Shirley Tilghman | |
|---|---|
 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 17 September 1946 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, OC FRS (/ˈtɪlmən/; née Caldwell; born 17 September 1946) is a Canadian scholar in molecular biology and an academic administrator. She is now a professor of molecular biology and public policy and president emerita of Princeton University. In 2002, Discover magazine recognized her as one of the 50 most important women in science.[1]
Tilghman was the 19th president of Princeton University; she was the first woman to hold the position and the second female president in the Ivy League.[2] Tilghman was also the first biologist to hold the Princeton presidency. She is the fifth foreign-born president of Princeton, and the second academic born in Canada to be elected to the position.
A leader in the field of molecular biology, Tilghman was a member of the Princeton faculty for fifteen years before being named president. She has returned to the Princeton faculty as a professor of molecular biology. In that capacity, she has returned to the Lewis-Sigler Institute of Integrative Genomics as a faculty member;[3] while she is not currently engaged in research, Tilghman actively advises undergraduates in their independent research, including the senior thesis for seniors.[4]
Tilghman also continues to hold leadership positions in the global scientific community. She was the 2015 president of the American Society for Cell Biology.
- ^ Svitil, Kathy (13 November 2002). "The 50 Most Important Women in Science". Discover. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
- ^ The announcement of the selection of Ruth Simmons as president of Brown University was made before Tilghman's, but Simmons was not sworn in until July 3, 2001 (after Tilghman took office on June 15, 2001). The first female Ivy League president was Judith Rodin of the University of Pennsylvania.
- ^ "Faculty Directory | Lewis-Sigler Institute". lsi.princeton.edu.
- ^ "Faculty Profiles". molbio.princeton.edu.