Former New Jersey governor and 9/11 Commission chairman Tom Kean, Sr. '57 will join the board of trustees of the Robertson Foundation, the University announced yesterday.
"His government service and his international affairs experience will provide invaluable benefits to the foundation and ... I greatly look forward to his service on the board," President Tilghman said in a statement.
Bill Robertson '72, the Foundation trustee and the Robertson heir who filed suit against the University in July 2002, praised Kean's appointment. "We have confirmed to our own satisfaction that [Kean] is a man of great integrity and skill [and will] be a valuable addition to the Robertson board, particularly at this moment where there is disagreement," Robertson said.
Kean will fill the seat of John Sherrerd '52, who voluntarily decided to step down. "[Sherrerd's] service to the Robertson Foundation was nothing short of brilliant," Robertson said.
Robertson added that he and Sherrerd have "unfortunately differed somewhat on some of the Foundation issues," citing Sherrerd's support of a proposal in the late '90s to fold the Robertsons' endowment into the University's. The proposal was eventually implemented and has now become what Robertson called a "seminal issue" in the lawsuit.
Sherrerd could not be reached for comment.
The University has been embroiled in a high-profile dispute with the Robertson family for nearly five years. Charles '26 and Marie Robertson's children allege that the University has misused the Foundation's funds — which now total more than $650 million — by ignoring the donors' original intent, which they say was to support the Wilson School's graduate program and place its graduates in federal government jobs, especially those in foreign policy.
The University denies any misuse and says it does a good job of placing graduates in the public sector.
Though appointed by the University, Kean said he does not currently have an opinion on the case. "I don't know enough to comment," he said. He added that, in undertaking the new appointment, he is "happy to be back and doing something with Princeton." While serving as governor from 1982 to 1990, Kean was an ex officio trustee of the University.
Kean, who majored in history, said he "[has] always been an admirer of the Wilson School and believe[s] that we need good intelligent people in government ... and the Wilson School is the place to supply them."
The Robertson Foundation board of trustees consists of seven members, four of whom are appointed by the University and three of whom are chosen by the Robertson family. This division has existed since the Foundation's incorporation in 1961.
The University trustees must include the president of the University, two current or former University trustees and one other person chosen by the president.
Prior to serving two terms as governor, Kean served for 10 years in the New Jersey Assembly. In 2002, President Bush appointed him to head the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States, also known as the 9/11 Commission. The bipartisan commission's final report received the unanimous support of its members.
"He has proven his fairness and his integrity in the past, and we believe that he will continue to do so and act in the interest of the Robertson Foundation and its purpose and its mission," Robertson said.
— Princetonian senior writer Michael Juel-Larsen contributed reporting to this article.
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