The Tilghman Years: A Timeline

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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

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