Robert F. Goheen, president of Princeton University from 1957 to 1972 during a period of transformative growth and change, died of heart failure Monday at the University Medical Center at Princeton. He was 88.
He was an assistant professor of classics when, at age 37, he was selected to become Princeton’s 16th president. During his tenure Princeton became coeducational, increased its ethnic and racial diversity and coped with protests against the war in Vietnam.
The university expanded its commitment to research, its annual budget quadrupled, alumni contributions more than doubled and 25 new buildings were constructed on the main campus.
”With the passage of time, it becomes more and more clear that Bob Goheen was one of the great presidents of Princeton history,” said Shirley M. Tilghman, Princeton’s president since 2001, in a statement released by the university.
”He demonstrated remarkable courage in all he did, from introducing coeducation and increasing the diversity of the student body to strengthening the faculty and leading the university successfully through a time of societal upheaval in the late 1960s and early 1970s,” she stated. “He was greatly admired and respected for his leadership and vision and attentiveness to the views of others, and widely beloved among Princetonians for the values and personal qualities that were evident from the day he arrived on campus as a freshman and throughout his life.”
After retiring from the presidency, Mr. Goheen left the university to serve in a number of positions, including president of the Council on Foundations and ambassador to India. He returned to the university in 1981 as a senior fellow in public and international affairs in the Woodrow Wilson School and continued to be an active member of the university and local community.
Born in Vengurla, India, where his parents were serving as Presbyterian medical missionaries, he moved to the United States in 1934 to finish his high school education at The Lawrenceville School and graduated with honors in two years. At age 17 he entered Princeton, the alma mater of both his grandfather and his brother, as a member of the class of 1940.
He won the Pyne Honor Prize, the highest general distinction conferred upon undergraduates. He also was an accomplished soccer player and would go on to participate in sports, particularly golf and tennis, throughout his life. After earning a bachelor’s degree in classics, he enrolled in Princeton’s Graduate School to continue his study in the field. However, his work was interrupted by his induction into the Army in the buildup to World War II. He served in the intelligence section of the 1st Cavalry Division for more than four years, attaining the rank of lieutenant colonel.
He re-enrolled in 1945 and combined his graduate studies with work as a part-time preceptor and tutor. He earned his master’s degree in 1947 and his doctorate in 1948, both in classics. He continued teaching classics at Princeton and was named an assistant professor in 1950. From 1953 to 1956, he was the director of the National Woodrow Wilson Fellowship Program.
In 1956, he was selected to become Princeton’s 16th president and, when he assumed office in July 1957, he was the third youngest president in the university’s history.
Mr. Goheen has said that he was most proud of his efforts to diversify the campus. Princeton first opened its doors to women as graduate students in 1961 and as regular members of the undergraduate student body in 1969. During his period as president the university also implemented measures to attract a more racially and ethnically diverse group of students and faculty.
Mr. Goheen also was known for his efforts to incorporate more faculty and student voices into university governance. This priority became most important during the early 1970s, as many campuses erupted in protests.
He served as a board member of numerous organizations, ranging from American University of Beirut to the National Humanities Center in Research Triangle Park, N.C., to the Village Charter School in Trenton. He was active in the American Philosophical Society and Princeton Future.
He is survived by his wife of 66 years, Margaret; children Anne Goheen Crane of Ridgewood, Trudi G. Swain of Amherst, Mass., Stephen S. Goheen of Corvallis, Mont., Megan G. Lower of Baltimore, Elizabeth Goheen of Princeton and Charley R. Goheen of Wellesley, Mass.; 18 grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.
Burial will be private.
A service of remembrance and celebration will take place at a later date in Princeton University Chapel.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Princeton University’s Annual Giving program.
