Description
Description
The records of the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students contain
correspondence with other administrators and students, memoranda, press releases,
subject files of clippings and notes, pamphlets, and brochures. As a high-level
University administrator, some of this material is duplicated in other University
Archives collections. The records primarily document the Dean's supervision of
student organizations and participation on committees; however, there are also files
dedicated to disciplinary infractions, athletics, and almost any topic which in some
way pertains to students. Since prior to the creation of the office the Dean of the
College had overseen these matters, some material originating from that office was
subsequently transferred to the Dean of Students and has been included with these
records.
Please see series descriptions in contents list for additional information about
individual series.
Deans of Students, Department, Tenure as Dean
William D. Lippincott, None, 1954-1968
Neil L. Rudenstine, English, 1968-1972
Adele S. Simmons, History, 1972-1977
J. Anderson Brown, Psychology, 1977-1983
Eugene Y. Lowe, Jr., Religion, 1982-1993
Janina Montero, English, 1993-2000
Kathleen Deignan, None, 1999-
Collection Creator
History
The Dean of Undergraduate Students, formerly known as the Dean of Students and the Dean
of Student Affairs, is the University’s administrative office charged with oversight of
undergraduate residential life, extracurricular activities, and student discipline. The
Office of the Dean of Students was established in 1954 by president Harold W. Dodds to
fill the need for a dedicated administrator to supervise the social and extracurricular
activities of Princeton's undergraduate student population. This decision was largely
driven by the increase in undergraduate enrollment and heightened campus activity which
characterized the post-war years at Princeton. Though many of the responsibilities of
the newly appointed Dean of Students such as oversight of student discipline and
registration of student organizations had previously been overseen by the Dean of the
College, the increasing amount of time that office dedicated to issues relating to the
academic curriculum necessitated a new full-time position for the extracurricular.
Since 1954 several titles have been used for the position, including Dean of Students,
Dean of Student Affairs, Dean of Student Life, and in its most recent incarnation, Dean
of Undergraduate Students. Despite the changes in nomenclature, the Dean's
responsibilities have remained largely the same over the years. Like other Deans at
Princeton, the Dean of Undergraduate Students reports directly to the President.
The first individual appointed as the Dean of Students was William d'Olier Lippincott
'41 (1954-1968), who had served as Assistant to the Dean of the College since 1946. With
his trademark pipe in hand, Lippincott soon became a familiar figure to the thousands of
undergraduates who passed through Princeton's doors during his tenure. As Dean of
Students through much of the '50s and '60s, Lippincott was forced to reconcile many of
the seemingly anachronistic rules of the university with the attitudes and actions of an
increasingly modern and worldly student body. Serious disciplinary infractions included
the presence of females in the dormitory rooms after hours and the use of personal
automobiles on campus. Student dissatisfaction with the University administration over
social and political issues was a recurring problem.
On two separate occasions during Lippincott's tenure, everyday campus agitation exploded
into rioting and the destruction of private and university property, the "Joe Sugar
Riot" of 1957 and the "Spring Riot" of 1963. In both of these instances, the Dean of
Students presided over the ensuing disciplinary proceedings. Lippincott retired in 1968
to become Executive Director of the Alumni Council, citing the need to narrow "the gap
in age between the Dean and those with whom he works so closely."
Lippincott's successor was Harvard University English professor Neil Rudenstine '56.
Upon arriving on campus as Dean of Students one of Rudenstine's primary goals was to
develop a stronger relationship between the academic and social lives of undergraduates,
however the dominant issue of his brief deanship was University involvement in the
Vietnam War. On multiple occasions Rudenstine was faced with antiwar protests from
sometimes hostile student groups such as Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and in
one notable incident was punched in the fracas that ensued during a demonstration.
Rudenstine also weighed in on the disciplinary proceedings following the notorious
"Hickel Incident" of 1970 in which the visiting Secretary of the Interior was heckled
relentlessly during a speech on campus.
Additionally, as the Dean responsible for oversight of housing and extracurricular
activities, Rudenstine was responsible for negotiating some of the delicate
practicalities of undergraduate coeducation, which began at Princeton in 1969. Neil
Rudenstine stepped down as Dean of Students in 1972, and went on to serve as Dean of the
College and Provost into the early 1980s.
In 1963 a five-year term was placed upon the academic officers of the University,
including the Dean of Students. While individuals could be reelected at the end of the
term, the 5-year period enabled frequent evaluation and promoted the development of new
ideas and fresh young administrators in the Office of the Dean of Students.
The successive terms of Adele Smith Simmons (1972-1977) and J. Anderson Brown
(1977-1982) bore witness to a period of relative quiet among undergraduates, as the
tumult of Vietnam dissipated and students returned to academics. An increasing
international presence on campus (marked by the formation of the International Center in
1975) led to the diversification of the office's staff, and numerous programs designed
to promote social interaction outside of Princeton's traditional avenues for undergrads
were instituted. Notable among these was the development and implementation of the
residential college system, a move sparked by the recommendations made in the 1979
Report of the Committee on Undergraduate Residential Life. The focus upon the social
lives of Princeton students which characterized these initiatives was continued during
the 11-year deanship of Eugene Y. Lowe, Jr. (1982-1993) and that of Janina Montero
(1993-2000).
An administrative rearrangement in late 1999 brought the first major change to the
Dean's responsibilities. The former Dean of Students was renamed the Dean of
Undergraduate Students, and the position's oversight of student life was narrowed to
focus upon the undergraduate.
From the time of its inception the position of Dean of Students has been set apart from
other administrative posts by its high rate of turnover and the diversity of the
individuals who have staffed it. The deanship has seen Princeton University's youngest
dean, its first female dean, and its first African American dean. Many individuals who
have served as Dean of Students have also been professors or lecturers at the University
and have gone on to high-profile administrative positions at Princeton and other
universities.
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