PRINCETON: University search panel told of strained relations

By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
   The next president of Princeton University will inherit a strained town-gown relationship, some in the community said this week.
   At a public forum on campus Monday, representatives of the school’s presidential search committee listened to some grievances against the outgoing university leader and heard suggestions for what they should consider in hiring her successor.
   Joseph McGeady said “fear and intimidation has become a common theme on and off campus with the present administration.”
   In particular, he cited how President Shirley M. Tilghman “demanded” borough officials approve a critical zoning change for its arts and transit project last year.
   Princeton Borough Mayor Yina Moore, a 1979 graduate of Princeton, said Ms. Tilghman “has expressed openly a disdain for elected officials.”
   Princeton resident Linda Sipprelle suggested the university hire someone from the private sector.
   ”A president with experience in the real world can best lead the university successfully into the 21st century both locally and nationally,” she said.
   Borough Councilman Kevin Wilkes, another university graduate, said he hoped the next president would be open to mutual planning strategies “where we plan our growth and future together.”
   He said that has started in one area with transit and traffic issues along the University Place and Alexander Street corridor.
   ”As the university has pushed out of its borders, frictions have developed along neighborhoods the university is pushing into,” Mr. Wilkes said.
   ”We could be a model for having a tricky town-gown relationship, working on it and having something that works,” Princeton Mayor-elect Liz Lempert said. “To have someone who’s interested in engaging in that partnership I think is something that I’d like to see and I think something that could really help moving forward.”
   Ms. Tilghman, 66, announced in September that she would be retiring from the presidency at the end of June; she has been at the helm since June 2001. She is the 19th president in university history and the first ever woman to hold that position. She leads a school with a $17 billion endowment and which Forbes magazine this year ranked as the best college in the country.
   A 17-member search committee, including nine trustees, was formed to find Ms. Tilghman’s successor. Laura L. Forese, a university trustee and search committee member, declined to say when asked Monday if anyone has been interviewed for the job.
   ”The process is confidential,” she said.
   One possible candidate rumored to be interested in becoming university president was former CIA Director David Petraeus, who earned his doctorate at the university. The Daily Princetonian, the student-run campus newspaper, broke the news of Mr. Petraeus’ interest. But that was before Mr. Petraeus resigned his post last week after an FBI investigation revealed that he had had an extra-marital affair with his biographer.
   University Vice President and Secretary Robert K. Durkee, speaking after the public forum, would not discuss whether Mr. Petraeus was ever a serious candidate for the job.
   At the time of Ms. Tilghman’s announcement, two other Ivy League schools, Yale University and Dartmouth College, also were looking for presidents. Last week, Yale announced its next leader would be university provost Peter Salovey. Dartmouth still is looking.
   Asked what impact Yale’s decision would have on Princeton’s search, Ms. Forese said it would not affect things.
   ”In every search, including prior Princeton searches,” she said, “there are always a number of ongoing searches for other universities and colleges around the country.”