Shirley M. Tilghman facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Shirley Tilghman OC FRS
Tilghman in 2006
19th President of Princeton University
In office June 15, 2001 – July 1, 2013
Preceded by	Harold Tafler Shapiro
Succeeded by	Christopher L. Eisgruber
Personal details
Born	Shirley Marie Caldwell (1946-09-17) 17 September 1946 (age 78) Toronto, Canada
Spouse	Joseph Tilghman (1970–1983)
Children	2
Education	Queen's University (BSc) Temple University (MS, PhD)
Scientific career
Fields	Molecular biology
Institutions	Princeton University
Thesis	The hormonal regulation of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (1975)
Doctoral advisor	Richard W. Hanson

Shirley Marie Tilghman (born September 17, 1946) is a Canadian scientist who studies molecular biology. She is also a leader in education. She was the 19th president of Princeton University, a famous school in the United States.

Shirley Tilghman was the first woman to be president of Princeton University. She was also the first biologist to lead the university. In 2002, Discover magazine named her one of the 50 most important women in science.

Before becoming president, Tilghman was a professor at Princeton for 15 years. After her time as president, she returned to teaching molecular biology. She helps students with their research, including their final projects.

She also continues to be a leader in the science world. For example, she was the president of the American Society for Cell Biology in 2015.

Early Life and Education

Shirley Marie Caldwell was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. When she was young, her father helped her love math. They would play math games before bed instead of reading stories.

She finished high school in Winnipeg, Manitoba. In 1968, she earned her science degree in chemistry from Queen's University in Canada. After that, she taught at a high school in Sierra Leone, West Africa.

Later, she earned her PhD in biochemistry from Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her research was about how hormones affect certain body processes.

Amazing Discoveries in Science

Shirley Tilghman's science work focused on how genes are controlled as living things develop. This included studying something called genomic imprinting, which is about how genes from parents are passed on.

While doing research at the National Institutes of Health, she helped discover how to copy the first gene from a mammal. She also showed that a gene called globin was "spliced." This finding helped prove new ideas about how genes work.

From 1980 to 1986, she continued her important science work at the Fox Chase Cancer Center. In 1986, she joined Princeton University. She became a leader in using mice to understand how genes behave. She studied how putting new genes into embryonic cells affected them.

In 1998, she became the first director of Princeton's Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics. This institute brings together different science fields. She continued to study how male and female genes are organized and how this affects the growth of embryos.

Her many research papers are listed on the PubMed website, which is part of the United States National Library of Medicine.

Leading Princeton University

Shirley Tilghman became the 19th president of Princeton University in 2001. She was the first woman to hold this important job. She started her role on June 15, 2001.

During her time as president, Princeton grew. The university built a sixth residential college, named after alumna Meg Whitman. This allowed Princeton to welcome about 500 more undergraduate students. In 2012, Tilghman announced she would step down. Christopher L. Eisgruber became the next president in July 2013.

Tilghman believed Princeton had two main goals. First, to make sure talented students from all over the world could attend, no matter their background. This meant offering lots of financial help. Second, to solve important problems and discover new knowledge in science, technology, and understanding people.

The new Whitman College and changes to Butler College helped improve student life. More older students could live in the colleges, which created more chances for students to meet and interact.

New Academic Programs

Tilghman helped start many new academic programs at Princeton. These included:

• A Center for African American Studies.
• The Lewis Center for the Arts, which focuses on creative arts.
• The Princeton Neuroscience Institute, for studying the brain.
• The Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, for research on energy and the planet.

These steps helped Princeton build on its strengths and explore new areas. Tilghman wanted the university to "make the world a better place through the power of the mind and the imagination."

Making Princeton Diverse

Tilghman also worked to make Princeton's teachers and students more diverse. She improved the university's financial aid program, making it easier for students from all backgrounds to attend. She also ended "early decision" admissions, which helped create a fairer process for everyone.

She encouraged different fields of study to work together. She also made Princeton more international. Programs like the Global Scholars Program brought scholars from other countries to campus. The Bridge Year Program allowed new students to spend a year doing public service overseas before starting their studies.

Helping Students Afford College

No Student Loans

Early in her presidency, Princeton achieved a big goal: it stopped requiring students to take out loans. Instead, the university replaced student loans with grants from its special fund called an endowment. This meant students could graduate from Princeton without debt.

Why Tuition Remained

Even though Princeton had a large endowment, Tilghman decided the university would continue to charge tuition. She believed it was important for the university to do so.

Raising Money

During her time, more students received financial aid, and the amount of aid they received increased. This was possible because Princeton's financial endowment grew. This fund, along with donations from alumni, helps pay for the university's programs.

Important Decisions and Challenges

Fair Hiring Practices

Some people thought President Tilghman favored women in her hiring. However, most of the people she hired for senior positions were men. She did hire many talented women, like Amy Gutmann (who later became president of the University of Pennsylvania) and Anne-Marie Slaughter (who worked for the U.S. State Department). She also hired many prominent men for leadership roles.

Sports and Academics

Tilghman supported a rule for Ivy League athletes. For seven weeks each year, athletes could not take part in supervised practices. This was to encourage them to try other activities. Some people thought this was a good idea to help athletes focus on academics. Others felt it limited students' freedom.

University Donation Case

During her presidency, there was a legal case involving a large donation to Princeton. The family who made the donation believed the university was not using the money as intended. The case was settled, and some money was given to a new foundation to support education for government service. Princeton kept the rest of the money for its public policy school.

Google Board Role

In 2012, Tilghman was asked to provide information for a court case because she was on Google's board of directors. This was part of a lawsuit about Google's stock. All members of Google's board were asked for information.

New Paths for Princeton

Tilghman supported policies that aimed to give fair opportunities to all students. She also made changes to student housing and dining options. She strongly supported Princeton alumnae (women graduates), leading a big conference called "She Roars." In her last year, she also led the first major university celebration for LGBT alumni, which was a first for any U.S. campus.

Her Roles at Princeton

As president, Tilghman was also a trustee on Princeton's Board and led the committee for honorary degrees. She gradually stepped down from her other roles at Princeton to focus on being president. She even closed her research lab, making sure all her students finished their degrees first.

Even as president, Tilghman continued to teach classes. Her daughter also attended Princeton as an undergraduate while Tilghman was president.

Outside Roles

While leading Princeton, Tilghman joined the board of directors for Google in 2005 and served until 2018. She also served on the Chemistry Innovation Council for Queen's University in Canada. She was also a trustee at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.

In 2006, she was part of a council that looked into actions taken by Duke University after a scandal involving their lacrosse team.

Her Successor

On September 21, 2012, Shirley Tilghman told the Princeton Board of Trustees that she would step down in June 2013. On April 21, 2013, it was announced that Christopher L. Eisgruber would become the next president of Princeton.

Personal Life

Shirley Marie Caldwell married Joseph Tilghman in 1970 and took his last name. They divorced in 1983. She raised their two young children, Rebecca and Alex, while also having a busy science career.

She believes that being organized and focused helped her balance her work and family. Her goal was to not feel guilty whether she was at work or at home. She focused on what she was doing at that moment.

When she was being considered for the Princeton presidency, one of her first questions was if she could have a family life and be president of a major university. She wanted to be sure this was possible before moving forward.

Awards and Honors

Shirley Tilghman has received many awards and honors for her work.

Memberships

She has been elected to several important organizations, including:

• The American Philosophical Society (2000)
• The National Academy of Sciences
• The Institute of Medicine
• A Fellow of the Royal Society (1995)
• A founding member of the International Mammalian Genome Society
• An Honorary Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) (2014)

She also serves as a trustee for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. From 1993 to 2000, she led Princeton's Council on Science and Technology, which helps teach science to students who are not science majors. In 1996, she received Princeton's President's Award for Distinguished Teaching.

Many Princeton graduating classes have made President Tilghman an honorary member.

Awards

Some of the awards she has received include:

• The American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) Women in Cell Biology Award (2000)
• The L'Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science (2002)
• The Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society for Developmental Biology (2003)
• The Memorial Sloan-Kettering Medal for Outstanding Contributions to Biomedical Research (2005)
• The Genetics Society of America Medal (2007)
• The American Dream Award for Successful Immigrants to the U.S.A. (2007)
• The Henry G. Friesen International Prize in Health Research (2010)
• Officer of the Order of Canada (2014)
• The Benjamin Franklin Creativity Laureate in Science and Public Service (2014)
• Person of the Year, Science Careers from the Journal of Science (2014)
• The Patrusky Lecturer (2018)
• The Helen Dean King Award (2018)

Honorary Degrees

Shirley Tilghman has received more than 19 honorary academic degrees from universities around the world. These degrees recognize her important contributions to science and education.

Her Work After Princeton

After leaving the Princeton presidency, Shirley Tilghman continued to be a professor in the Department of Molecular Biology at Princeton. She also remained a faculty member at the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics.

She kept her seat on the Google board of directors for a few years after leaving Princeton. She also continues to serve as a trustee for Amherst College and other important organizations like the Institute for Advanced Study and the Broad Institute.

In 2013, she was elected to be the president of the American Society for Cell Biology for 2015.

Shirley Tilghman's Words

Here are some things Shirley Tilghman has said:

"What made it truly thrilling was that the genes were organized in a way that was totally unexpected. So nature took us by surprise."

"There are 25 years of good social science that demonstrate the many cultural practices that act collectively to discourage women from entering and continuing careers in science and engineering. The research is overwhelming, and it is there for anybody to see. On the other hand, the data that would suggest there are innate differences in the abilities of men and women to succeed in the natural sciences are nonexistent."

When asked how she hoped to spend her time before returning to teaching in 2014, Tilghman said, "I’m going to be an attentive grandmother."

She also explained why she started a backup day-care option for Princeton employees in 2007: "For years, I had said that when I retired, I would start a company that hired retired people to sit for working mothers..."

Speeches and Talks

Shirley Tilghman gave 11 Commencement addresses (graduation speeches) at Princeton University during her time as president. She also spoke at many other graduation ceremonies when she received honorary degrees.

She has often been asked to give special talks and participate in discussions at other universities and important places. These include:

• The Dehejia Lecture at the Sidwell Friends School, about "Science: The Last Frontier." (2006)
• The Ullyot Public Affairs Lecture about science policy in the U.S.A. (2007)
• The Baldwin Lecture at Princeton University, about "The Meaning of Race in the Post-Genome Era" (2010)
• Testimony before the U.S. Congress about immigration and visas.

Famous Quotes

Shirley Tilghman has shared many wise thoughts. Here are a few:

"What made it truly thrilling was that the genes were organized in a way that was totally unexpected. So nature took us by surprise."

"There are 25 years of good social science that demonstrate the many cultural practices that act collectively to discourage women from entering and continuing careers in science and engineering. The research is overwhelming, and it is there for anybody to see. On the other hand, the data that would suggest there are innate differences in the abilities of men and women to succeed in the natural sciences are nonexistent."

When asked how she would spend her time after leaving the presidency, she said, "I’m going to be an attentive grandmother."

She also explained why she started a backup day-care option for Princeton employees. This idea came from her own experience balancing her career and raising two children. She said, "For years, I had said that when I retired, I would start a company that hired retired people to sit for working mothers..."