Robertson v. Princeton

Colleges and Universities A-Z Princeton University
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<p>Interesting article on the front page of today's Wall Street Journal about this case ("Poisoned Ivy: Fight at Princeton Escalates Over Use Of a Family's Gift"). I'd link the story, but it's a pay site.</p>

<p>The heirs of Charles Robertson are suing Princeton alleging that Princeton has misused the funds from their father's gift, which was made in 1961 for the purpose of "training graduate students at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs to serve in the federal government, particularly in foreign relations." The 1961 gift of $35 million has now grown to about $650 million, or about 6% of Princeton's endowment. </p>

<p>It's actually a little scary how many gifts have strings attached - and Princeton is far from alone in this regard. It's also hard to see how Princeton could really use the entirety of the Robertson funds for the originally stated purpose. How many Woodrow Wilson graduate student going into federal government can there be? Maybe there ought to be a limit on how long a donor's original restrictions can be enforced? And maybe the rich Robertson heirs should find something better to do with their lives? Just MHO.</p>

2

<p>Be careful. "Outsiders" posting anything that may be considered to reflect poorly on Princeton may find their thread mysteriously deleted!</p>

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<p>Princeton's response: <a href="http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S13/93/26C94/index.xml?section=announcements%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S13/93/26C94/index.xml?section=announcements&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Btw, based on Rumsfeld, Frist and Alito, the fewer Princeton grads who work for the Federal govt, the better! (diehard Democrat here ;) )</p>

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<p>Although not a widely known fact, JFK attended Princeton as a freshman. He apparently transferred to Harvard because he had jaundice... and even though he's not alive anymore, Woody Woo certainly wasn't a Republican!</p>

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<p>He left Princeton after 2 weeks. He applied, reportedly, because he was sickly, and his mother wanted him closer to the family home - then in Bronxville.</p>

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<p>ok, thanks for the info Byerly, I wasn't sure how much time he'd spent there. I read somewhere that he entered Harvard one year after starting at Princeton, that's why I assumed he had studied for ~1 year at Princeton... well anyway, at least GWB didn't study there!</p>

7

<p>So, someone wanna sumerize Pton's response? There is no way i want to read about this for that long.</p>

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<p>They deny all.</p>

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<p><a href="http://www.wakecomp.com/josh/kennedy.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.wakecomp.com/josh/kennedy.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>The comments regarding JFK aren't correct. JFK chose Princeton due in part to his desire to be with his friends from Choate. His decision to matriculate at Princeton preceded his illness by more than six months and had nothing to do with his mother's wishes. It is true that he became seriously ill just a few weeks into his freshman year and had to withdraw. When he returned to school it was at Harvard and that decision was the one driven more by his illness and the family's desire that he be closer to home. There are many sources for this information. The above link is just one.</p>

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<p>In regard to the Robertson lawsuit, the Robertson family apparently has decided that since they are unlikely to win their case in court (there is a good chance that their suit will be thrown out in a matter of months after a summary judgment on key issues) they will use the press simply to defame Princeton. This trial-by-press tactic is one that they have repeatedly used since the early stages of the lawsuit. The saddest part of this is that their parents, who were very generous and loyal to Princeton, would be greatly distressed were they alive to see the trouble their children have caused. As discussed in the University's response to the WSJ article, that article was written almost entirely from materials provided by the Robertson family and presents a very skewed picture.</p>

<p>Princeton is known for its careful stewardship of finances. Princeton's credit rating is considered the "gold standard" among colleges. While most of its peer institutions have borrowed heavily against their assets, Princeton is virtually debt-free, owning its physical facilities outright thus allowing it much greater financial freedom to take on new challenges. The financial aid initiative, unmatched among its sister institutions, is but one example.</p>

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<p>That information about JFK is incorrect. "Home" at the time was Bronxville and Manhattan - not near Harvard.</p>

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<p>The WSJ story piqued my interest in the situation, and I found the following article from 2004, which provides a fairly detailed, and seemingly objective, account: <a href="http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=11943981&BRD=1697&PAG=461&dept_id=44551&%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=11943981&BRD=1697&PAG=461&dept_id=44551&&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>I have to say that I don't have a lot of sympathy for the Robertson family - indeed, this whole story reminds me of why I've always found inherited wealth a little creepy. Here's the nutshell (admittedly slanted through my perspective):</p>

<ul>
<li><p>Charles Robertson grows up in Queens, goes to Princeton, graduates in 1926, goes to work in NYC selling real estate, meets Marie Hartford, daughter of the founder of the A&P grocery chain and heiress to a fortune, and marries her in the mid-1930's.</p></li>
<li><p>Charles goes on to have a fine career managing his wife's money.</p></li>
<li><p>In 1961, Charles and Marie create the Robertson Foundation with $35 million, devoted entirely to funding the Woodrow Wilson School, with the goal of training graduates for service in the federal government, particularly in foreign relations.</p></li>
<li><p>In 1969, Charles and Marie's son, William, goes to Princeton (I wonder how he got in). A couple of years later, their daughter, Katherine, is also admitted to Princeton (big surprise), but chooses Pomona instead, thereby denying Charles "the chance to be the first Princeton alumnus with a son and a daughter enrolled at the same time."</p></li>
<li><p>In 1972, Marie dies. In the aftermath of Marie's death, and "pained" by his daughter's decision not to go to Princeton, Charles starts to turn on Princeton, complaining that the Woodrow Wilson School is not sending enough graduates to work in the federal government. Of course, it's the height of the Vietnam era and disaffection with the federal government, so government service is not as attractive to students as it may have been in the "Camelot" Kennedy era of 1961.</p></li>
<li><p>There ensues 30 years of Robertson family complaining, taken up by William after Charles' death in 1981.</p></li>
<li><p>In 2002, Princeton's management company takes over management of the Robertson Foundation funds, over the family's objections. The family brings the lawsuit shortly thereafter.</p></li>
</ul>

<p>Charles' major accomplishment in life seems to have been to marry into huge wealth. Clearly, he and his wife made a very generous gift in 1961, but it was Princeton that made use of the gift to help build one of the world's finest schools of international relations. As for the next generation of Robertsons, they didn't even have to take the initiative of finding great wealth to marry into. It was handed to them at birth. From my perspective, the value added is Princeton's. I would think that maybe William could find a more productive hobby than spending millions of his inherited wealth on suing his alma mater.</p>