“We are glad you are now part of our transformational history. I know you will leave your mark on this institution.”
With these words, Dean Rodney Priestley welcomed some 750 new graduate students to the Princeton community the morning of Aug. 27 at the start of the Graduate School’s annual two-day orientation.
The University’s newest scholars embark on their advanced academic journeys as the Graduate School kicks off its 125th Anniversary celebration. The yearlong festivities will mark the school’s impact on graduate students, on the University and — through the scholarship of its students and alumni — on the world.
In his remarks at Richardson Auditorium, Princeton President Christopher L. Eisgruber told new students, "Graduate students are critical to every aspect of what this University does — to its teaching, to its learning, to its research, and to its service. Indeed, I have long said that Princeton University became a great research university when it founded its graduate school."
Prior to the assembly, Graduate School staff waved orange and black pompoms and cheered as students arrived at Alexander Hall to hear from Priestley, Princeton President Christopher L. Eisgruber, graduate alumni, Graduate School administrators, faculty and students.
Inside Richardson Auditorium, Eisgruber said, “Graduate students are critical to every aspect of what this University does — to its teaching, to its learning, to its research, and to its service. Indeed, I have long said that Princeton University became a great research university when it founded its graduate school.”
Eisgruber assured students that while they devote themselves to their research, he will continue to devote his time to making the case in Washington for “academic freedom, scholarly excellence and the value of research to the common good” — emphasizing the importance of attracting and developing new talent from all backgrounds.
The president also urged graduate students to take full advantage of what Princeton has to offer, building connections beyond their departments and participating in campus life as “full members of the University community.” Eisgruber said he hopes to see the new graduate students at the University’s soon-to-open new art museum, its new research and recreational facilities, and at cultural and athletic events.
“I am so glad you are here,” he said, “and I hope that you flourish.”
Picking up on the Graduate School’s anniversary theme, Priestley spoke to students about the impact graduate education will have on their lives and the impact they will have on the world through their scholarly work that will “contribute to the light of knowledge.”
Priestley, who is also the Pomeroy and Betty Perry Smith Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Princeton, said he thinks of graduate education “as a process students go through. It is challenging, but it also has triumphant moments. It’s a process that transforms us into something better.”
“When you seek advanced training, seek answers to unanswered questions, or undertake experiments in the lab that no one else has ever done, you are pushing the forefront of human knowledge, and you contribute something new to your discipline. You not only transform yourself, but you transform the world a little bit as well.”
Priestley also noted significant transformations within the Graduate School over the past few years, including the creation of four new doctoral programs, the launch of a new mentoring initiative and the inclusion of students in the formal governance of the Graduate School for the first time in its history.
Speaking to incoming graduate students, Priestley reflected on the Graduate School’s history: "You see contributions to academia itself as well as to other sectors of society through student discoveries here at this institution and through alumni who have gone on to help the nation and the world to continue to advance and prosper in many ways."
After informational panels of students, faculty and administrators, Priestley returned to the podium late in the morning to further reflect on the significance of the Graduate School and its anniversary.
“The founding of the Princeton Graduate School has meant many things to this University,” he said. “It has meant the establishment of an entity to allow for advanced training. It has meant the establishment of an entity that allows faculty to train aspiring scholars, which in turn makes the University an attractive place for faculty.”
“And this has meant that the University could not only participate in teaching but in the creation of new knowledge and in the creation of scholars who would go on and teach at Princeton and other universities.”
“Throughout the 125 years of the Princeton Graduate School’s history,” said Priestley, “you see contributions to academia itself as well as to other sectors of society through student discoveries here at this institution and through alumni who have gone on to help the nation and the world to continue to advance and prosper in many ways.”
“The founding of the Graduate School has enabled Princeton to be a global leader in research and advanced training.”
Joined by Graduate School Assistant Dean James Van Wyck, Priestley then introduced students to the history of the Graduate School through a game of trivia. Questions highlighted Alan Turing *38, the foundational figure of computer science, who completed his groundbreaking dissertation in mathematics in just two years, and the 17 graduate alumni who have won a total of 18 Nobel Prizes. (John Bardeen *36 won the Nobel Prize in Physics twice, 16 years apart.)
Incoming graduate students asked questions of administrators, faculty and experienced graduate students during a discussion in Richardson Auditorium on success in graduate school.
Alumni leaders also took to the Richardson stage during the morning’s proceedings. Laurence Latimer *01, president of the Association of Princeton Graduate Alumni, and Eric Plummer ‘10, speaking on behalf of the Princeton Alumni Association, emphasized the alumni support and engagement available even to new students.
Plummer noted that Princeton's graduate alumni community is over 30,000 strong and 30% of the total alumni base, and encouraged students “to get to know the network.”
Latimer said his graduate education at the University had dramatically changed the trajectory of his life: “As a working-class kid from Brooklyn, Princeton helped open up opportunities that I didn't even know existed, and I was able to take advantage of those opportunities both professionally and personally to lead a life of purpose and success.”
The Graduate School offers opportunities for graduate students to connect with alumni mentors through its Alumni Mentorship program.
This year's participants in the Graduate School's Graduate Scholars Program were led by their peer mentors on walking tours of campus during the second day of a two-day pre-orientation retreat.
Earlier in the week, nearly 80 incoming graduate students from across 40 departments attended a two-day pre-orientation retreat as part of the Graduate School’s Graduate Scholars Program (GSP). GSP is a peer-to-peer mentorship program that supports students' successful transition to graduate school. Approximately 400 graduate students have participated in GSP since its launch in 2018.
"This year’s retreat allowed GSP’s newest cohort of graduate scholars to make connections and build community," said Joseph Lewis, the Graduate School’s associate dean for access, diversity and inclusion. “Most importantly, GSP sets students on the right path to achieve at Princeton.” In addition to attending sessions focused on skills for graduate-level research, the new scholars toured the campus and socialized with one another.
For both peer mentors and new students, the GSP retreat hit the right notes.
Tabreya Ryan, a new Ph.D. student in East Asian studies, saw GSP as an opportunity to meet people beyond her program, “who will most likely stay my best friends.” Ryan said she found the GSP group to be “kind and welcoming and genuinely interested in you.” Wisdom Ibikunle, a new Ph.D. student in sociology, said she and people in her GSP mentoring pod were already making plans around pub trivia, local ice cream shops and the graduate student “D Bar.”
For peer mentors, the motivation was about contributing now and in the future. John Fitz-Henley II, a fourth-year Ph.D. student in economics, aspires to stay in academia as a faculty member and sees the GSP program as an opportunity to develop mentoring skills that “can be essential to helping my future students have the opportunity to thrive and learn as much as they can.”
Daniel Paluku, a third-year Ph.D. student in mechanical and aerospace engineering, had participated in GSP when he was a new student and said the program has been crucial to his success at Princeton. “I found great people, great friends, and I never felt alone. So, I thought this was a good way for me to give back by helping others who might feel lonely and not feel savvy. I can introduce them to all the beautiful resources that I've been introduced to.”
During the week before classes started, Hendrik Lorenz, Graduate School vice dean of strategic initiatives and professor of philosophy, Andrés Monroy-Hernández, associate professor of computer science, and Sonali Majumdar, Graduate School assistant dean in professional development, were among the faculty and staff who participated in a two-day intensive training to advance the practice of mentorship. The workshop is part of a Graduate School initiative led by Lorenz to strengthen faculty mentoring of graduate students.
The Graduate School also took advantage of the week before classes started to host 25 faculty members for a two-day intensive training session presented by the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER), a center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison dedicated to advancing the practice of mentorship.
These faculty attendees are now prepared to serve as “mentoring champions” within their departments, leading focused mentoring discussions with fellow faculty members throughout the year. This is the second consecutive academic year during which Hendrik Lorenz, Graduate School vice dean of strategic initiatives and professor of philosophy, will lead an initiative to strengthen faculty mentoring of students. In the initiative’s first year, Lorenz and the Graduate School team organized departmental workshops for students and faculty, as well as a campus workshop for anyone at Princeton to learn about mentorship.
An observation by Grace Waddell, an incoming Ph.D. student in neuroscience, best summed up what the Graduate School hoped to support with this year’s week of programming for new students and faculty mentors: “Finding a community of supportive people — people who are driven to not only make contributions to their academic field, but to build community within and across disciplines — is something I think I am going to find here.”
