zoning approval for the University’s arts and transit neighborhood, despite misgivings over moving the Dinky station
June 30, 2012 Aspire campaign comes to a conclusion after raising $1.88 billion
Sept. 22, 2012 Tilghman announces her decision to step down at the end of the academic year