Wilson's Princeton

Woodrow Wilson is known as a man with lofty ideals but not too successful in carrying them through. He was the president of the United States from 1913 to 1921 covering the World War I period. He sent American troops to France to end the War, but his 14-point peace plan was not accepted by European allies, nor by the U.S. Congress dominated by isolationist politicians at that time.

Was Wilson then a failed politician? I do not think so, but the debate on this issue is beyond the scope of this webpage. If one became the president of the United States, he should have accomplished something before getting elected. What did he do?

From 1875 to 1879, Wilson studied at the College of New Jersey, went back to the College as a professor in 1890, and became the president of the College in 1902. He became the governor of New Jersey in 1910, and then became elected to the presidency of the United States in 1912. While he was on the faculty, the College of New Jersey became Princeton University.

The College of New Jersey started out as a Presbyterian-oriented school with a strict moral standard. My PhD diploma (1961) says in Latin that I am a morally perfect person. After the Civil war, there was a president named James McCosh. He thought he could expand the college by admitting boys from rich and famous families, and he was very successful. As a result, a number of social clubs emerged on campus. They are now known as the eating clubs on Prospect Avenue. You may click here for other campus scenes.

Woodrow Wilson did not like the religious and money-oriented traditions. Indeed, he brought about a series of reforms in order to raise the academic standard of the University. While he was the president, he appointed the first Jewish and Afro-American faculty members. To make a long story short, in 1921, Albert Einstein chose Princeton as the place to deliver his first lecture in the United States. Einstein lived in this house at 112 Mercer Street until his last day in 1955. Einstein is very special to me because of this webpage.

Wilson's reform efforts were not always successful. Each time, he had to face oppositions from conservative alumni. He wanted to tear down all eating clubs in order to build a large graduate college complex, but failed because of the strong opposition from the rich and famous alumni. He had to settle down with a site beyond the golf course. This is the reason why Princeton's Graduate College is far away from the main campus. He became so bitter about it that he had to look for another job, which was the governorship of New Jersey, and then the presidency of the United States.

What these things have to do with me? In 1997, I shared a dinner table with a physicist about 15 years older than I. He is very kind person and knew me, but not well enough to know my academic background. From my name, he knew I came from Korea. He asked me where I did my graduate study. I told him I went to Princeton in 1958 and got my degree in 1961. He became quite surprised. He could not believe Princeton could admit a Korean at that time. He mentioned the inconveniences he experienced because of his Jewish background even though he was born in the United States.

It was 1907, 51 years before 1958. Woodrow Wilson picked up a PhD student from Korea. This Korean student finished his degree in 1910 and became the president of South Korea in 1948. His name was Syngman Rhee. He was a dictator and often embarrassed many people. Rhee had all the evils politicians should have, but he had one important virtue. He was staunchly pro-American, and saved his country from the Soviet expansion. Indeed, one must be exceptionally talented to become a pro-American dictator.

What does Rhee have to do with me? It is not easy to become a politician, and certainly I am not. Politicians have to deal with imperfect world. Is the physics community a perfect world? To me, the answer is No. In order to deal with this problem, I decided to learn lessons from Syngman Rhee, and I am now writing a series of articles about him hoping that they will become a book in the future.

In addition to my physics research, I run many conferences. This means that I am dealing with an imperfect world, more precisely the society of Herods (from my Christian view point). It is safe to say that Syngman Rhee was more skilful in eliminating his political enemies than King Herod. He knew how to do it without making noise. Indeed, in the past, there have been many attempts by my colleagues to take over the control of my conference establishments by pushing me out. My advice to them is very simple. Study Syngman Rhee before playing a game against me.

How about Woodrow Wilson? His problem was that he was always ahead of his time. Wilson had many ideas which did not work, yet he also had many which did work to draw my respect. In physics, it is much better to be ahead of time than being behind, since you accomplish nothing if you are behind.

Y.S.Kim (2 August 2003)