Award for Service to Princeton

The Alumni Council Award for Service to Princeton recognizes outstanding service contributions to Princeton by any member of the Princeton family, with special emphasis on those who serve significantly, but inconspicuously.

Award recipients are recognized at events during Reunions.    

2009 Service to Princeton Award Recipients

J. Andrew Cowherd ’74 P07

Andy Cowherd loves the Class of 1974.

It was love at first sight in the fall of 1970. The freshman class returned the affection by promptly electing him the first president of ’74. And in this happy-ever-after story, the two are still together: after helping set an Annual Giving record in 1999 as the 25th Reunion Annual Giving Chair, Andy was again elected president—a position he still holds ten years later.

Andy’s commitment to the class during nearly 40 years has been broad and deep, from the offices he has held and the Reunions he has helped to run to the feats of fundraising he has performed. The bright light of his devotion shines on the rest of the Princeton volunteer world as well. He has served in various capacities on the Alumni Council’s Executive Committee; spoken on a Reunions Alumni-Faculty Forum panel; interviewed innumerable Princeton hopefuls as a member of the Alumni Schools Committee for the Princeton Club of Northwestern New Jersey; given career advice for more than 20 years as a Career Service volunteer; and worn two hats in Annual Giving when he was also a Parent Solicitor during daughter Sarah’s four years at Princeton.

We haven’t yet mentioned the Princeton Alumni Association of Nantucket Island, where Andy has been president for ten years. PAANI, as it is affectionately known, has been called the Brigadoon of regional associations. One day a year, in August, Princeton alumni from around the world magically appear on Andy’s favorite island for a party, followed by an after-party hosted by the Cowherds, which leads immediately into the annual meeting. Then, as the sun peeks over the horizon of the glassy sea and the great blue fish plaque is put away for another year, PAANI magically fades away.  

Andy’s enthusiasm for Princeton alumni is matched only by his enthusiasm for Princeton athletics. A letter-winner himself in lightweight football and a stalwart member of the freshman soccer and baseball teams, Andy is a fan of all Princeton sports, attending athletic events not only on campus but up and down the eastern seaboard, regular season or not. Lacrosse, football, baseball, ice hockey, basketball.

If the picture is not yet clear, let’s look at Alumni Day 2009, a typical day in the life of Andy Cowherd, Princetonian extraordinaire. Returning from a business trip to Germany on that Friday, he came straight from the airport to campus for the Saturday luncheon in Jadwin, ducked off to the lacrosse game, hustled to the Chapel to represent ’74 at the Service of Remembrance, loped to Prospect for an Annual Giving reception, crossed Cannon Green to join the ’74 reception at Maclean House, then still took in the hockey and basketball games. Whew!

Andy does have another family, who has with good humor lived side by side with his beloved Princeton and the attendant 24/7 demands. Wife Carol understands when she has to drive herself to the hospital—because Andy is attending a pre-season football scrimmage. Sarah and her brother Grant, as they were taught at a young age, still shout “YALE IS YUCKY!” when the family car flies past the exit for New Haven. And all have had to put up with every 1974 Reunions costume that ever existed.

In fact, Sarah notes that her father is his happiest as he prepares for Reunions. How fitting, then, that it should be at Reunions that we acknowledge his abiding love for and inexhaustible and energetic support of Old Nassau. Andy, we are delighted to give you this Award for Service to Princeton.

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Richard G. Williams *72 h78 h83 h02

A freshman feels discouraged and near despair. She wants to be pre-med but is struggling academically. She thinks she should give up on med school, give up on Princeton. She climbs the stairs to a top floor office in West College—and there she finds a friend: Dean Williams. “He recognized how important it was to have someone on your side. He cared, and I got to the next step.” So notes that young woman, who is now about to graduate from medical school and start a residency in emergency medicine at George Washington University’s medical center. “Dean Williams made it all possible.”

This is the story of just one of the thousands of students whose lives were not just touched by, but were made better by Dick Williams. During his 34 years as Assistant and then Associate Dean of the College, he was advisor to the senior class for all non-departmental academic matters; faculty athletic representative to the NCAA; athletic eligibility officer for the University; secretary to the Faculty Committee on Examinations and Standing, and therefore gatekeeper for every student who leaves school for any reason and every student who wants to return. And these were just his formal responsibilities. As a fellow West College denizen quips, “It’s possible the range of roles Dick found himself playing included those of chaplain, psychiatrist, emergency room doctor, mediator, judge, and probation officer.”

In all, more than 35,000 undergraduates from the classes of 1975 through 2011 passed through his spheres of influence—about 60% of all living undergraduate alumni. Yet Dick’s influence goes beyond students alone. His colleagues, including athletic coaches and academic advisors, professors and administrators, tell similar stories. A current associate dean relates how when he first came to Princeton 25 years ago, Dick taught him that approaching the resolution of problems with “a combination of compassion and understanding with unswervingly fair treatment” was always in the best interest of the student. He still calls on Dick for his advice and good judgment. Another offers: “Dick is an honorable man who stands by his decisions (regardless of the difficulty) and keeps his word. I think that’s called integrity, and there isn’t anything I value more.” In 2002, the Princeton Varsity Club recognized his contributions to the Department of Athletics by honoring Dick with the Marvin Bressler Award, which goes to “that member of the Princeton faculty who through heartfelt support of the University’s student-athletes best embodies a belief in the lifelong lessons taught by competition and athletics as a complement to the overall educational mission.”

Dick Williams is a towering presence, from his imposing stature to his keen sense of humor and raucous laugh to his deep love for Princeton. Ask anyone about Dick and the superlatives spill out. Noteworthy by their repetition, though, are three pairs of attributes: his compassion and understanding; his caring and sensitivity; his kindness and generosity. All mention Dick’s commitment to high standards. A former Princeton colleague in the office of the Dean of the College sums things up: “Dick embodies the sense of fairness, the adherence to high ideals, and the awareness of human frailties that all of us imagine to be the qualities of a dean at Princeton.”

And now for us to sum up: Dick, you are a much loved and extraordinary Princeton presence. The University is uncommonly blessed to have your continued presence, albeit part-time, as Associate Dean of the College. And the Alumni Council is honored to present to you this Award for Service to Princeton.

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Elise P. Wright ’83

A former chair of the Alumni Council has said that “the volunteer leader who models and encourages volunteer leadership provides a quintessential service to Princeton.”  Elise Wright is that volunteer leader.

Those words alone, though, cannot do justice to the many ways that Elise has modeled and encouraged. The number of her commitments over the last 25 years is staggering: ranging from Schools Committee to Women in Leadership to Career Service volunteer, from many Alumni Council committees to many Annual Giving roles. Most recently, of course, she harnessed both her Alumni Council and her AG energies to lead the Class of ’83 in its spectacular 25th Reunion. With quiet skill and a generous spirit, Elise built a team from a broad range of classmates, and serenely channeled their energies into success. Even the often dangerous minefield of Reunion jacket design discussions were conducted with calm good humor. (A classmate proposes that Elise really ought to be managing world peace.) Not only did her class achieve a Reunions Annual Giving record and the Class of 1926 Trophy, ’83 was also recognized with an Alumni Council ACE Award for the effectiveness of their graphic design in all their Reunions communications.

Success is measured by more than awards, however. Just as important, Elise’s personal outreach to classmates long unengaged with the University resulted in many returning who had not been on campus for years. Overheard more than once was the comment: “I came back because of Elise.”

Beyond the numbers and the awards are those successes that don’t show up on reports, but are indeed “because of Elise.”   Linda Francis Knights ’77 writes eloquently of the role Elise played in helping her lead her own class to a successful 25th. Behind the scenes, Elise served as a “young mentor,” introducing Linda to the power of e-mail and the wonders of websites for managing class business. “How lucky I was,” remembers Linda, “that Elise stepped up then and there to support me.”

Jan Runkle, business manager, University Health Services, and a co-chair of the LGBT Task Force, also feels lucky to have had Elise as the Alumni Liaison. It was this task force that brought to reality Princeton’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Center at Frist Campus Center. Elise was integral to the project, not only with her careful, thoughtful recommendations, but also with her quiet guidance that kept the task force focused and calm as they prepared their proposal for Nassau Hall. “Elise was invaluable in the first meeting with President Tilghman in 2003. Without her efforts, the project may still have gotten done, but it happened sooner…because of Elise.”

While Elise has served as a model for many, she has had her own model: her beloved father, Wes Wright ’51. A dear friend observes, “She grew up with a fine appreciation for the tradition of Princeton volunteer service. She keeps up the tradition in her own way, thinking hard about kindling alumni spirit for the future.” It is surely unique, and just as surely no accident, that Wes ’51 and Elise ’83 are father-daughter winners (in 1995 and 1999, respectively) of Annual Giving’s Harold H. Helm Award, which recognizes “exemplary and sustained service.” And how lovely that they now serve together on the Annual Giving Committee.

Yes, it’s true that Elise’s name has been associated with a number of awards. In fact, though, she herself has avoided the spotlight. She likes to set a project in motion and watch it unfold, invariably putting herself in the background. Elise, your time has come to be in the foreground, to be in the spotlight. The Alumni Council is lucky to have the privilege of recognizing your abiding passion for the University with this Award for Service to Princeton.

Previous Award Recipients [PDF]