This special TigerSide Chat will celebrate the Graduate School’s 125th anniversary, a milestone honoring generations of scholars, discovery and impact. During the session, Rodney D. Priestley h82 h*23, dean of the Princeton Graduate School and Pomeroy and Betty Perry Smith Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering, will share his reflections on the evolving role of graduate education at Princeton. He will also provide an update on the Princeton Graduate School’s priorities and share a strategic vision for the future. 

Speaker 

As dean of the Princeton Graduate School since 2022, Priestley oversees more than 3,000 graduate students and all graduate degree programs, while maintaining his research lab that includes high school, undergraduate and graduate students, and postdoctoral scholars. Under his leadership, the Graduate School has launched four new Ph.D. programs (in biophysics, bioengineering, materials science, and quantum science and engineering), established shared governance of the Graduate School by incorporating graduate students into key oversight committees and introduced a faculty mentoring initiative to strengthen student support. He is guiding the Graduate School’s strategic planning and leading its 125th anniversary celebration in 2025-26. 

A Princeton faculty member since 2009, Priestley is the Pomeroy and Betty Perry Smith Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering and is an associate faculty member with the Princeton Materials Institute. His research on polymers and soft matter has broad implications for human health and sustainability. He has published more than 150 peer-reviewed articles — most co-authored with graduate students. Priestley previously served as Princeton’s inaugural vice dean for innovation and is a Northwestern University trustee. 

Registration is required here.