Goheen Succeeds Dodds As Princeton President

PRINCETON, N.J., Dec. 7--Robert F. Goheen, 37-year old assistant professor of Classics, today was named president of Princeton University.

The surprise announcement by retiring President Harold W. Dodds came at a special Faculty meeting in Nassau Hall this afternoon, following the decision of the Trustees in the morning.

Goheen, the father of six children, is a through Princeton man, though officials dismissed his Princeton heritage as "a very minor consideration" in his selection. After graduating in 1936 from Lawrenceville School, five miles south of here, he attended the University as an undergraduate, winning an award for "highest general distinction."

After a year in the Princeton Graduate School, he served with distinction in Military Intelligence until the end of World War II. He then returned to the Graduate School, earned his Ph.D. in 1948, and then was named immediately to the Classics Department faculty.

Though his name was mentioned by some observers early in the 15-month search for a successor to Dodds, Goheen's selection surprised most of the University. As the Trustees' executive committee explored further afield, according to one source, Goheen's desirability became more and more evident.

Goheen gained his reputation as an administrator while he was director of the Woodrow Wilson Fellowships, a national scholarship program sponsored by the American Association of Graduate Schools. He lectured only part-time at Princeton, in two courses, "Man and His Freedom in the Western Tradition," and "Greek Tragedy and Translation."

The selection of a classicist was significant, some observers felt, because it shows that Princeton--which has a large proportion of undergraduates concentrating in engineering--does not plan to downgrade the Humanities.

President Pusey, on learning of Goheen's selection, commented: "I am delighted to welcome a fellow classicist to the circle of Ivy Group presidents. It will be a real pleasure to work with Mr. Goheen."