Each spring, one member of the graduating senior class is elected to serve a four-year term on Princeton University’s Board of Trustees. He or she joins the three other Young Alumni Trustees (YAT) on the Board, who were elected during their respective senior years. The current Young Alumni Trustees are Naomi Hess ’22, Morgan Smith ’21, Jackson Artis ’20 and Sarah Varghese ’19. Further information about the Board of Trustees and its current members can be found here.

The Young Alumni Trustee position was created in 1969 to ensure that the board would always include four members with recent experience as undergraduates. As explicitly stated at the time and reaffirmed ever since, Young Alumni Trustees have the same rights, powers and duties as all other trustees and take the same oath to “faithfully, impartially and justly” perform the duties of the office of trustee.

The most effective trustees are those who have open minds, who are willing to work hard, and who are interested in finding constructive solutions to the challenges facing the University. A trustee must be willing to take into account all sides of an issue impartially and to speak candidly on an issue, even if it involves a particularly controversial topic. Trustees must be able to consider all evidence and have an overarching commitment to arrive at the best decision for the University.

As they have graduated recently, the Young Alumni Trustees are able to provide a perspective on the issues before the Board informed by their experience as students and their knowledge of the needs, concerns and interests of the current generation of Princeton undergraduates. This is not the same, however, as representing the student body or advocating for a particular constituency or point of view. Trustees who arrive on the board having already staked out positions on issues without access to full information can undermine both the workings of the board and their own effectiveness if they are perceived as beholden to a position.

Each trustee is shaped by his or her own experiences, which is why the election ballots provide biographies of the candidates; however, by long-standing policy, candidates in the Young Alumni Trustee election are not permitted to campaign for election as they do not run on particular platforms or take positions on specific matters of University policy.

It bears repeating that the board has a long history of benefiting greatly from trustees who bring intelligence, curiosity, integrity and a deep commitment to Princeton to their service on the board, and from the candor, trust and mutual respect that characterize trustee discussions. In the board’s experience, partisanship detracts from this sense of shared responsibility and thus is detrimental in both the election process and participation in the board.

The trustees have delegated responsibility for administering the alumni trustee elections to the Office of Alumni Engagement. The election process has been designed to identify and elect candidates who will be effective as individual trustees, and who will contribute to the effective working of the board as a whole.

Enrolled members of the senior class are eligible to vote in the primary election, and enrolled members of the junior and senior classes and members of the two most recently graduated classes are eligible to vote in the general election for the Young Alumni Trustee. While Young Alumni Trustees are elected by a defined subset of the alumni body, their “constituency” on the board is not their electorate, but the University as a whole.

For more information, contact Cathy Phillips at cathyphillips@princeton.edu and Colleen Corbett at ccorbett@princeton.edu.

All members of the senior class who successfully complete the requirements for graduation from Princeton University are eligible for election as Young Alumni Trustee. No individual who continues as a student at Princeton University or returns as a student to Princeton University after graduation of his or her class, or who becomes a member of the faculty or staff or receives a salary under any University program, is eligible to serve as a Young Alumni Trustee.

INFORMATION SESSION

Thursday, February 28, 2023, 12:30 p.m. ET
Thursday, March 2, 2023, 4:30 p.m. ET
Whig Hall Senate Chamber, Oakes Lounge
During these sessions, representatives from the Office of the Vice President and Secretary and the Office of the President will discuss the role of the Young Alumni Trustees and how the nomination and election processes work.
All eligible candidates are required to attend one of these information sessions. Please register in advance.

PETITION AND CANDIDATE FORM DUE

Monday, March 6, 2023, 5:00 p.m. EST
Deadline to submit your petition for your name to appear on the primary ballot, which must be signed by 50 members of the senior class, and candidate information form. 

Tuesday, March 21, 2023
Online voting begins for primary election (Class of 2023 only)
All seniors will receive an email with information on how to vote in the primary election. 
See 2023 Young Alumni Trustee Candidates

Thursday, March 30, 2023
Online voting ends for primary election at 5:00 p.m. EST

Friday, March 31, 2023
Primary election results announced
The results of the primary election will produce three candidates for Young Alumni Trustee general election from the Class of 2023.

Tuesday, April 25, 2023
Online voting begins for general election (Classes of 2021, 2022, 2023 an 2024)
All voters will receive an email announcing the general election with a link to the election portal.

Wednesday, May 17, 2023
Online voting ends for general election at 5:00 p.m. EST

Friday, May 26, 2023
Election results verified by the Deputy Vice President for Alumni Engagement, a designated member of the faculty and a designated member of the Board of Trustees. 

Friday, May 26, 2023
2023 Young Alumni Trustee announced at the Annual Meeting of the Alumni Council

• Ms. Naomi Hess ’22
• Ms. Morgan Smith ’21
• Mr. Jackson Artis ’20
• Ms. Sarah Varghese ’19

• Ms. Myesha Jemison ’18 
• Mr. Achille Tenkiang ’17
• Ms. Azza Cohen ’16
• Mr. Tumi Akinlawon ’15
• Mr. Brian Reilly ’14
• Mr. Kanwal Matharu ’13
• Ms. Angela Groves ’12
• Ms. Aku Ammah-Tagoe ’11
• Mr. F. Josh Grehan ’10
• Ms. Elizabeth A. Dilday ’09
• Ms. Meaghan P. Petersack ’08
• Mr. James Williamson ’07
• Mr. Brady P. Walkinshaw ’06
• Mr. Matthew J. T. Margolin ’05
• Mr. Rishi S. Jaitly ’04
• Mr. Olivier Kamanda ’03
• Mr. Charles H. Brown ’02
• Mr. Jin H. Kim ’01
• Mr. Spencer B. Merriweather, III ’00
• Mr. Brian C. Johnson ’99
• Mr. Jeffrey S. Siegel ’98
• Ms. Sarah E. Stein ’97
• Mr. George T. Whitesides ’96
• Ms. Sejal Shah Gulati ’95
• Mr. Christopher D. Young ’94
• Mrs. Doris Lee Sohmen-Pao ’93
• Ms. Adrienne K. Wheatley ’92
• Mr. Hoon Cho ’91
• Ms. Michel N. Zhu Parris ’90
• Mr. Elgin R. Clemons ’89
• Ms. Cecilia Rey Hallisey ’88
• Mr. Todd A. Cox ’87
• Mrs. Mary B. Tabor Engel ’86
• Ms. Jocelyn E. Russell ’85
• Mr. Timothy C. Wu ’84
• Ms. Tiffany W. Bluemle ’83
• Mr. Joel L. Achenbach ’82
• Ms. Lisa S. McGovern ’81
• Ms. Anne C. Mackay-Smith ’80
• Dr. Armistead C.G. Webster ’79
• Mr. Robert A. Connor ’78
• Kenneth Offit, M.D. ’77
• Ms. Nancy B. Peretsman ’76
• Mr. Aaron Harber ’75
• William H. Frist, M.D. ’74
• Dr. Marsha H. Levy-Warren ’73
• Eric L. Richard, Esq. ’72
• The Rev. Dr. Eugene Y. Lowe, Jr. ’71
• Joseph Julnes Dehner, Esq. ’70
• Brent L. Henry, Esq. ’69
• Richard W. Cass (3 yr. term-elected in 1969) ’68