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U. establishes African American studies department, concentration

U. establishes African American studies department, concentration

Jessica Li

The University Board of Trustees voted to create a new department for African American studies, the University announced on Tuesday. The department will be created on July 1. The decision came shortly after heated controversy on campus surrounding misappropriation of cultures and racial tensions on campus.

NEWS | 06/02/2015

Class of 2015 honored at 268th U. Commencement

Zaynab Zaman

It is important to pursue ideals that are not necessarily the most pragmatic, University President Christopher Eisgruber ’83 said at the University’s 268th Commencement on Tuesday.

NEWS | 06/02/2015

Dolan named Dean of the College

Jessica Li

Jill Dolan will be the next Dean of the College, the University announcedon Tuesday. The appointment follows a semester-long search. Dolan is an English professor and the director of the Program in Gender and Sexuality Studies.

NEWS | 06/02/2015

Nolan discusses importance of reality in Class Day address

Nahrie Chung

Dreams are virtual realities distracting us from confronting the true power of changing our reality, film director Christopher Nolan said in his Class Day keynote address to graduating seniors. Describing the widely disputed final scene in his 2010 film“Inception,” Nolan said that viewers kept asking if it had been real or if it had been a dream.

NEWS | 06/01/2015

Jackson GS '86 discusses importance of diversity to Princeton experience in Baccalaureate address

Christina Vosbikian

Undergraduates’ exposure to turbulent and difficult times are important as preparation for their promising futures as agents of change in the world, former EPA administrator Lisa Jackson GS '86 said in her Baccalaureate addresson Sunday.

NEWS | 05/31/2015

Alumnus creates Tinder-like app for Reunions

Christina Vosbikian

Arjun Landes ’11 GS created the app “HeyTiger” to allow alumni and students to connect with other alumni on campus. Landes said he plans to keep the new app running for at least a few days after Reunions, but beyond that isn’t sure about how the app will run in the future. The app icon is a plain black background with an orange heart.

NEWS | 05/30/2015

Alumni attend Reunions singles mixer

Christina Vosbikian

While University students today use Tinder and similar alternatives in their half-serious attempts to meet a future partner, Reunions features a decidedly low-tech version of this dating scene for alumni.

NEWS | 05/30/2015

Q&A: Steve Forbes '70, chairman of Forbes Media

Zaynab Zaman

After an alumni panel on Saturday discussing whether dysfunction in the federal government is endemic, The Daily Princetonian spoke with panelist Steve Forbes ’70, current chairman and editor-in-chief of Forbes Media. The Daily Princetonian: You founded a highly successful student magazine while at Princeton.

NEWS | 05/30/2015

Smartphones have transformed journalism, panelists say

Christina Vosbikian

The auditorium was packed with more people than there were seats at an alumni-faculty forum about journalism in the digital age today.

NEWS | 05/30/2015

Alumni discuss communism in present-day China

Ruby Shao

No one in China takes the concept of socialism seriously anymore, Ira Kasoff GS '82, a senior counselor at APCO Worldwide, said at a panel on Friday. He presented two common views of China’s place in contemporary politics. Some believe that the Chinese Communist Party is about to collapse, a long-held view that has taken on new momentum because of David Shambaugh’s article, “The Coming Chinese Crackup,” Kasoff said.

NEWS | 05/29/2015

Alumni economist panel discusses wealth imbalance

Chitra Marti

Five alumni discussed the question, “Wealth Imbalance — What Does it Mean?” in an alumni-faculty forum on Fridayafternoon. N.

NEWS | 05/29/2015

Urban planning panel discusses future of American city architecture

Paul Phillips

Four University graduates now employed in occupations related to city planning and architecture discussed the future and challenges facing the American city at a panel discussion Friday. Panelists were Ray Gastil GS ’91, director of the Department of City Planning in Pittsburgh; Peter Waldman GS ’67, professor of architecture at the University of Virginia; Ellen Dunham-Jones GS ’83, professor of architecture and urban design at the Georgia Institute of Technology; and Waqas Jawaid ’10, a partner at Isometric Studio. The panel was moderated by Alison Isenberg, professor of history and co-director in the Program in Urban Studies at the University. Gastil said he and the other members of the Pittsburgh Department of City Planning wanted to look at development of the city in terms of “people, planet, place and performance.” They wanted to make sure that the people of the city — both those already there and those to come later — came first. In terms of "planet and performance," Gastil added they wanted to figure out good environmental metrics.

NEWS | 05/29/2015

Q&A: N. Gregory Mankiw ’80, former chairman of Council of Economic Advisers

Chitra Marti

After an alumni panel on inequality and economic opportunity on Friday, The Daily Princetonian spoke to panelist and Harvard economics professor N.

NEWS | 05/29/2015

Graduate student alumni discuss human trafficking, exploitation

Ruby Shao

Human trafficking survivors have been instrumental leaders of movements to reduce economic exploitation and labor exploitation, journalism visiting professor Noy Thrupkaew said at a panel she moderated on Friday. Elaine Pearson GS ’13, the Australia director of Human Rights Watch, defined trafficking as the movement of a person through deceptive or coercive means into a situation of exploitation. “What makes it a situation of trafficking is that it’s a situation where people can’t just freely get up and leave,” Pearson said, noting that today’s compulsion often involves psychological rather than physical constraints and can happen through both legal and illegal channels. Pearson distinguished trafficking from smuggling, which she described as the illegal movement of someone across a border for a fee.

NEWS | 05/29/2015

Alumni in education discuss issues in public school system

Paul Phillips

The American public system is in crisis, alumni panelists saidon Friday. Panelists included Alan Safran ’80, president and chair of the board at SAGA Innovations; Anne Herr ’85, director of school quality at Friends of Choice in Urban Schools; Dan Lips ’00, vice president for policy at the Goldwater Institute; and Matt Westmoreland ’10, a member of the Atlanta Board of Education. The discussion was moderated by Christopher Campisano, director of the Program in Teacher Preparation at the University.

NEWS | 05/29/2015

Reunions panel discusses problems with U.S. healthcare system

Nahrie Chung

The U.S. health care system demonstrates shortcomings in basing premiums on an individual’s health, economics professor Uwe Reinhardt said at apanelon Friday.

NEWS | 05/29/2015

Akinlawon '15 elected Young Alumni Trustee, to serve four-year term

Jessica Li

Tumi Akinlawon ’15 won the Young Alumni Trustee election and will begin a four-year term as a University trustee on July 1, the University announced on Friday.The general election ran from April 28 to May 20, and only members of the Class of 2015 could run for the position.Shawon Jackson ’15 and Hannah Rosenthal ’15 also made it to the runoff election.

NEWS | 05/29/2015

Q&A: David Petraeus GS '85 GS '87

Christina Vosbikian

David Petraeus GS '85 GS '87, decorated war general and former head of the CIA, has led a prominent career in public service and government.

NEWS | 05/29/2015

Architecture School appoints new dean

Kristin Qian

Monica Ponce de Leon will be the next dean of the School of Architecture, the University announced Wednesday afternoon. Ponce de Leon did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Her predecessor, professor Alejandro Zaera-Polo, resigned in October 2014after two years as dean. Ponce de Leon will begin her position on Jan.

NEWS | 05/27/2015

Majority votes for divestment in GSG poll

Jessica Li

In an opinion poll conducted by the Graduate Student Government earlier this month, 58.8 percent of voters cast ballots in favor of divestment. The graduate students called on the University to“divest from multinational corporations that maintain the infrastructure of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, facilitate Israel’s and Egypt’s collective punishment of Palestinian civilians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, or facilitate state repression against Palestinians by Israeli, Egyptian, and Palestinian Authority security forces, until these corporations cease such activities.” Undergraduate students had previously voted against divestment by a small margin on a similar referendum. When combined together, the results of the undergraduate student referendum, in which 965 students voted in favor, and the graduate student poll, in which 417 students voted in favor, represent a 50.4 percent favorable view of divestment. “We see the combined favorability of divestment among undergraduate and graduate students as a mandate to continue pushing forward with the effort,” Kelly Roache GS, co-chair of the Princeton Divests Coalition, said.

NEWS | 05/24/2015

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