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The Future of Therapeutic Stem Cells: Fact and Fiction Pres. Tilghman's presentation
Community Outreach Initiatives
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Community Ties Supporting the community through: Princeton University enhances the quality of life in its host communities • by paying taxes and making financial contributions—such contributions hold down property taxes and support public education and community arts programs • by making facilities available for public use (University fields, buildings, and computer services) • by providing educational and cultural enrichment opportunities for people in the community of all ages • by providing volunteers, who serve in community projects, speak at local schools, and serve as civic leaders • by making special gifts of cash and services to local organizations Moody’s Investor Service Municipal Credit Research Report cites the presence of Princeton University as a dominant factor in the Triple-A bond rating for Princeton Township and the Princeton Regional School District and the Double-A bond rating for Princeton Borough. Estimated annual cash payments (in taxes, fees, municipal donations, and donations to community organizations) in Princeton Borough and Princeton Township in fiscal year 2005: $9 million
The University pays taxes to host communities: • Princeton University in 2005 paid $8 million in property and sewer taxes to the two Princeton municipalities, making the University the largest taxpayer in Princeton Borough and Princeton Township. The University also paid more than $1.2 million in fees above and beyond the tax payments. • Taxes in the borough and the township include full property tax payments (municipal, county, and school taxes) on faculty, staff, and married graduate student housing—thus, all housing that has the potential for being the source of school children in the regional school system. • Some athletic facilities, including the Princeton University Stadium, also remain on the tax rolls. The University makes other cash payments. • Princeton Borough receives an annual unrestricted contribution that increases each year, according to a negotiated agreement. For 2005, the contribution totaled $810,000. In 2006, the University will be making a contribution to the borough of $1 million, when the University and the town will come to a new contributions agreement celebrating the University’s 250th anniversary of being a resident of Princeton. This will be an annual contribution that will escalate according to the increase in the municipal tax rate and to the increase in University tax-exempt square feet in the borough. In 2005, the University paid about 9 percent of the total amount of taxes collected by the borough. (The borough collected $8.9 million in taxes; of the $3.05 million that the University paid in property taxes to the borough, the borough got about $763,000 with the rest going to Mercer County and the Regional School District). Totaling the University’s voluntary contributions and the tax contribution in the borough, the University is contributing more than 17 percent of Princeton Borough’s tax revenue. And in 2006 with the increase in the voluntary contribution, the University probably will be contributing about 21 percent of the borough’s tax revenue—a contributions level that corresponds to the fact that the University owns 21 percent of Princeton Borough’s total land area. • The borough and the township over the past several years have received payments, based on the value of new University construction, that support affordable housing programs. For 2005, the payment was $120,000, according to a negotiated agreement. However, new state affordable-housing mandates have calculated significant affordable housing obligations for the municipalities, both of whom have passed ordinances that impose the state-mandated obligations on the developers, including the University. The University expects that over the next decade it will be spending several millions of dollars for affordable housing in Princeton Borough and Township. The University provides annual support for nonprofits. • The University played a major role in establishing Internet access to the Princeton Public Schools, municipal offices, senior citizen centers, and the Princeton Public Library through the University server. This is estimated to be worth more than half a million dollars since this service began a decade ago. In addition, the personnel in the University’s Office of Information Technology have contributed hundreds of hours in free consulting to the Public Library’s rewiring and to updating computer systems in the new library facility. • The University donates an average of $100,000 per year to community service providers and initiatives, including the volunteer fire and rescue squads and the University Medical Center at Princeton. In 2006, the annual contribution to the First Aid Squad will be $35,000; the annual contribution to the Fire Department will be $20,000. In addition, the University spends tens of thousands of dollars each year on memberships and tickets to events that support the missions of the community organizations. • In addition to numerous one-time capital campaign gifts, Princeton University spends hundreds of thousands of dollars for the maintenance of University-owned but publicly used facilities such as McCarter Theatre, an internationally renowned, Tony-award-winning regional arts facility. The University’s annual contribution to the maintenance of McCarter’s facility is valued at nearly $700,000. • The Historical Society of Princeton pays no rent to use a University-owned building in the heart of Princeton Borough’s commercial district. This rent subsidy is worth approximately $50,000 per year.
Princeton University spends hundreds of thousands of dollars per year to maintain infrastructure, buildings, and land made available for public use, including: • Eight miles of roads; 52 miles of pathways. • Princeton Stadium, which is used for community events such as the June Fete, the huge annual spring fund-raising event for the University Medical Center at Princeton Auxiliary. • The Spirit of Princeton Community July Fourth Fireworks Celebration, which takes place on University property. • Lake Carnegie, the official practice site of the University crew teams and a popular venue for recreational rowers. • Lighting on Prospect Avenue. • The University train station, home to the “Dinky.” (Renovations to the station and an adjacent parking lot have cost $1.6 million since 1985.) • Washington Road, a Mercer County roadway, and the local roads Alexander Road/University Place on which the University has spent an estimated $3.5 million for improvements during the past few years. • Tens of thousands of dollars annually to facilitate community nonprofit organizations holding their meetings and events on University property or in University facilities, including the Community Youth Concert by the Princeton Chamber Symphony, public school graduations, community concerts, community lectures and fund-raisers, and more. • The Princeton Garden Theatre, Princeton’s only cinema showing first-run movies. The theater, operated by a commercial entertainment enterprise, is housed in a building owned by the University, which agreed—at the behest of the community—to spend more than $2 million five years ago to restore the building, thus saving the movie operation from inevitable demise and contributing to the economic health of the downtown area.
Princeton makes cultural and educational resources available to the community: • The University created, financed, and now fully administers the Princeton Preparatory Program, a summer learning and cultural enrichment program for Mercer County youth who are financially disadvantaged, yet highly motivated. • The University’s Art Museum is open to the public six days a week at no charge. Special museum and library exhibits are also free. • Most University libraries offer free access. Firestone Library charges modest access and borrowing fees, and arrangements are made for those researchers facing financial hardship. • Many lectures by leading academics, government officials, and others are free and open to the public. Each year, thousands of residents in the Princeton area attend. • Members of the community, for a small administrative fee, may enroll in the University’s Community Auditing Program (CAP), which allows participants to attend a wide selection of undergraduate lecture classes. Approximately, 2,000 community members are part of the Community Auditing Program. • Princeton area high school students—who have completed the highest-level course work at their high schools and obtain permission from their principals—may take University courses at no cost in foreign languages, computer science, mathematics, and music. • Campus parking for access to these educational events is free and is serviced by the free and continually running campus shuttle system.
In the spirit of the University’s informal motto, “In the nation’s service, and in the service of all nations,” faculty, staff, and students are involved in serving their community: • An estimated 2,500 undergraduate students each year participate in dozens of volunteer community service activities, assisting thousands of residents in the Trenton/Princeton area. Nearly 1,000 faculty and staff members take part in service programs run by University offices, e.g., food drives, clothing drives, holiday gift outreach, and one-time volunteer projects. Several hundred serve on a regular basis in mentoring programs and on school boards, fire and first aid squads, civic boards, and commissions. The student and staff participation in emergency services—particularly the Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad—saves Princeton taxpayers the cost of hiring additional emergency personnel. • Several academic departments run community service enrichment and mentoring programs, both in the public schools and on the University campus, for students of all ages. Examples include: Cotsen Children’s Library interactive exhibits and special programming for children on weekends and in schools during the week; the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory’s “Science on Saturday” series, a free eight-week science workshop for high school students and teachers; the Princeton Materials Institute’s materials science program for high school students; McCarter Theatre’s outreach program in theater arts, which reaches 36,000 youngsters in New Jersey; Molecular Biology’s Outreach Programs for secondary school science teachers and additional programs/lectures for students throughout Mercer County; Princeton Science and Engineering Expo Day for nearly 1,000 middle school students throughout the region; the Program in Latin American Studies’ campus-based concerts, symposia, readings, and films to which the public is invited, as well as a special event in the community at the Arts Council of Princeton; several science departments’ participation in Quest, whereby local high school teachers are involved in workshops during the summer that are related to teaching science; an environment-based learning project called the Steamboat Floating Classroom, a project of Professor Bart Hoebel; the “Tigers in the Community” program, sponsored by the Department of Athletics, which serves the community through a special summer reading program, mentoring local youth, and donating tickets to hundreds of community organizations; and the Community-Based Learning Initiative, which facilitates community-driven student research projects addressing the needs of local residents. • Many University faculty and staff members teach at the Princeton Adult School and play a key role in other community service organizations. For example, Princeton University affiliated individuals (i.e., students, staff and alumni) make up 42 percent of the volunteers serving in the Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad.
Three administrative offices at Princeton University have missions to provide outreach to the community: • The Office of Community and Regional Affairs serves as the official town/gown liaison between the University and state and local governments, as well as between the University community and residents of the University’s neighboring communities. It sponsors and administers numerous community outreach initiatives, including the Community Auditing Program, the Program in Continuing Education, the Surplus Equipment Program, and community events; also in conjunction with the Office of Conference and Events Services, Community and Regional Affairs facilitates the use of University facilities by outside groups. • The Policy Research Institute for the Region (PRIOR) within the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, works to bring the academic and research resources of the University community to bear on regional policy problems facing New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York. PRIOR sponsors and inspires research projects, conferences, and forums on regional issues. • The Pace Center is the campus advocate for civic engagement and public service. In doing so, the center provides opportunities for service learning and serves as a centralized repository of information concerning Princeton and community collaborations.
In recent years, Princeton has made many large, one-time gifts to municipal and community organizations: • $1.4 million in cash and land for affordable housing (includes contributions to Princeton Community Housing, as well as the annual affordable housing cash contribution to the two towns) • $1.4 million to the United Way since 1995 (includes employee contributions, plus a 10 to 15 percent match per year from the institutional budget) • $500,000 to the Princeton Regional Schools building project • $500,000 to the Princeton Public Library expansion • $500,000 to the University Medical Center at Princeton • $365,000 to the Borough of Princeton for the Borough Hall municipal park, the lighting of the Battle Monument, and other parks improvements • $200,000 to the American Red Cross of the Princeton Area • $200,000 to the Trenton Economic Development Commission • $155,000 for the purchase of a new Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad vehicle • $150,000 to the Downtown Princeton Library Plaza • $150,000 to fire and first aid squads for other equipment • $100,000 to open space preservation • $100,000 to the Arts Council of Princeton • $50,000 to the Princeton YWCA • $50,000 to the Princeton Charter School • $30,000 to Princeton Community Housing for the expansion of Elm Court • $25,000 to the Princeton Regional School Foundation • $25,000 to a regional planning initiative
A Princeton University Profile
Chartered in 1746, Princeton University is celebrating its 260th anniversary in 2006, as well as its 250th anniversary of being a resident of Princeton. Coeducational since 1969, Princeton for the 2004–05 academic year enrolled 6,677 students—including 4,678 undergraduates, 614 of whom are New Jersey residents, representing every county in the state. The ratio of full-time students to faculty members (in full-time equivalents) was 5 to 1. The University’s total scholarship budget for 2005–06 was $64 million. Renowned for the excellence of its financial aid program, Princeton University—with its need-blind admission policy—provides outright grants (not loans) to fill any gap between a student’s expenses and the amount a student and his or her parents are able to pay; and in determining the amount of contribution expected from the parents, Princeton reduces or eliminates the valuation of the home. Princeton University remained the largest private employer in Mercer County, with approximately 5,400 employees in 2004–05. University expenditures, amounting to more than $920 million in 2004–05, contributed to an overall regional economic impact of $2 billion. A major factor in the economic impact was the number of visitors to the University—more than 550,000, including those going to McCarter Theatre.
Princeton Tidbits Founded Original name Official motto Unofficial motto/guiding principle Current president Princeton
University alumni who became U.S. presidents Historic roles The 2005–06 Princeton Profile can be viewed at www.princeton.edu/pr/facts/profile/05/02about.shtml.
Useful Telephone Numbers Main campus information:..............................(609) 258-3000 Athletic Ticket Office:..................................(609) 258-3538 Continuing Education:...................................(609) 258-5226 Community Auditing Program:.........................(609) 258-0202 Orange Key Guide Service (for campus tours seven days a week)......(609) 258-1766 McCarter Theatre:.......................................(609) 258-2787 Office of Community and Regional Affairs:.........(609) 258-3204
Princeton University web site: www.princeton.edu
Published by the Office of Community and Regional Affairs Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544
Production coordinated by the Office of Communications Information herein is current as of January 2006. Copyright © 2006 by The Trustees of Princeton University In the Nation’s Service and in the Service of All Nations |
 © The Trustees of Princeton University Last modified 02/03/2009 Questions and comments: Community and Regional Affairs |