A Princeton Companion

In this unusual and unique volume, Alexander Leitch provides a warm, often witty, and always informative reference book on Princeton University. The collection of approximately 400 articles, alphabetically arranged and written by some seventy faculty members and alumni in addition to the author, covers all aspects of Princeton life in the past as well as in the present. Of special interest are the biographies of eminent Princetonians, including the University’s presidents, well-known trustees, distinguished deans, famous alumni, and some of Princeton’s most prominent and popular professors.

Other articles in the book embrace a wide range of topics: histories of academic departments, programs, and research units; descriptions of the honor system, the preceptorial method, the four-course plan, and coeducation; a historical survey of the University’s acquisition of land and the development of its campus, together with articles on its principal buildings; pieces on student activities; accounts of alumni activities; articles on athletics; portraits of notable personalities; and commentaries on a host of lighter topics such as the cane spree, beer jackets, the Faculty Song, the proctors, and Veterans of Future Wars.

Among the most important articles are one summarizing Woodrow Wilson’s Sesquicentennial address, “Princeton in the Nation’s Service,” and a dozen others recording faculty and alumni achievements toward the goal encompassed by that phrase.

Originally published in 1978.

The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.