Class of 2005 alumni show their style: Michen Tah (left) wears orange and black glasses while Lawrence Henderson (right) shows off the class’ 20th Reunion jacket.
No matter the weather, Princeton Tigers always shine bright in orange and black during Reunions. Nearly 25,000 alumni, family, guests, faculty, staff and members of the Class of 2025 are expected over the four days of this year’s celebration, May 22-25.
Whether from across the world or just down Nassau Street, alumni arriving on campus Thursday and Friday were excited to connect with friends, make memories, learn something new and celebrate being together.
“It’s part of our Princeton DNA!” Lily Partridge, Class of 1982, said of the annual event. This year’s Princeton Reunions was also a mini family reunion for the Partridge family, as she and her husband, Randy, are spending the weekend with their two children, Class of 2012 and 2014 alumni who flew in from Atlanta.
John Tinglin, Class of 1975, came from Alabama to visit campus for the first time in decades. “It felt important to be here — it’s my 50th Reunion after all,” he said.
Class of 2005 alumni Lawrence Henderson and Michen Tah were on campus for their 20th Reunion. Henderson had been traveling in Marrakesh but made sure to end his trip in time for Reunions.
“We ‘see’ each other in the group chat almost every day, but it’s been three years since we actually saw each other in person,” Tah said with a laugh.
In addition to the major class Reunions, 2025 marked milestones such as the 50th anniversary of the Undergraduate Student Government and the 75th anniversary of the Association of Princeton Graduate Alumni (APGA).
Other major events include the P-rade through campus starting at 2 p.m. on Saturday, as well as that evening’s University Orchestra concert at 8 p.m. and fireworks at 9:15 p.m. Alumni should visit the Reunions 2025 website for the full schedule of events and preregistration requirements.
Standing Up, serving others
As they picked up their Reunions wristbands, many alumni also stopped to grab a “Stand Up” button to affix to their colorful class jackets and caps. Stand Up is Princeton’s new initiative in support of higher education, academic freedom, preserving federal research funding and the importance of university endowments.
Colorful buttons are a popular Reunions accessory, including one for the University's new “Stand Up” initiative in support of Princeton and higher education.
“We are really proud,” Tah said. “This is another example of Princeton not just standing up for ourselves, but for others.”
“Our country is reliant on research that universities like this are doing,” noted Rainer Malzbender, Class of 1979.
Alumni also spent Reunions focused on service, including the panel “Unsung Heroes: 1980 in the Public Service,” where Class of 1980 alumni shared how they are living Princeton’s informal motto of being “In the Nation’s Service and the Service of Humanity.”
For a third year, the alumni-organized project “Our Kids Read” brought 5th graders from Trenton to tour campus, attend a book fair to select free books, and participate in storytelling activities with Class of 1975 graduate Susan Danoff.
Learning opportunities with alumni and faculty
Other Reunions traditions, faculty talks and Alumni-Faculty Forums, bring together alumni and faculty to discuss topics ranging from artificial intelligence and global conflict to career transformation and growth.
During a standing-room-only talk organized by the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions, Robert P. George and Cornel West discussed their book “Truth Matters: A Dialogue on Fruitful Disagreement in an Age of Division.”
George, director of the James Madison Program and the McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence, and West, the Class of 1943 University Professor in African American Studies, Emeritus, and a Princeton graduate alumnus, co-taught a freshman seminar for many years and continue to collaborate.
“If you’ve been to one of our classes, you know our goal is not to get you to think the way we think. Our job is to get you to think more deeply, more critically and above all for yourselves,” George said.
West said they encourage students to find their own voices. “Every voice is like your fingerprint, distinctly you,” he said.
Alumni also got to hear thoughts on “what the fiscal future holds” in a talk with former Federal Reserve Board vice chair Alan Blinder, Class of 1967, the Gordon S. Rentschler Memorial Professor of Economics and Public Affairs, and Blinder's former Princeton student N. Gregory Mankiw, Class of 1980, the Robert M. Beren Professor of Economics at Harvard and a former chair of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers.
The mysteries of space, the human brain, an entrepreneurial mindset
Professor of Astrophysical Sciences David McComas, leader of several NASA space physics missions, moderated a forum Friday morning on “Unlocking the Universe: Space Travel and Exploration.” He was joined by Northrop Grumman engineer Nina Arcot, a Class of 2020 undergraduate alumnus and 2022 graduate alumnus; Professor of Astrophysical Sciences Adam Burrows, a Class of 1975 alumnus; NASA/Johnson guidance and targeting engineer Sara Harris, a Class of 2005 alumnus; and NASA/Goddard senior systems engineer Cliff Jackson Jr., a Class of 1970 alumnus.
Yael Niv (at podium), professor of psychology and neuroscience, leads the Alumni-Faculty Forum on “Keeping the Brain in Mind: Innovations in Cognitive Health."
The panel fielded questions from alumni and their children on a broad range of topics, including the upcoming Europa mission, dark matter, zero-point energy, the ethics and legalities of space debris, and the future of Mars exploration.
At the same time across campus, Yael Niv, professor of psychology and neuroscience, led a discussion on “Keeping the Brain in Mind: Innovations in Cognitive Health,” chronicling the approval of new medications for treating Alzheimer's, among other advances.
Alumni participants included Greg Petsko, Class of 1970, professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School and adjunct professor of biomedical engineering at Cornell University; Seemant Chaturvedi, Class of 1985, the Stewart J. Greenebaum Endowed Professor of Stroke Neurology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the neurology department’s vice chair for strategic operations; Martin Piazza, Class of 2010, an assistant professor of pediatric neurosurgery at the UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh; and Danielle Almstead, Class of 2020, a Ph.D. student at Thomas Jefferson University.
Vice Dean for Innovation Craig Arnold welcomes alumni and guests to the Princeton Innovation Conference.
To kick off the Princeton Innovation Conference at the Friend Center on Friday, Vice Dean for Innovation Craig Arnold shared thoughts with Tom Bergeron, founder, CEO and editor of the business website BINJE, about the entrepreneurial mindset that drives innovation. Arnold, who is also the University’s inaugural innovation officer and the Susan Dod Brown Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, stressed the importance of building a team of the right people.
Innovation from University research improves lives, he noted, urging alumni to join the Stand Up initiative. “Get involved,” he said. “Tell all your friends that we are making a difference in the world.”
Looking ahead
In “Hidden Stories: Preparing a New Art Museum,” James Steward, the Nancy A. Nasher–David J. Haemisegger, Class of 1976, Director of the Princeton University Art Museum, and Chris Newth, senior associate director for collections and exhibitions, discussed the design and construction of what Steward called “the most complicated [facility] we’ve ever built at Princeton.”
Bringing flatbeds stacked with steel girders and other cumbersome building materials onto an active campus and then carefully piecing them together in eight interlinking cube-shaped pavilions required “a kind of balletic talent,” he said.
The new Art Museum is twice as large as its predecessor. Steward told the audience they can expect “a warmth and materiality and richness” inside when the building opens Oct. 31.
Daniel Day, Tom Durso, Liz Fuller-Wright, Jeffrey Labrecque and Rebekah Schroeder contributed reporting for this story.
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The Princeton Katzenjammers perform an a cappella arch sing during Reunions.
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