Trial Averted

Princeton announced today a settlement has been reached in the legal dispute over control of the Robertson Foundation, preventing the need for a trial and saving both parties millions of more dollars in legal fees.
The Robertson Foundation was endowed by Marie Robertson in 1961 to support the graduate program of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. Six years ago, members of the Robertson family sued the university for control of the endowment after they disputed the choice of an investment firm for the Foundation.
The key resolution in the dispute is the  Foundation will be dissolved with the assets transferred to an endowed fund solely controlled by the university.
The university will also use part of the funds to “reimburse the Banbury Fund, the charitable foundation that the Robertsons used to pay their legal bills,” Princeton University President Shirley M. Tilghman, explained in a statement. “We continue to believe that this was an inappropriate use of the Banbury Fund’s assets, and we hope that as a result of the reimbursement the Banbury Fund will return to funding the charitable purposes for which it was established by Marie and Charles Robertson ’26 more than 60 years ago.”
Additional funds will go toward a new charitable foundation created by the Robertson family to encourage students at other colleges and universities to prepare for careers in government service. This is preferable to spending the money on legal fees, Tilghman wrote, since it is compatible with the goals of the Woodrow Wilson School.
To combat misinformation about the case while it was going on, Princeton's media relations team built webpage summarizing key points.
Cass Cliatt, director of media relations, discussed her efforts to inform media coverage of the case in a "Behind the News" item for the December 2007 issue of UB, which can be found here.