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News & Notes: Environmental groups, town council file as intervenors in gas pipeline case

News & Notes: Environmental groups, town council file as intervenors in gas pipeline case

Daily Princetonian Staff

Three environmental groups have filed as intervenors before theFederal Energy Regulatory Commission opposing a proposednatural gas pipeline that would run through Princeton and Montgomery, the Princeton Packet reported. The filing follows an unanimous vote on Oct.

NEWS | 10/24/2013

Town mayor to recuse herself from payment negotiations with U.

Patience Haggin

Princeton Mayor Liz Lempert will recuse herself from the town’s upcoming discussions with the University regarding the amount it will contribute to the town’s budget in the coming year. Lempert, whose husband is a University professor, explained at a town council meeting Tuesday evening that the question of her potential conflict of interest had become too great of a distraction. “I felt that my participation and excitement to participate had become so much of the focus,” Lempert said in an interview.

NEWS | 10/24/2013

Updated: Dean Smith received over $700,000 in “recruitment incentives”

Anna Mazarakis

Updated 10:37 p.m.Dean of the College Valerie Smith received $733,380 in recruitment incentives since she came to the University, according to a review of the University’s latest tax filings. The figure, including a mortgage and a recruitment loan, is higher than the amount loaned to any of the University's listed "interested persons" other than those who work for the Princeton University Investment Company, which manages the endowment. "Interested persons" are defined on the tax filings as all officers, directors, trustees, key employees, highly compensated employees or disqualified persons. Top PRINCO administrators are usually the highest paid employees of the University. As a tax-exempt organization, the University is required to file a yearly return to the Internal Revenue Service, called a 990 form, that discloses a number of details regarding internal finances. Though it is unclear when she initially received the loans, the amount of Smith's recruitment incentives only became public now, since the University's most recently-filed 990 covers the 2011-2012 academic year, when she began her tenure as dean.

NEWS | 10/24/2013

U. donates $10,000 to town home audit campaign

Daily Princetonian Staff and Anna Windemuth

The University recently donated $10,000 to help promote Sustainable Princeton’s Energy SmartHomes program, an initiative by a local environmental organization that allows town residents to have the energy efficiency of their properties evaluated by a technician.

NEWS | 10/24/2013

Following 19 month-long search, U. names new fire marshal

Jacob Donnelly

Scott Loh, former director of the Fire Academy at Mercer County Community College, became the University's fire marshal on Oct.

NEWS | 10/24/2013

Delbanco, Katz discuss troubling trends in American higher education

Elliott Eglash

Higher education has become dominated by a number of troubling trends over time, and students come to college with little sense of why they are there, Columbia University’s American Studies program director Andrew Delbanco argued in a conversation on Tuesday afternoon. In the course of the lecture, Delbanco and Wilson School professor Stanley Katz touched on a number of subjects about the state of education in the United States, from pre-kindergarten programs to higher education. Delbanco said that Americans increasingly see colleges as lavish institutions that fail to teach students effectively. “They’re wasteful, they’re inefficient, they’re not doing their job, and we have a problem,” he said of ordinary people's view of colleges. This attitude is reinforced by rising tuition fees, which are caused in turn by the increasing privatization of higher education, Delbanco explained. “Our public universities have been gutted,” he said, noting that public funds make up only 6 percent of the University of Virginia’s budget. Katz warned against public universities’ efforts to raise funds in the face of budget shortfalls, either through tuition increases or the admission of more out-of-state students. These strategies undercut the democratic purpose of public education in America, he said. Higher education has developed a “pernicious and perverse obsession with rankings,” Delbanco said.

NEWS | 10/22/2013

Bernanke’s plans for life after Federal Reserve chairmanship unclear

Bernanke’s plans for life after Federal Reserve chairmanship unclear

Charles Kyungchan Min

With the end of his term as chairman of the Federal Reserve slated to expire in January, former professor and chair of the economics department Ben Bernanke’s plans for life after government are still unclear. “I prefer not to talk about my plans at this point,” Bernanke told reporters at a Sept.

NEWS | 10/22/2013

News & Notes: U. placed 13th in list of top national universities with most graduates entering public service

Daily Princetonian Staff

Among the top 50 national universities, the University was ranked 13th in the rate of its graduates who enter public service, Washington Monthly reported. The list was created byAspen Institute researchers whostudied the LinkedIn profiles of graduates from the top 50 national universities and the top 20 liberal arts colleges as ranked by U.S.

NEWS | 10/22/2013

Following Christie challenge withdrawal, Princeton sees first same-sex ceremony, U. LGBT celebration

Durva Trivedi

Following Monday’s announcement that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie dropped his challenge to a state Superior Court ruling approving same-sex marriage, Princeton Mayor Liz Lempert officiated the wedding of a lesbian couple that had been waiting 30 years to be married and the University’s Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Center served wedding cake to over 60 students, faculty and staff members in celebration. “I am glad that the governor changed his mind,” Lempert said, adding that shefeels being able to officiate weddings is the best perk of her job as mayor.

NEWS | 10/22/2013

Alleged Projects Board funding violation found to be clerical error

Anna Mazarakis

Projects Board did not violate the USG constitution in its funding request awarded to the Tango Club, Projects Board co-chair Jared Peterson ’14 and USG president Shawon Jackson ’15 confirmedMonday. While reviewing the budget at its meetingon Sunday, the USG found that Projects Board had allegedly approved $1,800 for Tango Club’s Tango Festival.

NEWS | 10/22/2013

Class of 2016 'Big Sibs' service initiative restructured after past year's difficulties

Lorenzo Quiogue

Despite difficulties in organization and logistics encountered after its launch last year, the Big Sibs program, the service project of the Class of 2016, will be continued this year under a different structure with lower participation.

NEWS | 10/21/2013

Q&A: Christine Pelosi on political family, income inequality and "Women on the Run"

Ruby Shao

After delivering a lecture called “Campaign Bootcamp: Leadership Lessons from Candidates on the Trail and Women on the Run” Friday night, author and activist Christine Pelosi —daughter of former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi — spoke to The Daily Princetonian about her childhood growing up in a political family, the goals driving her work and a new book coming out next year.The Daily Princetonian: What first made you interested in grassroots politics?Christine Pelosi: I started being interested in grassroots politics when I was walking in precincts as a young child, and I’ve been doing it ever since.DP: What were you like in college?CP: Well, I was very active in a student cooperative called Vital Vittles at Georgetown.

NEWS | 10/21/2013

News & Notes: Christie drops challenge to court ruling, effectively legalizing same-sex marriage in NJ

Daily Princetonian Staff

Governor Chris Christie announcedMondaymorning that he will drop his challenge to a state Supreme Court decision permitting same-sex marriage, effectively making New Jersey the 14th state in the nation to legalize same-sex marriage. Christie noted that he disagreed with the decision made by the Court but acknowledged that it "left no ambiguity,"The New York Times reported. Christie had sought a stay to prevent the marriages from taking place, but his petition was denied and his administration has announced it will not continue to challenge the ruling. The ruling went into effect just aftermidnight on Monday, when same-sex couples across the state held weddings at promptly12:01 a.m.,The New York Times reported. In the town of Princeton, Mayor Liz Lempertannounced on her Facebook pagethat she would be authorized to officiate same-sex marriages startingMonday.

NEWS | 10/21/2013

In return to Princeton, Petraeus GS ’87 defends fracking

Teddy Schleifer

David Petraeus GS ’87 said on campus Saturday that fracking could be a solution to U.S. energy challenges for the next 100 years, according to attendees. The final speaking event at the University’s weekend conference for graduate alumni was closed to press but held in the University’s largest auditorium and could be attended by any of the 1,000 graduate alumni who registered for the conference.

NEWS | 10/20/2013

Eisgruber urges investment in education, need to improve job resources for graduate students at alumni conference

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Eisgruber urges investment in education, need to improve job resources for graduate students at alumni conference

James Evans

University President Chrisopher Eisgruber ’83 said higher education was still a worthy investment during a Q&A on Friday in Richardson Auditorium as part of this weekend's "Many Minds, Many Stripes" conference for graduate alumni During the 45-minute conversation, Eisgruber spoke about his vision for the University, as well as graduate student life and education. When asked about the largest challenges facing the University, Eisgruber reiterated his belief that higher education was coming under pressure, a theme he stressed at his Installation ceremony in September. “People are asking questions about the value of education.

NEWS | 10/20/2013

Early on in Nassau Hall gunshot incident, officers realized situation was not emergency

Early on in Nassau Hall gunshot incident, officers realized situation was not emergency

Marcelo Rochabrun

“Public Safety is receiving reports of possibility of shots fired in Nassau Hall,” a Princeton Police Department dispatcher saidaround 7:57 p.m.

NEWS | 10/20/2013

Campus ESL resources directed towards graduate students

Jean-Carlos Arenas

While the University requires a minimum proficiency in English for both undergraduate and graduate admission, some students arrive on campus still facing challenges with the language.

NEWS | 10/20/2013

News & Notes: Yale will not consider instituting honor code

Daily Princetonian Staff

Yale College Dean Mary Miller told the Yale Daily News that the school is not actively considering the creation of an honor code.

NEWS | 10/20/2013

Projects Board allegedly violates USG Constitution with funding approval

Anna Mazarakis

The Projects Board allegedly violated the USG Constitution by approving a funding request for $1,800 for the Tango Club Tango Festival. The Senate found the approved fund request while reviewing the USG budgetfrom July through September at its weekly meeting on Sunday evening.

NEWS | 10/20/2013

Updated: University endowment returns 11.7 percent, grows to $18.2 billion

James Evans

The University’s endowment returned 11.7 percent in fiscal year 2013, falling in line with other recently announced returns across the Ivy League.

NEWS | 10/20/2013

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