Is Princeton’s conception of the Foundation’s purpose something new?

27. Is Princeton’s conception of the Foundation’s purpose something new?

Princeton’s conception of ‘public affairs’ is broad. Anyone whose decisions and actions normally have important consequences for the public welfare is regarded as engaged in public affairs, whether he is employed in the executive or legislative branches of government, and whether his position is appointive or elective, civilian or military, or located in international, national, state, or local fields of action. Clearly a definition of public affairs framed in these terms also embraces some non-government activities, for example, certain types of work in journalism, in private foundations, and in business, labor and consumer organizations. [Document: Woodrow Wilson School Catalogue for Academic Year 1963-1964]

28. Do Woodrow Wilson School graduate students enter government service?

Between 1973 and 2006, 72.5% of Masters in Public Affairs graduates from the Woodrow Wilson School who took jobs chose employment in the public and non-profit sectors upon graduation. Over that time period, 41.5% who took jobs went to work in government service (federal, state, local or with foreign governments) and 27.3% who took jobs went to work for foundations or nonprofit and international organizations. For the class that graduated in 2006, more than 88% of those who took jobs chose employment in the public and non-profit sectors, including 50.9% in government service and 33.9% with foundations or nonprofit and international organizations.
As impressive as these first job statistics are, they do not reflect the many graduates who go into government service later in their careers, and the many others who work with government agencies or engage in government-related activities in other ways.
Because statistics can only tell part of the story, the best evidence of the Woodrow Wilson School’s success in fulfilling the Robertson Foundation’s purpose is its graduates. There are many stellar examples. General David H. Petraeus, Chief of U.S. Central Command, received a Masters in Public Affairs from the Woodrow Wilson School in 1985 and a doctorate from the Woodrow Wilson School in 1987. Other graduates include former Assistant to the President for National Security Anthony Lake (MPA ’69, PhD ’74), the National Security Council Director for Iran, the Country Director for India, senior officials at the U.S. Department of Defense, and numerous foreign service officers with the U.S. Department of State. More information on these and other Woodrow Wilson School graduates can be found on the Woodrow Wilson School website. [See: www.wws.princeton.edu/qzalumni/testimonials]
In addition, the Woodrow Wilson School has had great success in placing its graduate students in the Presidential Management Fellows program. The PMF program is a primary gateway for graduating MPA students to find jobs in the federal government. In 2004, at the urging of Woodrow Wilson School Dean Anne-Marie Slaughter, the PMF program removed an applications cap that previously allowed only ten percent of the graduating class of any given school to apply for the program. In 2005, after the cap was lifted, more than half of the eligible students in the Woodrow Wilson School MPA graduating class applied. Despite intense national competition, more than half of the School’s applicants (16 out of 30) were selected.

29. What else do Woodrow Wilson School graduate students do after they graduate?

In addition to government service, a number of Woodrow Wilson School graduates have gone on to senior positions in non-governmental and inter-governmental organizations, including the United Nations, the Peace Corps, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund. For example, Robert Orr (MPA ’92, PhD ’96) is currently serving as Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations. Some students who pursue careers in the private sector end up working as government contractors, in this country and overseas. Further, consistent with the provision in the Certificate of Incorporation that specifically authorizes funding of “programs for foreign students,” the School’s graduate programs have trained a number of foreign diplomats.

30. What is the Scholars in the Nation’s Service initiative?

The new Scholars in the Nation’s Service initiative draws on Robertson Foundation funds and new endowments from other donors to encourage exceptional college juniors and entering graduate students to work in the federal government.
The program, modeled after the Rhodes and Marshall scholarships, seeks to raise the prestige of government service among this generation of college students and encourage some of the very best students to enter government service. The first five Scholars in the Nation’s Service were announced in April 2007. These Princeton juniors will spend their remaining semesters in college completing their majors, taking selected courses in public policy, learning about career opportunities in the federal government, and spending the summer after their junior year in a federal government internship. After graduation they will be known as Charles and Marie Robertson Government Service Scholars and will serve for two years in the federal government. They will then return to the Woodrow Wilson School to enroll in the two-year Masters in Public Affairs (MPA) program.

31. Do the Robertson family members support the Scholars in the Nation’s Service initiative?

The Robertson family members voted in favor of creating the program, but in March 2006, when it was first announced, plaintiff William Robertson dismissed it, saying he was “quite suspicious of anything Princeton does....” More recently, Mr. Robertson has been quoted in support of the program.

Academic Independence

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