Alumni Day Award Winners

Office of the Alumni Association
  • 0.0 (0)
  • PODCASTS
Alumni Day Award Winners

Alumni Day is the mid-winter celebration on campus in which Princeton's most accomplished alumni are honored and recognized. The Woodrow Wilson Award is conferred annually upon an alumnus or alumna of the undergraduate college whose achievements exemplify Woodrow Wilson's memorable phrase "Princeton in the nation's service." The James Madison Medal is given each year to an alumnus or alumna of the Graduate School who has had a distinguished career, advanced the cause of graduate education, or achieved a record of outstanding public service. Speeches from the award winners are collected here.

Episodes

  1. 02/22/2014 · VIDEO

    In the Nation's Service

    Sonia Sotomayor ’76, Associate Justice on the United States Supreme Court, reflects on the various ways that one can live a life of service. She wonders whether we have conflated the idea of service into a daunting goal for the next generation and counsels us to break down “service” to its basics: sacrificing one’s own interests to help another in need. Justice Sotomayor inspires other Princetonians to be role models of service to those around them by providing tangible, one-on-one acts of service and talks about service on the personal, professional, and civic levels. She additionally provides her personal key to happiness: asking two specific questions of oneself each night. Sotomayor was the Woodrow Wilson Award winner, Alumni Day 2014.

    40 min

  2. 02/22/2014 · VIDEO

    The Lion in the Path

    Hunter R. Rawlings III *70, President of the Association of American Universities, notes that, while American research universities are considered today the best in the world and are emulated, envied and entertained by other countries eager to catch up with our success in building such strong institutions, our universities have never been so hard pressed to make their “value proposition” in the face of such strong public criticisms—for everything from high cost and student debt to curricular sclerosis, administrative bloat and failure to change traditional paradigms in the face of the digital revolution. How, Rawlings asks, do we make sense of this paradox at the heart of the critique? He outlines how the history of the American higher education system and the more recent trends answer this question. He concludes with three reasons to be an optimist about the future. Rawlings was the Madison Medalist, Alumni Day 2014.

    40 min

  3. 02/25/2012 · VIDEO

    Leadership, Humility, and Service: The Princeton Tradition (Lecture Segment)

    Robert Mueller III ’66, Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation, reflects upon the core values of leadership, humility, and service learned during his time as an undergraduate student at Princeton University and reinforced by his service in the U.S. Marine Corps. He further discusses the effects of globalization, technology, and social media on law enforcement and the need for constant strategic adaptation to protect against global threats and terrorism. Mueller was the Woodrow Wilson Award winner, Alumni Day 2012.

    22 min

  4. 02/26/2011 · VIDEO

    Skin Stem Cells: Their Biology and Clinical Promise

    Elaine Fuchs *77, Rebecca C. Lancefield Professor of Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology at Rockefeller University, explains her work on epithelial stem cells, the background of skin cell stem cell research, and future directions. Fuchs was the Madison Medalist, Alumni Day 2011.

    57 min

  5. 02/26/2011 · VIDEO

    The Life of a Judge: From Megan's Law to Bernie Madoff

    Denny Chin '75, U.S. Circuit Judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, shares remarks about his career in public service, the past 17 years as a federal judge, and the types of cases with which he has been involved. Chin was the Woodrow Wilson Award winner, Alumni Day 2011.

    58 min

  6. 02/20/2010 · VIDEO

    Civility in a Fractured Society

    James A. Leach *64, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, expresses concern for the lack of civility and respect for others' perspectives in the public sphere. Spurred by transformations in communications technology that have resulted in market splintering of U.S. media outlets, Leach describes the increased use of polarizing language in political discourse and the resulting lack of public confidence in government. Leach was the Madison Medalist, Alumni Day 2010.

    1h 5m
  • 6 Episodes

About

Alumni Day is the mid-winter celebration on campus in which Princeton's most accomplished alumni are honored and recognized. The Woodrow Wilson Award is conferred annually upon an alumnus or alumna of the undergraduate college whose achievements exemplify Woodrow Wilson's memorable phrase "Princeton in the nation's service." The James Madison Medal is given each year to an alumnus or alumna of the Graduate School who has had a distinguished career, advanced the cause of graduate education, or achieved a record of outstanding public service. Speeches from the award winners are collected here.

Information

  • Creator
    Office of the Alumni Association
  • Episodes
    6
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © The Trustees of Princeton University
  • Show Website
    Alumni Day Award Winners

More From Princeton University

To listen to explicit episodes, sign in.

Stay up to date with this show

Sign in or sign up to follow shows, save episodes, and get the latest updates.
Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada