Bray '55 guided service group

Charles Bray '55, noted civic activist and the central figure behind Princeton Project 55, died on July 23 of pneumonia. He was 72.

In 1989, Ralph Nader '55 proposed to his classmates that they form an organization to place Princeton undergraduates in nonprofit organizations. As several of his classmates recall, a distinguished white haired alumnus called out, "For once, Ralph, you are being insufficiently ambitious."

"He thought we should not only start an organization, we should all sign up," George Hackl '55 said. A blank sheet of paper was passed around and class members informally pledged to contribute to the program. To date, Princeton Project 55 (PP55) has placed more than 1,000 undergraduates in internships and fellowships at nonprofit organizations. Bray was its first president.

Bray is also well known beyond the University community, in large part for resigning his position as press secretary for the Secretary of State when Henry Kissinger replaced William Rogers.

"He had a true moral compass," John Fish '55 said in his remarks at Bray's memorial service. "There are things he would not do. Working for Henry Kissinger was only one of them."

An avid birdwatcher who loved good food and wine, Bray also served as ambassador to Senegal under Ronald Reagan, president of the Johnson Foundation in Racine, Wisc., and the first chairman of the Ten Chimneys Foundation in Wisconsin.

He used his position as president of the Johnson Foundation to arrange for distinguished speakers to address the Class of 1955 at the Johnson center. The conference went a long way towards convincing class members that their idea could be viable, Peter Milano '55 said.

"He did so many wonderful things with his life; [PP55 is] just one of these many ways he improved our country," Nora Samuelson, Civic Leadership Program manager at PP55, said.

But Bray was not one to draw attention to his accomplishments; his classmates said he promoted good ideas regardless of who received credit.

"I learned that if you succeed, you don't need to take the credit," Fish said in his remarks. "Charlie would say about anything we did, 'We don't need our name on it.' There are many interesting things happening at Princeton University today, which only a few of us know might well be attributed to Charlie's insights and efforts."

One of these innovations was the Experiential Learning Initiative, meant to encourage professors to incorporate real-life experiences into their courses. The project initially faced resistance from the University, but later was embraced and renamed the Community Based Learning Initiative, Chet Safian '55 said in an email.

"Charlie was delighted with this decision and never expected or wanted any credit for the work he had done," Safian said. "For him, getting the job done was always the goal, not personal recognition."

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Bray led PP55 with similar selflessness. Classmates said he listened carefully to others during meetings and often helped the group find consensus.

"He would do the hard work and then make sure everyone was included," Hackl said.

Berkowitz said Bray's persuasive skills were instrumental in making the project appealing both to the administration and to his classmates. He could always find the right words to describe a situation, had a great command of the English language — honed perhaps during his days as a member of the Press Club —and had a true depth of analysis, Fish, Hackl and others said.

"He was the soul and spirit of Project 55," Fish said, "the intellectual leader as well as the most articulate spokesman."

Bray had been a leader long before PP55. His senior year at Princeton, he served as president of Tiger Inn, despite being one of the few members who were not athletes.

"Charlie was a very civilized guy. He wasn't a hell raiser," recalls his roommate at T.I, Beck Fisher '55. "He was tweedy, he was very preppy in his dress and manner. He got along with everyone though. He wasn't a stuffed shirt or a snob."

Concluding his memorial remarks, Fish eulogized, "I will miss Charlie as a friend and advisor, especially those late night discussions after our meetings sipping single malt whiskey, entertaining subversive ideas and talking about how to change the world."