Award for Service to Princeton: 2023 Recipients

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Award for Service to Princeton: 2023 Recipients

J. William Charrier ’69

When Bill Charrier ’69 discovered Theatre Intime as a Princeton sophomore in 1966, it wasn’t exactly on solid footing. Bill joined to help design the stage lighting, but he quickly assumed the responsibilities of business manager, overseeing Intime’s finances. Intime is student-run by design, with no University or alumni oversight; a lack of attention to the bottom line had left the group $1,100 in debt. In the span of just a few months, Bill cut the debt in half, piloted Intime toward calmer waters and helped produce a season of well-received productions. People took notice. In its review of “Little Mary Sunshine,” Intime’s first-ever musical, the Daily Princetonian called out Bill’s lighting as “superb.” The Prince also lauded “an excellent Little Mary,” played by a student from Westminster Choir College named Anne Stovall.

Anne and Bill married in 1969, but their “happily ever after” was just the beginning of their lifelong connection to Intime. Their adventures took them to Thailand, where Bill served in the U.S. Army; to Stanford, where he received his MBA; and then to Maryland, where Bill began a successful career in trans-oceanic shipping and the couple raised two daughters. When they reengaged with Princeton in the 1980s, it was only natural that Intime and Murray-Dodge Hall were the focus. In 1986, Bill established the Friends of Intime to provide financial support to the organization for major upgrades, including sound and lighting systems. The Friends also provided mentorship to Intime’s student leaders, leaving operational, artistic and budgetary decisions to the undergraduates. In 2000, Bill led the effort to modernize the 1930s-era Hamilton Murray Theater, transforming a dilapidated space into an intimate venue, and he was the driving force behind the weekend celebration that recognized the 100th anniversary of Theatre Intime in 2022. For generations of Intime members, Bill is simply “Mr. Theatre Intime.”

For his class’s 25th reunion in 1994, Bill helped lead the initiative — and Anne provided the design — for the Class of 1969 Memorial Garden at Murray-Dodge, but his contributions to Princeton extend far beyond the theater. Along with his classmates, he helped establish the Class of 1969 Community Service Fund after their 25th reunion, which established paid summer service internships for Princeton undergraduates. The fund evolved into the Princeton Internships in Civic Service (PICS) program, and Bill also arranged a popular PICS service opportunity with the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Science.

Bill’s dedication to the Class of 1969 is legendary, serving as president, organizing Reunions costumes, rallying Annual Giving efforts and developing a program of class trips to sites like Gettysburg, Normandy, South Africa and Utah. His leadership and dedication, as well as the love of his life, can all be traced back to the theater in Murray Hall. Bill said that the skills he developed at Intime developed a “tool kit for the future. Running that little theater served very well throughout my career.”

Bill, your work and dedication that began with running that little theater has served the entire University incredibly well throughout your entire life. We are so honored to present this Award for Service to Princeton to an alumnus who has selflessly directed the spotlight on the talents and potential of others.

Douglas Jin Chin ’83 P21

For Doug Chin ’83, the approach of his 25th reunion sparked a personal Princeton revival. In late 2007, he had lunch with a former classmate, Y.S. Chi ’83, who invited Doug not only to join the Asian American Alumni Association of Princeton (A4P) but to lead the group’s Los Angeles chapter. Doug was juggling a career in the aerospace industry and raising two young children with his wife, Grace, but he decided to accept. The invitation “unlocked the orange and black in me,” Doug said, and for more than 15 years, he has been a devoted and dynamic volunteer.

Doug started simple, organizing a traditional dim sum meal for local alumni that drew on memories of his mother’s warm and engaging hosting style when he was growing up in Queens, New York. Building upon that success, he planned A4P’s inaugural Lunar New Year event, which quickly became a signature alumni event. During the height of COVID restrictions, Doug used his scientific training in astronomy to create a Lunar New Year “Follow the New Moon” Zoom event that moved across time zones as different regional associations took turns leading the celebration.

Over the years, Doug has served as A4P’s secretary, vice chair and co-chair, and he is still the first person to raise his hand to volunteer for tasks of all sizes. In hundreds of hours of often unheralded work, he has authored countless newsletters and emails, maintained the A4P website and recruited scores of volunteers he has also mentored as leaders. In 2015, he was part of the steering committee for the We Flourish conference, the first gathering of its kind for Princeton’s Asian and Asian American alumni.

When Doug was a high school senior, he chose Princeton, in part, because he found its administrators and alumni more personable than those from other schools. In that spirit, he has become a stalwart volunteer for the Alumni Schools Committee (ASC), going above and beyond to represent the University in interviews with prospective students. Not only does he meet with multiple students from his own area, he also volunteers to connect with students from other regions around the country. In addition, Doug frequently represents the University at college fairs in California schools with large minority populations that might not consider out-of-state colleges — his own personal outreach to the first-generation, low-income (FLi) students who remind him of his roots.

Whether it’s A4P, the Princeton Club of Southern California, ASC, Princeton’s FLi community or the Class of 1983 — where he serves as technology chair and member-at-large on the executive committee — Doug is constantly thinking about the future of Princeton. He is a volunteer who grasps how the alumni machinery works and how it might work more efficiently. (He always has the spreadsheets to show you.) Just as he was tapped for service, he now looks to enlist and empower others. When other Tigers pitch a new idea, Doug believes it’s his responsibility to help them make it a reality, to help “unlock the orange and black” in others.

Doug, for not only embodying the Princeton spirit of service to others, but also serving selflessly and humbly, we are honored to present you with the Award for Service to Princeton.

Douglas D. Massick ’93 S93 P25

Doug Massick ’93 grew up in Fond du Lac in upstate Wisconsin, and when he applied to Princeton in 1988, there wasn’t an alumni interviewer within 100 miles. Instead, a banker from Chicago drove through a February snowstorm to interview Doug. The drive took him six hours. Their conversation about service and a life of purpose — plus the lengths to which the Princeton alumnus went to meet him — made a lasting impression on Doug. As soon as he was able to volunteer for the Alumni Schools Committee, he made interviewing prospective students, especially students from more remote regions, a service priority.

For the last decade, Doug has been the lead coordinator for the Central Pool of remote interviewers for the Princeton Schools Committee, connecting thousands of alumni from around the globe with prospective students from ASC regions most in need of assistance. For more than four months each year during the height of the application season, Doug commits three to five hours every night, communicating with approximately 3,000 alumni to make sure that every prospective student who requests an interview has the opportunity to have a conversation with someone from Princeton.

In the recent interview cycle, about 5,000 students were interviewed by alumni volunteers through the Central Pool. It is a massive logistical undertaking to track all the moving parts and a demanding commitment for any volunteer, much less one who is also an ear, nose and throat doctor in Columbus, Ohio.

This work might seem solitary, but it’s in those wee hours of correspondences and Google docs that Doug shines brightest. A self-described introvert, he has a unique gift for connecting with alumni volunteers, for cultivating friendships that renew every year and for generating goodwill for the cause by conveying sincere gratitude to the alumni who donate their time and energy to meet with prospective students.

So many ASC volunteers who come back year after year treasure the friendly weekly banter with Doug. They remember the thoughtful personal remark tucked into Doug’s responses that makes them feel appreciated for their service. He is a font of humility, grace and generosity for every Princetonian who volunteers for the ASC.

Doug will be the first person to tell you that he receives a lot of help. In addition to the 8,000 alumni who participate in the interview process each year, he has the support of PSC leadership and fellow Ohioan Steve Margolis ’81, his Central Pool co-chair. So when he learned that he was being singled out for this special award, his first instinct was to point to others he felt were more deserving. “Working behind the scenes, I recognize everyone else’s efforts,” he said. “My own individual efforts represent just a cog on a single gear of a multi-multi-geared machine.”

His humble reaction only confirms the wisdom of this year’s committee. With his selfless service and devotion to a life of purpose, Doug embodies the principles and spirit of the Award for Service to Princeton.

Previous Award Recipients

  • 2023 - J. William “Bill” Charrier ’69; Douglas Jin Chin ’83 P21; Douglas Massick ’93 S93 P25
  • 2022 - Itohowo E. Ekpoudom ’03, Richard A. Just ’01 S*04, Colleen P. Kelly ’77 S77 P10 P14, Robert B. Loveman ’69
  • 2021 - Fritz Cammerzell ’72 P25, Susan Katzmann Horner ’86 S79 P20, Laurence Latimer *01, Nancy Lin ’77 S76 P10
  • 2020 - Alfred L. Bush^; Carol A. Obertubbesing ’73 W71, Sue Pierson h67 h74 h81 h83 h87 h88 h93, Bambi Tsui ’09
  • 2019 - Gwen L. Feder ’78 P21, Rose Li *92 P18, Lauren McKenna Surzyn ’07, Masakazu (Max) Tsumuraya *81
  • 2018 - Charles C. Freyer ’69, Jean S. Hendry *80, James M. McPherson h57 h64 h69 h70 h72 H14, Mika Provata-Carlone *02
  • 2017 - Susan Conger-Austin *83, Kendall L. Crolius ’76, Anthony M. Fittizzi, Jr. ’97, Judith McCartin Scheide W36 P84 h28 h31 h32 h34 h36 h37 h40 h43 h70^
  • 2016 - Charles J. Plohn Jr. ’66, William F. Landrigan ’76, Gary M. King ’79, Gary K. Pai ’99
  • 2015 - Thomas F. Fleming Jr. ’69 P00 P01, Patricia L. Irvin ’76, Shawn R. Cowls ’87, Kristin Alyea Epstein ’97
  • 2014 - Wesley Wright Jr. ’51 P83 P90 h83, Vsevolod A. Onyshkevych ’83, Debbie Scott Williams ’84, Anthony J. Fiori *03
  • 2013 - Rosalie Wedmid Norair ’76 S76 P04 P07, Charlene Huang Olson ’88, Lee L. Dudka *77, Jeffrey A. Vinikoor ’03
  • 2012 - David T. Fisher ’69, Isabel K. McGinty *82 P12, Catherine J. Toppin ’02, Robert D. Varrin ’56 *57 P78 P80 P81 g10
  • 2011 - George A. Brakeley III ’61 , George L. Bustin ’70 P08, Valerie Kelly ’84
  • 2010 - Jotham Johnson ’64^, Gregg A. Lange ’70, Jean M. Telljohann ’81
  • 2009 - J. Andrew Cowherd ’74 P07, Richard G. Williams *72 h78 h83 h02^, Elise P. Wright ’83
  • 2008 - Carol Barash *89, Melvin R. McCray Jr. ’74, Duncan W. Van Dusen ’58^
  • 2007 - April A. Chou ’96, John R. Emery ’52^, Robert B. Hollander ’55^, William K. Selden ’34^
  • 2006 - Kenneth M. Bruce ’83, Jon D. Hlafter ’61 *63 MFA, Paul G. Sittenfeld ’69^
  • 2005 - Don M. Betterton h60, Daniel P. Lopresti *83, *84, *87, Carl R. Yudell ’75
  • 2004 - John V. Fleming *63, Charles H. Rose ’50, Henry Von Kohorn ’66
  • 2003 - Mitsuya Goto *56, Herbert W. Hobler ’44^, Robert B. Rodgers ’56^
  • 2002 - Robert Gibby ’36^, Linda Knights ’77, Oren Pollock *51^
  • 2001 - John Fish ’55^, Norman Itzkowitz *59^, H. Kirk Unruh ’70
  • 2000 - Alfred Bates h45, Lisa & Donald Drakeman *88 S*88, Elizabeth Osborne S50 h36^, Jolanne Stanton '77
  • 1999 - Nicholas Allard ’74, Patricia Marks *03, Brian McDonald ’83
  • 1998 - Elizabeth Duffy ’88, James Floyd ’69, Leonard Milberg ’53
  • 1997 - Hannah P. Fox W39^, Peter T. Milano ’55^, Melinda W. Varian S63
  • 1996 - Carl Fields^, Robert S. Miner Jr. *56^, Kenneth C. Scasserra ’61^
  • 1995 - Dolores Chavez de Daigle ’76, Warren Elmer Jr. ’42^, Douglas Nadeau ’62^
  • 1994 - Marvin Bressler h68, 82^, Nancy and Larry Gutstein P87,90,96,96^, Peter G. Smith '46^
  • 1993 - Leroy R. Hill h86^, James D. MacWilliam Jr. ’54^, George Wallace Ruckert ’30^
  • 1992 - Linda Bell Blackburn ’71, George Kovatch ’55, Douglas E. Yeager ’69^
  • 1991 - Joseph L. Bolster Jr. ’52^, Virginia L. Corson ’74, Douglas H. Hahn ’34^
  • 1990 - John H. Bitner ’38^, Sally B. Frank ’80, Martin E. Robins ’64
  • 1989 - Austin M. Francis Jr. ’56, Robert H. Jiranek ’52, Hugh de N. Wynne ’39^
  • 1988 - Marjorie Corman Aaron ’78, Henry R. Martin ’48^, Arthur Northwood ’35^
  • 1987 - William H. Avery ’27^, William G. Bowen *58^, Milton Lyon^, Clyde E. Rankin III ’72
  • 1986 - James Q. Bensen ’36^, Alison R. Bryan, Class of 1913^, Howie B. Kiser P75 h55, 75, 84^
  • 1985 - Charles S. Dawson ’70, James R. Posner *70, Robert A. Winters ’35^
  • 1984 - William P. Clark ’59^, John G. Kellogg ’32^, Ralph K. Ritchie ’34^
  • 1983 - George R. Beetle *66, Erling Dorf h33^, John W. Kern ’49^
  • 1982 - Thomas P. Birmingham ’47^, David G. Rahr ’60^, H. Coleman Tily III ’40^
  • 1981 - Marvin H. Cheiten *71 h65, Frederick L. Redpath ’39^, Leslie L. Vivian Jr. ’42^
  • 1980 - Harper R. Dowell ’30^, Richard L. Herbruck ’55^, Arthur C. Holden ’12^
  • 1979 - Levering Cartwright, Class of 1926^, Jeremiah S. Finch h31^, Frederic E. Fox ’39^
  • 1978 - George C. Denniston, Class of 1927^, William M. Hassebrock ’68, Jerry Horton ’42^
  • 1977 - Arnold M. Berlin ’46, Julian T. Buxton Jr. ’50^, Robert W. Sinkler h78^
  • 1976 - John C. Bogle ’51^, Gordon G. Sikes, Class of  1916^, William C. Van Siclen ’43^
  • 1975 - James R. Carruthers, Class of 1925^, Alpheus T. Mason, Graduate Class of 1923^, James H. Rowbotham Jr. ’32^
  • 1974 - Lucy M. Caldwell W25^, Donald P. Dickson ’49^, Howard W. Stepp h39^
  • 1973 - Donald W. Griffin, Class of 1923^, Milton W. King, Class of 1912^, John H. Leh Class of 1921^, Robert B. Rinehart, Class of 1904^
  • 1972 - George J. Cooke, Jr. Class of 1922^, Walter F. Hollenbach, Class of 1903, GS 1907^, Theodore E. McAlister ’52^

^ Denotes deceased alumnus/a