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The Robertson case, involving a lawsuit filed by the Robertson family against the University over the Wilson School's $600-million-plus endowment, has grown tenser in recent days as the two sides to the suit blame each other for the recent resignation of the Robertson Foundation's auditor.In the latest chapter of this expensive dispute between Princeton and the descendants of donors Charles '26 and Marie Robertson ? who endowed the foundation in 1961 with its sole donation of $35 million ? words and accusations are acerbic and the truth is far from clear.The recent events nevertheless reflect what has become the hallmark of the three-year-old litigation: the bitter back-and-forth between two parties, each convinced it is being gravely wronged by the other.The case began in July 2002, when the three family trustees on the foundation's board ? led by Bill Robertson '72, the son of Charles and Marie ? filed suit against Princeton, President Tilghman and the foundation's three University-designated trustees.The Robertsons allege that the University has misused the foundation's funds, which they say are intended to support the Wilson School's graduate program and to place its graduates in federal government jobs, especially in foreign policy.

NEWS | 09/20/2005

After storm, students start to rebuild

After storm, students start to rebuild

When Lauren Bartholomew '09 arrived on campus this fall, she ? like most incoming students ? brought along all her personal belongings and treasured possessions.

NEWS | 09/20/2005

Professor Robert George offers an insider's take on the Supreme Court

On what constitutional basis can we say that abortion is protected by "due process" but that a right to assisted suicide ? unanimously rejected by the court in 1997 ? is not?

NEWS | 09/20/2005

Constitution Day stirs debate over interpreting founders' intentions

Complying with a new federal law, the University celebrated Constitution Day on Tuesday with a panel discussion on challenges facing contemporary interpreters of the nation's highest law.Provost Christopher Eisgruber '83 moderated and contributed to a panel discussion entitled "An Old Constitution in a Changing World," at which professors Robert George, Christopher Chyba, Stephen Macedo GS '87 and Kim Scheppele also spoke.The law, sponsored by Sen.

NEWS | 09/20/2005

Students enjoy freedom of wireless network in dorms

After OIT installed wireless points in dormitories over the summer and turned on wireless access earlier this month, student laptops have become more portable than ever.The decision to install wireless Internet in the dorms was made partly because of student feedback, but also because OIT discovered that many students had installed their own wireless routers in their rooms, said Leila Shahbender, manager of Student Computing Services for the Office of Information Technology."We're not on the leading edge of technology, but we want to be one of the universities that people look to ? doing things that are innovative.

NEWS | 09/20/2005

Upholding school motto, organizers plan volunteer projects

From Akwaaba to Yavneh House, nearly 50 student organizations are preparing for Princeton in the Nation's Service (PINS), a month of volunteer projects to benefit the local community and Hurricane Katrina victims.Organizers moved the start of PINS from October to the beginning of the school year due to the devastation in the Gulf."There is no better way to be in the nation's service than to efficiently and effectively aid Katrina victims," PINS student coordinator Carol Wang '07 said.Scenes of hurricane damage convinced USG president Leslie-Bernard Joseph '06 to scale down plans for what he described as a "flashy" PINS kickoff celebration featuring prominent speakers."Katrina definitely put a lot of things in perspective.

NEWS | 09/20/2005

30 years of finches

They met in 1960 at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. More than 45 years later, Peter and Rosemary Grant were married ? and back in Vancouver for a conference in their honor ? when they received word that one million Swiss francs would be coming their way.The Grants, who both teach in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, had been jointly awarded a Balzan Prize ? worth about $800,000 ? for their 30 years of cumulative research on the evolution of Darwin's finches on the Galápagos Islands."It was a complete surprise," said Rosemary Grant, a Senior Research Biologist in the department.

NEWS | 09/19/2005

Rice to speak Sept. 30

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will deliver the keynote address for the Sept. 30 kickoff of the Wilson School's 75th anniversary celebrations, University officials confirmed Monday evening."I cannot imagine a better person to launch our 75th anniversary celebrations," Dean of the Wilson School Anne-Marie Slaughter '80 said in a statement.Rice exemplifies the values the Wilson School hopes to instill in its students, according to Slaughter, and she "is currently shaping policy on many of the most important issues of our time."President Tilghman also offered words of praise for the secretary of state."Secretary Rice left the position of provost at one of our peer institutions to serve our government at the highest levels," Tilghman said, referring to Rice's prior service at Stanford, "and this visit will give our students and others an opportunity to engage her in conversation about some of the major issues for which she has responsibility."A lottery for student, faculty and staff tickets will begin Wednesday at 9 a.m.

NEWS | 09/19/2005

Holt criticizes Bush on science

Rep. Rush Holt (D?N.J.) began his speech to the joint meeting of the American Chemical Society and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers Monday by apologizing for being late."This sounds like namedropping," he said, "but I was in a meeting in Washington with Jimmy Carter and Jim Baker."Holt, whose talk was titled "Standing Up for Science," voiced his "disappointment in the way that the administration has politicized" scientific issues from the teaching of evolution to stem cell research.Holt, who worked as the assistant director of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory for nine years, said there was a "growing crisis" in the country's understanding and appreciation of science, characterizing the lack of appreciation for research as "disturbing."He said he was "appalled" by President Bush's recent endorsement of the teaching of the theory of intelligent design ? which posits that the existence of a higher being, rather than natural selection, is responsible for biological diversity ? in public schools alongside the Darwinian theory of evolution."Public school science classes are not the place to be teaching things that cannot be tested empirically and verifiably," he said.

NEWS | 09/19/2005

Madden '03 wins big on 'Jeopardy'

Every weeknight at 1 a.m., Central European Time, David Madden '03 called his parents from Berlin.

NEWS | 09/19/2005

New grading policy halfway toward goal

Less than a year and a half after faculty members approved an initiative to combat grade inflation, the University is halfway toward its goal, Dean of the College Nancy Malkiel announced at a faculty meeting Monday.The number of A-range grades handed out by University professors during the 2004-05 school year decreased to 40.9 percent from 46 percent the previous year, a pace that will enable the University to reach its target if it is maintained this year, Malkiel said.

NEWS | 09/19/2005

University may receive federal funds

The Department of Education unveiled a $2.6 billion plan Friday to support the education of students displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

NEWS | 09/19/2005

Gmachl wins 'genius' grant

Just ten years after earning her doctorate, electrical engineering professor Claire Gmachl can already claim 125 published articles and 15 granted patents to her name.

NEWS | 09/19/2005

After two-year search, Roth takes helm at CJL

After a two-year search, the Center for Jewish Life has appointed Rabbi Julie Roth its new executive director.

NEWS | 09/18/2005

No method to madness

On Sunday, The Daily Princetonian caught up with one of Jurassic 5's four MCs, Chali 2na, on the basketball court of the Quadrangle Club.Jurassic 5, a hip-hop group from Los Angeles, headlined a series of concerts, jointly sponsored by USG and the Quadrangle Club, to raise money for victims of Hurricane Katrina.The Daily Princetonian: Jurassic 5 have been performing for a long time ? what have been the best venues?Chali 2na: We have been performing all over the place.

NEWS | 09/18/2005

Tulane students adjust to campus

Days after the unexpected disaster of Hurricane Katrina left hundreds of students without a school, Tulane freshman Christina Montrois received a call of hope.Picking up the phone, Montrois' father heard, "Hi, this is President Tilghman, the president of Princeton University.""No, you're not!" he responded.That morning, as the extent of Hurricane Katrina's damage became undeniable, Montrois had faxed her academic information to Princeton ? one of several colleges that had offered to host displaced students for a semester.But it was hard to believe that President Tilghman was already calling to welcome Montrois to Princeton and express her sympathy for the disaster in New Orleans.Saturday, August 27, was move-in day and orientation for Tulane freshmen.

NEWS | 09/18/2005

CEE professor Smith saw threat to New Orleans

When the muddy waters of Lake Pontchartrain filled the streets of New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Princeton professor James Smith was not surprised.Smith, a flood expert in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, has told his students for years that the lower Mississippi River ? and New Orleans in particular ? were vulnerable to catastrophic flooding."We teach a course on 'Rivers and the Regional Environment,' and we always give two lectures on the lower Mississippi, which is one of the most controlled rivers in the world," said Smith, who co-teaches CEE 263 with Professor David Billington.

NEWS | 09/18/2005

Keep watching the skies: It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood

In my home state of Florida, we have an expression that allows us to face threatening hurricanes with total equanimity: hunker down.

NEWS | 09/18/2005

Schaengold fights to found first dry club

As a Messianic Jew from an Indian reservation who believes in both sexual and alcoholic abstinence, David Schaengold '07 is used to being a minority.

NEWS | 09/18/2005

Donations approach $10,000

A series of benefit concerts and other fundraising activities organized by students last week raised about $9,500 for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, student leaders said Sunday.T-shirts sold at Sunday's performance by hip-hop group Jurassic 5 raised $2,500, while USG donation tables in Frist Campus Center collected about $1,000.

NEWS | 09/18/2005

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