Rutgers University will pay Princeton Council of the Humanities professor emeritus Toni Morrison $30,000 to speak at Rutgers’ commencement ceremony on May 15.
She will also be presented with an honorary doctorate of letters.
The honorarium will be the first time that Rutgers, which is 245 years old, will have paid for a graduation speech.
The $30,000 is slightly less than the $32,000 Rutgers paid to have Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi, star of MTV’s “Jersey Shore, speak on campus last week.
According to The New York Times, Rutgers officials said that Morrison’s payment would be funded by a vending contract with PepsiCo Inc. and not money paid by the state or students.
The Times also reported that Rutgers is moving to make its commencement ceremony more elaborate by holding the event in the football stadium and opening attendance to all undergraduates.
Morrison was the 1993 winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature and a winner of the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
She is the author of numerous novels including “Beloved” and “Song of Solomon.” She started the Princeton Atelier program to connect undergraduate creative writing students with established artists.
Read More
Princeton boosts financial aid despite potential budget cuts, new endowment tax
Devon RudolphThe financial aid increase comes amid a rocky financial picture for many elite universities, which are confronting the loss of research federal funding and an endowment tax passed by Congress in July. It could also reduce Princeton’s tuition-paying student population.
Princeton's recent announcement of a boosted financial aid program could allow the University to be exempt from the recently passed federal endowment tax.
Town Council set to vote on immigrant sanctuary resolution following ICE raids
Justus Wilhoit and Leela HenslerThe Town Council will vote on a resolution affecting ICE cooperation at the meeting on Monday.
The Town Council will vote on a resolution affecting ICE cooperation at the meeting on Monday.
Alumni form mental health council in wake of student deaths
Luke GrippoThe council hopes to work with undergraduates to push for awareness about campus resources. At least four undergraduates at Princeton have died by suicide since 2022.
The council hopes to work with undergraduates to push for awareness about campus resources. At least four undergraduates at Princeton have died by suicide since 2022.