By the numbers: University raises funds for United Way
With the help of a dedicated group of departmental volunteers from across campus and at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), the campus community raised $65,772.65 during the 2025 United Way Campaign. Proceeds support the United Way of Greater Mercer County’s education, financial stability, food insecurity, and health programs.
Read on princeton.edu
| | |
From TIME: Princeton University Art Museum named one of The World's Greatest Places
TIME includes Princeton University Art Museum in its list of The World's Greatest Places for 2026.
Read on time.com
| |
How Princeton SPIA is shaping important AI policy directions
As artificial intelligence reshapes how people interact with technology, policymakers are racing to set ground rules for how it should operate. The Princeton School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA) is aiding that effort through numerous initiatives to inform lawmakers of the latest research on AI and educate current and future public servants about policy challenges and innovation opportunities.
“AI is clearly transformative technology, and Princeton SPIA is leading the conversation on the policy implications of its innovative potential,” said SPIA Dean Amaney Jamal.
New challenges arise daily with AI. The technology has helped bad actors launch cyberattacks, develop weapons, produce inappropriate images of minors, invade individual privacy, and disseminate false information. Even when its uses are seemingly beneficial, it has introduced bias into systems, complicated the ability to judge authorship, and overwhelmed global energy infrastructure.
| |
From Princeton Alumni Weekly: Behind the Stripes: What happens inside the mascot suit doesn’t always stay there
The original tiger, naturally enough, was a fox.
The fox in question was Frederic Fox ’39, the University’s longtime recording secretary, known to many as “Mr. Princeton,” and possibly the most rah-rah alum who ever lived. As an undergrad during the Great Depression, Fox became the first Princeton student to dress up as a tiger at an athletic contest. Or so he claimed.
Back in 1936, in the depths of the Depression, Fox’s father could not send him money for tickets to the Yale game. But he did work out a deal with a New York furrier for the loan of a genuine Bengal tiger pelt. Thus attired, Fox found that he could not only walk into Palmer Stadium free of charge but wander down onto the sidelines.
Read on paw.princeton.edu
| | America 250: Princeton Celebrates | | |
Now is the Time: Artists Go to Work
Toni Morrison’s Atelier and the Importance of Artistic Convening and Collaboration
Now is the Time: Artists Go to Work — Toni Morrison’s Atelier and the Importance of Artistic Convening and Collaboration features a panel discussion inspired by the timestamp of America’s 250th anniversary and Morrison’s belief that in challenging times artists must go to work. The panel will grapple with the urgent challenge Morrison articulated so presciently years ago: that independence, proclaimed in 1776, can only survive through interdependence—the ongoing collaborative work of relation, care, and creation. Part of an ongoing initiative cosponsored by the Lewis Center for the Arts’ Princeton Atelier, The Collaboratorium for Radical Aesthetics, The Toni Morrison Foundation, and the Park Avenue Armory.
Reserve free tickets on tickets.princeton.edu.
Friday, March 27
4:30 PM
Wallace Theater at Lewis Arts Complex
| | |
Willem de Kooning:
The Breakthrough Years, 1945–50
Willem de Kooning: The Breakthrough Years, 1945–50 traces the development of de Kooning’s approach to painting in the period when he cemented his position as a leader of the American avant-garde.
Anchored by works from de Kooning’s first solo exhibition, held in 1948, including Black Friday—a highlight in Princeton’s collections—as well as paintings from more than a dozen museums and private collections, The Breakthrough Years is the first exhibition to focus on the enormously generative and creative period that surrounded de Kooning’s full-scale debut in the New York art world. During this time, de Kooning refined the exchange in his work between figuration and abstraction through experimentation, resulting in compositions that are among his most celebrated. The Breakthrough Years offers a rare opportunity to study a defining moment in the career of an artist who fundamentally redefined painting in the twentieth century to become one of modernism’s foundational representatives.
Free and open to the public.
On display March 15 through July 26
Princeton University Art Museum
View gallery hours on artmuseum.princeton.edu
| | |
Circus Quixote at McCarter Theatre
Cervantes’ classic is reimagined in a dazzling new production from the creators of McCarter audience favorites, Lookingglass Alice and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.
Somewhere in La Mancha there lived a man who read so many books that his brains dried up…so he becomes a knight! As Don Quixote embarks on his impossible quest for justice, Lookingglass Theatre’s signature acrobatics, breathtaking visuals, and boundless imagination transport audiences into his wild, windmill-tilting world.
Purchase tickets on mccarter.org.
Performances through March 15
McCarter Theatre Center
| | |
Science of Success: A Women’s History Month Breakfast & Panel
Come listen, discuss and be part of the conversation around gender equality in the biotech and life sciences industry.
In honor of Women’s History Month, Princeton Innovation Center BioLabs and Life Science Cares NY/NJ invite women in the life sciences to a networking breakfast and panel discussion.
This event offers an opportunity to connect with peers and broaden your professional network. Enjoy an inspiring moderated panel featuring some of NJ’s most successful women entrepreneurs in the life sciences and biotech sectors. A continental breakfast will be served, with ample time for networking, and a small raffle drawing will close out the morning.
Free registration on luma.com.
Tuesday, March 17
8:30 AM to 10:30 AM
Princeton Innovation Center BioLabs, 303A College Road East, Princeton, NJ
| | |
HMEI Taplin Environmental Lecture
“Finding Hope in a Warming World”
The High Meadows Environmental Institute will host a lecture by Katharine Hayhoe, an atmospheric scientist, distinguished professor and endowed chair at Texas Tech University, and chief scientist at The Nature Conservancy. Hayhoe is speaking as part of the HMEI Taplin Environmental Lecture Series.
Climate change is not only a physical crisis driven by greenhouse gas emissions; it is also a highly politicized social challenge that has grown even more divisive this past year alone. And as the inequitable harms from climate impacts escalate and opposition to climate action intensifies, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and powerless.
Drawing on climate science, behavioral science, and real-world examples, Dr. Hayhoe examines why information alone rarely motivates action, and why effective climate engagement must be grounded in our broader social and cultural landscape. She offers practical, evidence-based strategies for communicating accurately and in a way that catalyzes engagement across diverse audiences, connecting what science tells us (“the head”) to what people care about (“the heart”) and to practical, positive solutions (“the hands”).
Ultimately, she makes the case for why hope isn’t wishful thinking, but rather a courageous, active choice – one that can empower each of us to contribute to building a more just and resilient future.
Free and open to the public
Tuesday, March 17
4:30 PM
Briger Hall, 11 Ivy Lane
| | |
Friends Annual Mary Pitcairn Keating Lecture: Artist Nick Cave
A wide-ranging conversation between renowned artist Nick Cave and Princeton University Art Museum Director James Steward
Join the multimedia artist Nick Cave and Museum Director James Steward for a discussion on Cave’s artistic evolution and public art projects, from his murals for the New York City subway to his monumental glass-mosaic commission in the Museum’s Entrance Court. The speakers will be joined by Bob Faust, Cave’s partner and artistic collaborator, for the concluding portion of the conversation. Following the event, attendees are invited to a reception in the Museum’s Grand Hall and to experience Cave’s installation in person.
Free and open to the public.
Tuesday, March 17
5:30 PM
Princeton University Art Museum
| | |
Jazz Vespers
An inclusive experience of poetry, music, and quiet centering, featuring jazz saxophonist Audrey Welber, pianist Adam Faulk, and members of the Chapel Choir.
Free and open to the public.
Wednesday, March 18
8:00 PM
Princeton University Chapel
| | |
After Noon Concert Series
The After Noon Concert Series is a weekly opportunity for the Princeton Community to enjoy performances at the Princeton University Chapel by various local, national, and international organists. These half-hour concerts showcase the flexibility of the magnificent Skinner/Mander Chapel organ. Each visiting organist rehearses and performs, bringing forth a different voice and character from the organ.
Thursday, March 19
12:30 PM
Princeton University Chapel
| | |
In his new book, “Terms of Respect: How Colleges Get Free Speech Right,” President Eisgruber draws on his background as a constitutional scholar and tenure as Princeton’s president to examine the clash of ideas on campuses across the United States and the responsibilities of higher education institutions in a polarized society.
This conversation will explore the issues he examines in “Terms of Respect,” counter misperceptions about free speech and academic freedom, and highlight the role research universities play in American democracy.
Registration required. Register on alumni.princeton.edu.
Thursday, March 19
4:30 PM
Virtual Event
| | |
Princeton University Concerts presents
Tabea Zimmermann, Viola
Javier Perianes, Piano
It is no exaggeration to say that you have not heard the extraordinary power of the viola until you have heard Tabea Zimmermann play it. Regularly cited as the world’s greatest living violist, her revelatory performances have been sold-out triumphs on our past seasons. In a rare U.S. recital appearance featuring the long-awaited debut of Spanish pianist Javier Perianes, the duo brings a deeply retrospective program spanning the poetic lyricism of Schumann’s Fantasy Pieces and Brahms’ late second viola sonata, Britten’s melancholic tribute to Renaissance composer John Dowland in its seldom-performed original arrangement, and Shostakovich’s final composition, written weeks before the composer’s death. This is music at its most profound—played by instrumentalists at their most transcendent.
Tabea Zimmermann will also teach a public masterclass for Princeton University student violists on Friday, March 20 at 4:00 PM in Taplin Auditorium, Fine Hall. No tickets or registration required to attend.
Purchase tickets on concerts.princeton.edu.
Thursday, March 19
7:30 PM
Richardson Auditorium in Alexander Hall
| |
Public Lecture
Percival Everett
Percival Everett's most recent novel James (2024) was longlisted for the 2024 Booker Prize and chosen for the Booker Prize shortlist. James won the Kirkus Prize for Fiction, the National Book Award for Fiction, and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Percival Everett's other novels include Erasure (2001), The Trees (2020), and Dr. No (2022). He is a Distinguished Professor of English at the University of Southern California.
Free and open to the public.
Wednesday, March 25
5:00 PM
McCosh Hall, Room 50
| | |
Art for Families
Tomb Guardians
Saturdays are for young makers in the Creativity Labs! Stop by and create a collage inspired by the artist El Anatsui.
Drop in any time between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. to explore a work of art, play with different materials, and exercise your imagination. Come for fifteen minutes or two hours—whatever your schedule allows. All ages are welcome; no tickets or reservations required.
Ghanaian artist El Anatsui takes everyday objects and transforms them into something amazing—like the bottle caps he used to make his shimmering tapestry, Another Place (2014). Join us for this collage activity and explore what you can make with recycled materials! We provide the materials, you bring the creativity!
Saturday, March 14
10:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Princeton University Art Museum
| |
|
Youth Writing Contests
350 for 50
Cotsen Children's Library is accepting submissions for the annual 250 for 50 writing contest. Writers age 9-16 are challenged to write a 350-word story that includes the sentence "Immediately, it was upside down.” Submissions are due by March 23.
View full contest and submission details on popgoesthepage.princeton.edu.
Ten-Minute Play Contest
The Lewis Center for the Arts invites students in eleventh grade to submit 10-minute plays. Submissions are due by March 31. Entries will be judged by a guest playwright.
View full contest and submission details on arts.princeton.edu.
| |
Images
United Way - Photo by Denise Applewhite, Office of Communications
PUAM - Photo by Matthew Raspanti, Office of Communications
SPIA - Photo by Cameron Smith
Mascot - Photo by Sameer A. Khan h’21 / Fotobuddy
Toni Morrison - Photo credit: Lewis Center for the Arts Archives
Willem de Kooning - Willem de Kooning (1904–1997; born Rotterdam, Netherlands; died East Hampton, NY; active New York, NY), Black Friday, 1948. Enamel and oil over paper collage on fiberboard in painted wood frame; 125 × 99 cm, 128.3 × 102.2 × 7.3 cm (frame). Princeton University Art Museum. Gift of H. Gates Lloyd, Class of 1923, and Mrs. Lloyd in honor of the Class of 1923 (y1976-44) © 2026 The Willem de Kooning Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
PUAM Lecture - Nick Cave, Let me kindly introduce myself. They call me MC Prince Brighton., 2025. Princeton University Art Museum. Museum commission made possible by the John B. Putnam Jr. Memorial Fund and the Fowler McCormick, Class of 1921, Fund. © Nick Cave. Photo: Joseph Hu
Art for Families - Tang dynasty (618–907), China, Pair of tomb guardians (zhenmushou 鎮墓獸), ca. mid–8th century CE. Princeton University Art Museum. Museum purchase, Fowler McCormick, Class of 1921, Fund. Photo: Bruce M. White
| | | | |
