From lab to leadership: Shirley Tilghman reflects on her journey as University president
After University President Harold Shapiro announced he was stepping down in 2001, Shirley Tilghman joined the presidential search committee, representing the natural sciences. A professor of molecular biology, Tilghman wanted to make sure a new president would support the new genomics institute that she was working to establish. One day, Tilghman left a search committee meeting to give a lecture. “The chair of the committee later took me aside and said, ‘while you were gone, we all decided you should be a candidate,’” Tilghman recalled.Committed to her teaching and research, Tilghman said she had not considered an administrative role — let alone University presidency. But in learning about the president’s role in serving on the search committee, Tilghman saw that “this could be one of the most intellectually enriching jobs I could ever have.”Shirley Tilghman went on to become the 19th president of Princeton University and the first woman to ever hold the position. During her tenure from 2001 to 2013, Tilghman focused on developing the science and arts programs, expanding financial aid, and promoting gender equality. Now, Tilghman serves on the Amherst Board of Trustees and the Harvard Corporation, which was involved in the high-profile resignation of Harvard President Claudine Gay, the first Black woman in the position. Just over a decade after her retirement from the University presidency, Tilghman sat down with The Daily Princetonian to reflect on her leadership and the current landscape of leadership in higher education.