Princeton Picks Biologist as Next Leader

Leading genetics researcher and well-respected professor Shirley M. Tilghman was named the 19th president of Princeton University on Saturday during a press conference held in Princeton’s Nassau Hall.

The announcement came after a special meeting of Princeton’s Board of Trustees confirmed Tilghman’s selection.

Tilghman, who was originally a member of the presidential search committee, stepped down from that position approximately six weeks ago.

When Tilghman replaces current President Harold T. Shapiro on June 15, she will become the first woman to lead Princeton University and only the second female president of an Ivy League institution.

Princeton Vice President and secretary to the search committee Thomas H. Wright said he feels that the selection of Princeton’s first female president is a major breakthrough.

“I think the committee was a little surprised in actually achieving that, but its something that they always thought would be wonderful, and it’s my personal belief that it’s a wonderful thing,” Wright said.

As a scientist specializing in the field of molecular biology, Tilghman has been at the forefront of such controversial issues as cloning and the human genome project. As a result, she has had to tackle some of the toughest ethical questions scientists have faced in recent decades.

“She is someone who radiates and reflects and is always spoken of in terms of values and character,” said Wright.

The 54-year old Tilghman has two children—one of whom is a member of Princeton’s graduating class of 2002.

She was born and raised in Canada, and received her B.Sc. in Chemistry from Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario in 1968. In 1975, Tilghman earned a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Temple University.

The Search

The search to find the next Princeton president began last September after Shapiro announced he would leave his post at the end of the academic year to return to teaching and research in the economics department.

Tilghman was a member of that presidential search committee until approximately six weeks ago.

According to Wright, several members of the committee had approached committee chairman Robert H. Rawson to suggest Tilghman as a candidate.

But Wright said that Rawson resisted such suggestions for several months because he felt that Tilghman was a valuable member of the committee whose input he did not want to lose and hesitated to ask Tilghman to step down before he was sure she would be a finalist.

The opportunity to discuss Tilghman as a candidate came when she left a search meeting early to teach. According to Wright, it was at that point that Rawson opened a discussion about Tilghman as a potential candidate.

“Everyone said ‘Yes, I would put her at the top of my list,’” Wright said.

It was shortly after that meeting that Rawson approached Tilghman and asked her to consider stepping down from the committee to allow herself to be considered as a candidate.

Though the committee was concerned their affection for Tilghman might cloud their judgment, they took many precautions to avoid such bias, and according to Wright, “they actually held her to a higher standard.”

Dual Roles

Before coming to Princeton, Tilghman had already proven herself a leader in the fields of molecular biology and genetic research.

While pursuing her postdoctoral studies at the National Institute of Health, Tilghman assisted other scientists in the laboratory of Dr. Philip Leder in cloning the first mammalian gene.

She was also among the first to introduce cloned genes into the mouse germline to study their properties.

Tilghman is a trustee for Rockefeller University and Cold Spring Laboratory and a member of the Royal Society of London, the U.S. Institute of Medicine and the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.

In addition to her world-renowned scientific work, Tilghman has also long exhibited a passion for teaching.

Between the completion of her undergraduate studies at Queens College and her doctoral work at Temple, Tilghman spent two years teaching in a secondary school in Sierra Leone.

In 1986 she arrived at Princeton as the Prior Professor of the Life Sciences.

Tilghman teaches large groups of both undergraduates and graduates, as well as a freshman seminar.

In 1996, Tilghman was awarded Princeton's President's Award for Distinguished Teaching.

Tilghman has also continued her research while at Princeton. She has been the head of the university's Institute for Integrative Genomics since 1998.

Wright said this intense combination of teaching and research has made Tilghman “very important to Princeton.”

Indeed, dedication to the University seemed to be one of the most important factors behind Tilghman’s selection.

Tilghman, who has been a member of the Princeton faculty since 1986 and is the director of school’s Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, is known for being a strong supporter of student activities.

“She’s very deeply involved in all aspects of campus life, as well as in the lab and in the classroom,” said Wright. “She goes to lots of athletic events and concerts and is one of the members of the faculty who is most intensely involved in those aspects of campus life,” he said.

Movin’ On Up

As Princeton’s 19th president, Tilghman will oversee several major structural changes at the university.

One of the most radical of these changes will be the 500-student increase in the undergraduate student body advocated by a report published last year this year by Paul M. Wythes, who is a Princeton trustee and was vice chair of the search committee.

Tilghman will also preside over the construction of a new residential college and a major fundraising campaign.

Wright said that he feels Tilghman’s sound values and strong presence will allow her to be an effective leader.

“This is a place that is a pretty personal place, and so the presence of a leader is unusually important,” Wright said. “It’s not a place with a business school, law school, and medical school. We’re much closer to being a single institution, and that’s why there’s a need for one person to exemplify those qualities and stand for the place. I believe she will do that.”