Under a partnership with Rutgers, Navy and Marine Corps instructors will lead and teach Princeton NROTC midshipmen on both campuses
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – The Navy and Princeton University will bring the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) program back to the university for the first time in more than 40 years starting in the fall of 2014.
Under a new crosstown agreement among the Navy, Rutgers and Princeton, NROTC active duty Navy and Marine Corps instructors will lead and teach Princeton NROTC midshipmen on the campuses of both universities, providing students an opportunity to earn a commission in the U.S. naval service. NROTC was initially established at Princeton in 1945 and the program remained active until 1971. Rutgers’ NROTC program was launched in September 2012. At that time, Rutgers offered the only NROTC program in New Jersey but long had offered Army and Air Force ROTC programs. Rutgers already has a crosstown agreement for an Air Force ROTC program with Princeton.
“Rutgers is honored to assist the Navy re-establish a Naval ROTC program at Princeton University,” said Richard L. Edwards, executive vice president of academic affairs and interim chancellor, Rutgers University-New Brunswick. “The program will provide outstanding learning experiences and career opportunities for Princeton students who enroll and prepare them for commissioned service in the U.S. Navy.”
The Princeton NROTC midshipmen will be part of the Rutgers unit. Princeton students will attend Rutgers NROTC courses and drill periods, while completing their degree at Princeton. Instructors from Rutgers’ Department of Naval Sciences will receive space and hold office hours at Princeton to facilitate mentoring of the new cadets.