Robertson Foundation lawsuit Q&a updated December 18, 2008
What, other than the Certificate of Incorporation, can define the Foundation’s purpose?
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- 24. Did Princeton discuss the purposes of the Robertson Foundation with Mr. or Mrs. Robertson
- 25. What do the plaintiffs claim is the purpose of the Robertson Foundation
- 26. In what ways does the Woodrow Wilson School carry out the purpose of the Robertson Foundation
23. What, other than the Certificate of Incorporation, can define the Foundation’s purpose?Paragraph 3 of the Certification of Incorporation is the only formal expression of purpose on which the Foundation can act. Nothing else—including private correspondence within the donor’s family or desires expressed by descendants of the donor—can redefine the Foundation’s purpose. The Certificate represents a fundamental compact between the University and the donor, and the donor, advised by legal counsel, understood that the purpose delineated in the Certificate would be the only binding statement of intent for the Foundation. 24. Did Princeton discuss the purposes of the Robertson Foundation with Mr. or Mrs. Robertson?Yes. Major gifts such as the one bestowed on Princeton by Marie Robertson represent vast commitments not only by the donor, but also by the University. Princeton works extensively with its donors to structure projects that fulfill the donor’s aspirations but also fit within the long-term goals of the University, are consistent with its basic nature, and respect its academic judgments as to how best to achieve those goals. In the case of the Robertson gift, then-Princeton President Robert Goheen and Charles Robertson had extensive conversations and exchanged substantive correspondence as the parameters of the Robertson gift were designed. In two pages of typewritten notes that predated Marie Robertson’s gift, Charles Robertson recommended that the School’s curriculum should “not [be] limited to areas pertinent only to foreign service” and needed to include “an understanding of the problems and aims of labor,” “a thorough knowledge of the history, political institutions, economy, etc. of the U.S.,” and “the effect on policy of scientific … development.” [Document: Excerpt from Charles Robertson's December 15, 1960 Notes] 25. What do the plaintiffs claim is the purpose of the Robertson Foundation?Despite the clear language of the Certificate of Incorporation, and despite more than 40 years of actions based upon it, plaintiffs want the court to believe that the beneficiary of Mrs. Robertson’s gift is not the Robertson Foundation, Princeton University nor the graduate program at the Woodrow Wilson School. According to them, the beneficiary of the gift is the United States government. They base their argument on a fragment of a sentence in the Certificate that says the “objective” of the Foundation is to “strengthen the government of the United States and increase its ability and determination to defend and extend freedom throughout the world.” That sentence immediately goes on to say that the Foundation is to do this “by improving the facilities for the training and education of men and women for government service and to contribute, lend, pay over, or assign the income of the corporation and/or the funds or property of the corporation … to or for the use of Princeton University … to establish or maintain and support at Princeton University, and as a part of the Woodrow Wilson School, a graduate school.” [See: Question 22] In this litigation, plaintiffs proffer an exceedingly narrow interpretation of what the Certificate authorizes, and claim that whether the Foundation is compliant with the Certificate of Incorporation should be judged by the number of graduates it places directly into a limited range of U.S. federal government jobs. In addition to being in conflict with the Foundation’s Certificate and its 46-year history, plaintiffs’ view is anachronistic in its understanding of the federal government's needs and its hiring and contracting practices. As described by President Goheen, Princeton’s President when the Foundation was created, from its inception the Foundation has aspired to “bring about the development of a whole new level of post-graduate, professional education in the Woodrow Wilson School” amid “the changing requirements of a shifting world.” [Document: Excerpt from the June 12, 1973 Remarks by President Goheen] More recently, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice commented: “As a professor myself, I understand how important it is to root the practice of statecraft [and] the study of statecraft in the systematic examination of politics and history and culture that the Wilson School offers to its students.” [Document: Excerpt from the September 30, 2005 Speech by Secretary Condoleeza Rice] 26. In what ways does the Woodrow Wilson School carry out the purpose of the Robertson Foundation?Consistent with the Robertson Foundation’s purpose, the Woodrow Wilson School’s goal is to enroll men and women dedicated to public service and provide them with knowledge and skills that qualify them for leadership positions in government service, including specifically federal government service in international relations, upon graduation or later in their careers. The School superbly prepares its graduate students for government and other forms of public service, precisely as the Certificate of Incorporation envisions. Since the Robertson Foundation was founded, the Woodrow Wilson School curriculum has taken a long-term approach, emphasizing fundamental analytic methods and intellectual breadth rather than narrowly-targeted vocational training. By doing so, the School prepares students to deal not only with the immediate policy challenges confronting the government when they graduate and enter public service, but also with the very different, and often unanticipated, challenges that will await them in future decades when they may assume major roles within the government. The Woodrow Wilson School also prepares students for a world in which the boundaries between international and domestic policy issues are increasedly intermingled. It prepares them to serve within the government, but also in the vast array of non-governmental organizations and private firms, such as CARE, World Vision, Save the Children and the Red Cross, that work with and for the government and provide services that were once provided directly by government. The ability of the government of the United States to defend and extend freedom throughout the world today thus depends on effective leadership not only within the government, but within the many organizations that collaborate with the government in carrying out its objectives. The School advances the mission of the Foundation through its curriculum, its opportunities and requirements for non-classroom learning (including internship programs), its career office, the quality of its faculty and its research programs, and its outreach and communications activities. Download 180.02 Kb. Share with your friends:
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