By Pam Hersh Special Writer
Only one key person was missing from the occasion, noted Princeton University Sociology Professor Robert Wuthnow.
The Feb. 4 event, sponsored by the Princeton University Department of Sociology and the university’s Center for African American Studies, was the installation of the class photo of Michelle Obama, Princeton University Class of ‘85, on the Class Photo Wall of the Nassau Inn’s Yankee Doodle Tap Room.
The missing person to whom Professor Wuthnow referred was the First Lady, of course. I suspected that if Sociology Professor Melissa Harris-Lacewell had been present, however, she might have noted the absence of another key person — Marian Robinson, aka First Grandma, the mother of the First Lady, grandmother of the First Daughters.
As I stood in the Tap Room and listened to the tributes to Mrs. Obama from Professor Wuthnow, chair of the Sociology Department, and Professor Valerie Smith, chair of the Center for African-American Studies, I thought of the words of tribute that Professor Harris-Lacewell had given to Mrs. Robinson on national television (“The Rachel Maddow Show,” MSNBC) at the time of the inauguration.
Dr. Harris-Lacewell made particular mention of Mrs. Robinson’s role not only as a mother, but as a grandmother who is enabling the President and Mrs. Obama to pursue their daunting public service jobs with commitment and vigor.
As a fairly new grandmother, I was particularly gratified by Dr. Harris-Lacewell’s shout-out to grandmothers, many of whom nowadays are contributing to the emotional stability and professional success of their children by providing substantive help with the rearing of the grandchildren.
The Class Photo Wall in the Tap Room now hosts photos of 36 renowned university alumni, including Secretary of State James Baker, Senator Bill Bradley, Governor Thomas H. Kean, Governor Brendan Byrne, journalist Charlie Gibson, actress Brooke Shields, and actor Jimmy Stewart. The portrait of First Lady Obama — known as Michelle LaVaughn Robinson as an undergraduate at Princeton — became the second woman and first African American to attain a place of prominence on the wall. Lots of grandfathers are among the honorees, but no grandmothers — yet.
Nassau Inn General Manger Lori Rabon noted that Sociology Professor Mitchell Duneier inspired the addition of the First Lady’s picture. Ms. Rabon intends to work with him and his students to research the individuals whose pictures are on the wall.
The process of launching a new photo never has been “very scientific,” she said. “Generally, we are approached by someone at the university — a professor or administrator who thinks that an alum is prominent enough to be honored in this way — and we have welcomed the addition.”
The last addition (November 2008) was that of nationally acclaimed philanthropist Peter Lewis, Princeton University Class of 1955.
Even though some assume the wall has been in existence for more than a half a century, Ms. Rabon said that the wall formally has existed only since the early 1990s. “We always had photos around the Tap Room of university graduates — mostly sports figures — but the formal designation of the wall as a place to host the photos is fairly new.”
She now would like to make room for expanding the Alumni Wall and perhaps do it in conjunction with a special town/gown advisory committee.
Just as I was suggesting the addition of a grandmother — there must be a famous graduate alumna or undergraduate alumna (albeit, a young grandmother, considering that the first graduating class of undergraduate females was 1973), my cell phone rang. It was my 2-year-old grandbabe Lily and her mom. I was needed for an emergency babysitting job, so that my daughter and her husband could participate in a public policy symposium at Rutgers that evening.
The chance to hang out at the Tap Room reception with gourmet hors d’oeuvres and academic banter paled in comparison with the opportunity to hang out at a little white house (as opposed to the big White House) with mac ‘n’ cheese and toddler banter.
A longtime resident of Princeton, Pam Hersh is vice president for government and community affairs with Princeton HealthCare System. She is a former managing editor of The Princeton Packet
