Princeton University Class of 1981 to fund new dormitory

The first class since World War II to have a residence hall named in its honor

By: David Campbell
   For the first time at Princeton University, a class that graduated after World War II will have a dormitory named in its honor, the university announced this week.
   The planned 1981 Hall, a gift from members of the Class of 1981, will be located within the Whitman College residential complex.
   It also will be the first dormitory to honor a co-educational class at Princeton, which began admitting undergraduate women in 1969.
   Whitman is under construction on campus between Baker Rink and Dillon Gymnasium. Scheduled to be completed for the opening of the 2007 academic year, it will be Princeton’s sixth residential college.
   "This gift pays tribute to the generous and loyal spirit of the great Class of 1981 and ensures that future classes will have an outstanding residential experience," university President Shirley M. Tilghman said.
   The gift is from a group of alumni who wish to remain anonymous, the university said. It comes as the Class of 1981 prepares to celebrate its 25th Reunion in June.
   The new building will be the latest in a number of campus dormitories that commemorate classes, such as the 1879 Hall, given in 1904 by Woodrow Wilson’s undergraduate class during his presidency of the university, and the postmodern 1927-Clapp Hall, dedicated in 1988.
   "We are so proud to have a Princeton dormitory named for our class, especially as we gear up for what we hope will be a spectacular 25th reunion," said Class President Jean Telljohann.
   The Whitman complex is part of a major reorganization of Princeton’s residential-college system, and also will make possible an increase in the undergraduate population from about 4,700 to 5,200 students by fall 2012.
   The reorganization plan seeks to enhance undergraduate life by offering all undergraduate students the option of living in four-year residential colleges. Princeton has a system of five two-year residential colleges for freshmen and sophomores.
   The new hall is designed like the rest of Whitman in the collegiate-gothic style by the noted architect Demetri Porphyrios, a 1980 Princeton graduate alumnus.
   The new 1981 Hall will be a five-story, L-shaped structure that overlooks two courtyards. It will house 111 undergraduates in single rooms and suites, and contain two suites for graduate students.
   Whitman College will serve as one of three residential colleges in which undergraduates may live for their entire four years at Princeton.