McPherson picked for Baccalaureate

History professor James McPherson will deliver the Baccalaureate address for the Class of 2004, the University announced yesterday.

The honor comes in recognition of McPherson's retirement after 42 years of teaching and his stature as one of the most beloved professors on campus.

McPherson, perhaps the most renowned scholar of Civil War history, said he will be as honored to give the Baccalaureate address as he was to give the National Endowment for the Humanities' 2000 Jefferson Lecture, that organization's highest recognition.

"This is equal because it's a major recognition by the senior class and the president of Princeton University," he said.

Tilghman chose McPherson after consulting with leaders in the senior class. Eli Goldsmith, president of the Class of '04, said he was thrilled with the choice.

"As far as people with a great knowledge of history go, there probably isn't anyone better than James McPherson," he said.

A short list of candidates was decided upon by a group that included Goldsmith and the other '04 officers, Dean of Religious Life Thomas Breidenthal, a representative for Tilghman's office and others, he said.

"He is a beloved professor. A lot of people come to Princeton for Professor McPherson," Goldsmith said.

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His class, HIS 376: The American Civil War and Reconstruction, routinely fills its 400-student maximum enrollment. The course will be taught for what is likely the last time this spring.

"In addition to being the academic all state that he is, he is always available at office hours to talk with students," said history major John Matsui '04, who has talked with McPherson since before he began freshman year.

McPherson said the point of the baccalaureate address is to provide seniors with a guidepost for "the world they are entering, and the contrast and similarities between that world and the world of education that they are leaving."

"I will try to bring in some historical perspective," he added.

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McPherson won the Pulitzer Prize in history in 1989 for his book "Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era," which was a bestseller. In 1991, the U.S. Senate named him to the Civil War Advisory Committee, which works to preserve historic battlefields. He is currently the president of the American Historical Association.

The Baccalaureate address will be given at 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 30. Held in the University Chapel, it is an interfaith worship service that includes readings from various religious traditions, but also allows the speaker to dispense advice for the graduating class. Although his last term teaching will be the spring semester, McPherson said he will remain in Princeton and will work on various academic projects.

"I will miss most the interaction with students," he said.