Princetoniana Committee lends expertise to Alumni Association’s bicentennial celebrations

Jean, an intellectual property attorney for Hughes Hubbard & Reed in New York City who was the second Black woman to receive a Princeton Ph.D. in molecular biology, has always loved research. As an undergraduate at Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans, she spent a summer conducting research on the Princeton campus with professor Mark Rose. When she subsequently enrolled as a graduate student, she focused on cancer research at the intersection of chemistry and biology. Members of her cohort visited the nearby Bristol Myers Squibb facility for collaborative research, and Jean was intrigued by the work of the patent attorneys she met there. With encouragement from her Princeton advisers, she enrolled at Columbia Law School a month after defending her dissertation. Today, she is the chair of Hughes Hubbard’s Life Sciences group, counseling leading and startup pharmaceutical, chemical and biotechnology companies in all areas of intellectual property law. “It’s the best of both worlds: I get to practice the law, which I find fascinating, and I still get to practice science, which I still love,” she said. 

Jean became involved because she saw an opportunity for graduate students and alumni to have a larger voice in the community. She chaired Graduate Alumni Annual Giving, chaired the Reunions Committee for the Association of Princeton Graduate Alumni and co-chaired the Commission on Graduate Alumni Relations, which released a 2010 report with recommendations on how the University could make the experience of graduate students and alumni more equitable with that of undergraduates. 

Joining the Princetoniana Committee presented a different — but equally fulfilling — opportunity to pursue Jean’s passion for research. During one Reunions, she had accompanied a group to Firestone Library and was amazed to view an original copy of the Declaration of Independence and a block of tea from the Boston Tea Party. When she was invited to join Princetoniana, she didn’t hesitate. “It’s just so cool,” she said. “The University gets emails from people all the time asking about historical things, and those requests usually get directed to us. I’ll spend hours over at Mudd Library, and we try to find answers if we can.” 

To celebrate 200 years of the Alumni Association, which began in 1826 with James Madison ’1771 *1772 as its first president, the Alumni Council tapped Princetoniana to gather information about the history of the association. At Alumni Day on Feb. 21, Ryan Ruskin ’90, president of the Alumni Association, announced plans for an extended celebration and series of events — a joint effort between the Alumni Council and University Advancement — that will last more than 200 days and culminate with Orange & Black Day on Oct. 22. At the luncheon, Jean and University Archivist Dan Linke led a “Tiger Trivia” segment about the history of the Alumni Association. 

Jean and the Princetoniana committee are providing 200 fun facts for the commemorative website. “Going through that whole process of trying to dig out gems of information about the University and its alumni has been thrilling,” she said. “And we’re preparing something special for the P-rade this year, where we’ll take a walk down memory lane. There’ll be lots of surprises throughout this celebration.”