United States. Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps

Princeton University's Navy Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) program was started in 1946 amidst a wave of enthusiasm for the ROTC that followed World War II. It joined the Army ROTC unit on campus, which had operated since 1919, and was followed by the formation of an Air Force ROTC unit in 1951. By the 1950s however, faculty opposition to the degree-credit granting programs had risen high enough to merit their reformation, and special University-taught courses were added to the curricula. This was a only temporary solution however, and as Vietnam became a prevalent issue on campus, enrollment in the ROTC programs dropped. In 1969 with faculty and student opposition at a peak President Robert Goheen appointed a special faculty committee to recommend a course of action. The committee elected to continue all three ROTC units on campus, however they were stripped of their departmental status, essentially becoming extracurricular activities. Shortly thereafter, the Trustees voted to terminate all three ROTC programs by 1972, however a 1971 undergraduate referendum convinced the Board to reverse the decision. The Air Force and Navy ROTC units were ultimately unwilling to submit to the 1969 reforms however, and closed their programs on campus.

From the description of Princeton Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps records, 1968-1972. (Peking University Library). WorldCat record id: 74214652

The Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps was first established at Harvard in 1926. While ROTC was banned from the Harvard campus in 1971, following the student protests of 1969, students continued to participate through the consortium based at MIT. In 2011, Harvard announced it would welcome NROTC back to campus following the repeal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law.

Arthur Windsor Arundel, journalist, news executive, and publisher, was born on January 12, 1928, in Washington, D.C. to Russell M. Arundel and Margaret C. Marjorie Sale. He received his Harvard AB in 1951; while an undergraduate, he was a member of the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps. Upon graduation, Arundel received a commission as a service forces combat officer in the United States Marine Corps, serving until 1955 in both the Korean and Vietnam Wars, earning two Purple Hearts. He married Margaret C. McElroy in 1957; they had five children. Throughout his career, Arundel worked in a variety of positions in the fields of news reporting, radio broadcasting, and newspapers, including founding Arundel Communications and Times Community Media. In 1961, he established the nation's first all-news radio station, WAVA, in Arlington, VA. Arundel died on February 8, 2011.

From the description of United States Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps service dress uniform, ca. 1950. (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 759991260