On October 25, 1996 Princeton University celebrated the 250th anniversary of the granting of its original charter as the College of New Jersey. Featured here is a recording of the Charter Day convocation on the steps of Nassau Hall. Speakers include Princeton President Harold Shapiro (3:46, 27:38), Neil Rudenstine ’56, former Princeton provost and then President of Harvard University (10:03), and Richard Levin, President of Yale University (15:36). The keynote address was given by author and Nobel laureate Toni Morrison, Robert F. Goheen Professor in the Humanities (40:06). The text of her address, titled "The Place of the Idea; The Idea of the Place" is provided here.

This VHS video is part of the University Archives’ Historical Audiovisual Collection (items no. 1509).

This blog entry is dedicated to our friend and colleague, Regine Heberlein, who loves words and ideas, and who has brought her passion for both to the Mudd Library for the past 20 months.  We wish her well in her new position in Firestone Library.