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American Morning
Princeton University Being Asked to Give Back a Huge Gift
Aired October 09, 2003 - 07:35 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Princeton University is being asked to give back a huge gift. Alumnus Charles Robertson and his wife set up a foundation for the school more than 40 years ago. Today it's worth about $525 million. But now the family is suing to get the money back. They say the school has strayed from the foundation's mission to promote careers in public and government service.
And joining us this morning from Naples, Florida, is William Robertson.
He is the son of Charles Robertson.
Good morning.
Thanks for joining us.
WILLIAM ROBERTSON: Good morning.
I'm glad to be here.
O'BRIEN: Well, thank you very much.
This fund was established back in 1961 by your parents. What did they lay out as the terms or I guess really more specifically the mission that went hand in hand with this giant donation?
ROBERTSON: Their purpose was to enact the most beneficial single gift that they possibly could for mankind, to better mankind and to protect and secure and support Americans. And they decided to make this gift to strengthen the government of the United States. And the vehicle was to be a foundation which they created at Princeton University and to thereby support a graduate program and place the very, very brightest and most capable future leaders in that school and then into the federal government.
O'BRIEN: So then on what grounds are you asking that the money -- and we're talking about half a billion dollars -- what grounds do you want it returned?
ROBERTSON: Well, Princeton University has been functioning in a fiduciary capacity, which means they have a very great responsibility. In fact, they have the majority of the votes on the board. There are four Princeton trustees and three Robertson family trustees. And they have not produced students who have entered the federal government. The students have gone into such diverse areas as private business. Many of them go to law school. Many of them go into the non-profit sector. Many of them go on to further education and only a very, very small percentage, something under 10 percent, actually will enter the federal government...
O'BRIEN: Did your parents lay out...
ROBERTSON: ... on a given year, which...
O'BRIEN: Forgive me for interrupting you there, but did your parents lay out, listen, X number of students need to go through these programs and go into careers in public service or we're going to yank the money? Or was it sort of a goal, a little bit of an amorphous goal?
ROBERTSON: Well, it was quite a focused and quite a restrictive goal, but it was not certainly specifying any number of students on a given year. I think that would be very, very difficult to implement, to be quite that specific.
O'BRIEN: Princeton University officials have declined to talk to us. But some of the students who have been interviewed have said they started off their careers maybe in private industry, as you mentioned, but eventually some of them do find their way to government service. So the numbers that actually graduate and go right into government service might be a little bit misleading, the university might say in their defense.
ROBERTSON: Well, it might be. However, we have done a survey of all the graduates of this school. This is the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs. And we have discovered that under 10 percent in a given day, which I believe was last year or the year before, were presently serving the federal government in the capacity of international relations or something related thereto.
So, the numbers are just infinitesimally small, with comparison, let's say, to a medical school or a law school, where the goal, of course, is to produce professionals who enter a profession. And this is a far cry from what's happening in Princeton.
O'BRIEN: Your parents are since deceased, but you're saying that definitely did not -- they would be disappointed in the money going where it's going today.
Thanks for your time, William.
I appreciate it.
Thanks for joining us.
ROBERTSON: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired October 9, 2003 - 07:35 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Princeton University is being asked to give back a huge gift. Alumnus Charles Robertson and his wife set up a foundation for the school more than 40 years ago. Today it's worth about $525 million. But now the family is suing to get the money back. They say the school has strayed from the foundation's mission to promote careers in public and government service.
And joining us this morning from Naples, Florida, is William Robertson.
He is the son of Charles Robertson.
Good morning.
Thanks for joining us.
WILLIAM ROBERTSON: Good morning.
I'm glad to be here.
O'BRIEN: Well, thank you very much.
This fund was established back in 1961 by your parents. What did they lay out as the terms or I guess really more specifically the mission that went hand in hand with this giant donation?
ROBERTSON: Their purpose was to enact the most beneficial single gift that they possibly could for mankind, to better mankind and to protect and secure and support Americans. And they decided to make this gift to strengthen the government of the United States. And the vehicle was to be a foundation which they created at Princeton University and to thereby support a graduate program and place the very, very brightest and most capable future leaders in that school and then into the federal government.
O'BRIEN: So then on what grounds are you asking that the money -- and we're talking about half a billion dollars -- what grounds do you want it returned?
ROBERTSON: Well, Princeton University has been functioning in a fiduciary capacity, which means they have a very great responsibility. In fact, they have the majority of the votes on the board. There are four Princeton trustees and three Robertson family trustees. And they have not produced students who have entered the federal government. The students have gone into such diverse areas as private business. Many of them go to law school. Many of them go into the non-profit sector. Many of them go on to further education and only a very, very small percentage, something under 10 percent, actually will enter the federal government...
O'BRIEN: Did your parents lay out...
ROBERTSON: ... on a given year, which...
O'BRIEN: Forgive me for interrupting you there, but did your parents lay out, listen, X number of students need to go through these programs and go into careers in public service or we're going to yank the money? Or was it sort of a goal, a little bit of an amorphous goal?
ROBERTSON: Well, it was quite a focused and quite a restrictive goal, but it was not certainly specifying any number of students on a given year. I think that would be very, very difficult to implement, to be quite that specific.
O'BRIEN: Princeton University officials have declined to talk to us. But some of the students who have been interviewed have said they started off their careers maybe in private industry, as you mentioned, but eventually some of them do find their way to government service. So the numbers that actually graduate and go right into government service might be a little bit misleading, the university might say in their defense.
ROBERTSON: Well, it might be. However, we have done a survey of all the graduates of this school. This is the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs. And we have discovered that under 10 percent in a given day, which I believe was last year or the year before, were presently serving the federal government in the capacity of international relations or something related thereto.
So, the numbers are just infinitesimally small, with comparison, let's say, to a medical school or a law school, where the goal, of course, is to produce professionals who enter a profession. And this is a far cry from what's happening in Princeton.
O'BRIEN: Your parents are since deceased, but you're saying that definitely did not -- they would be disappointed in the money going where it's going today.
Thanks for your time, William.
I appreciate it.
Thanks for joining us.
ROBERTSON: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
