Van Zandt Williams to retire in June as vice president for development

With the impending retirement of University Vice President for Development Van Zandt Williams Jr. '65, the University is both looking towards the future of alumni fund raising and lauding Williams' spectacular contributions.

Williams is responsible for organizing the large-scale fund raising drives that supplement annual alumni giving. He has held this post since 1980 and has led two campaigns during his tenure. From 1982-1986, he oversaw "A Campaign for Princeton," which raised $410 million after an initial goal of $275 million.

This success was topped by the recently completed Anniversary Campaign, which easily broke its goal of $900 million with a stunning $1.14 billion in donations, according to the Princeton Weekly Bulletin. Williams said that alumni supplied the vast majority of the money.

He announced his planned retirement in February. "I told [former President] Shapiro that when the campaign was over, it was time for me to move on and someone else to take over," he said, adding, "[Shapiro] beat me to the punch."

Williams then decided to stay on until a new president was named.

According to University Vice President and Secretary Thomas Wright '62, "[Williams'] enormous love of Princeton, his high energy level and intense work ethic and his organizational skills have been, in my view, key elements in the University's and his own success in these campaigns."

Williams will remain with the University until a successor is named, but no later than the end of the academic year.

Wright has been accepting resumes for the position. Wright said that being a University graduate has "some substantive advantages in doing the job" but is not a prerequisite.

While there are no fund raising campaigns planned for the immediate future, annual alumni giving will remain a fixture in the University's financial picture, Williams said. He pointed to such projects as the sixth residential college and dormitory renovations as reasons for seeking substantial amounts of funding.

Asked about his years as a leading fund raiser, he said, "It is more work and more fun than anyone could imagine."

The fund raising campaigns have helped vault the University to its current position as one of the most affluent schools in the nation. Its endowment, at around $8 billion, is larger than that of any school except Harvard and Yale universities and the University of Texas.

In terms of endowment per student, Princeton ranks first nationally.

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Wright cited the "intensity of the undergraduate experience [at Princeton]" as a reason for the University's ability to raise money so prolifically. "Also, the excellence of the academic programs attract strong support," he said.

The roughly $1 billion raised in the 1996-2000 Anniversary Campaign, which celebrated the University's 250th anniversary, represents a level of alumni generosity unprecedented in University history. Based on an estimate of 50,000 living alumni, the average contribution would be about $20,000.

"You've got a great product and great people," Williams said.