Nassau Club elects first female president

Following two years as the club’s vice president, Lahnston was selected to serve a two-year term as president. Lahnston’s late father, John Wheeler, was a physics professor at the University.

The Nassau Club was originally established as a men’s club for Princeton residents and University faculty. Located at the corner of Nassau Street and Mercer Street, the club serves meals and organizes speakers for its 1,200 members, 600 of whom live with 20 miles of the club, Lahnston said.

“I’m really honored,” Lahnston said. “Women have contributed a lot to the club over the years, and I think it’s nice that the members feel free to elect someone of either gender. It’s less about sex than it is about their abilities.”

Ties with the University were strong in the club’s early years, when Woodrow Wilson — who founded the club in 1889 — was president of both the University and the Nassau Club. Now, however, just one quarter of the club’s 600 local members are alumni, Lahnston said, and there are no official ties between the University and the club.

While women have historically been admitted to the club as spouses, they were not allowed to be full members until 1991.

Thomas Poole, a former club president who chaired the nominating committee, called Lahnston’s election historic.

“I think the reaction of the audience was a little more vigorous than it is in the usual incidence,” Poole said. “But most people regarded it as a normal evolution — barriers that were once erected are now coming down.”

Lahnston, who referred to the club’s mix of members as “town and gown,” said she hopes to foster greater community within the club while increasing its visibility in the outside community.

“It’s a wonderful meeting place for people from both sides of Nassau Street,” she added.

Members have expressed interest in having more community-oriented activities, such as a recent fundraiser held to assist the family of a club waiter whose home was destroyed by the Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti, she said.

Lahnston also said she plans to expand the range of social groups the club appeals to, citing plans to convert the club’s Grill Room to a pub that would appeal to younger members.

Poole said he hopes that electing a female president will change perceptions of the Nassau Club, where those interested in joining must apply for membership and be sponsored by a current member.

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“I’m sure people say, ‘Oh, that’s a white man’s club,’ ” Poole said. “Just because it is a club and there is a certain degree of exclusivity, it has a reputation of being a little bit stuffy and exclusionary.”

Poole estimated that women still make up only 20 percent of the club’s members, but Lahnston said the club is adding more women along with young members.

“There are more of us now, and we’re a little more visible,” Lahnston said. “Having a woman president at the University really sets the style.”