Interviewed by Sonia Sotomayor in 1974
In the spring of 1974 Adele Smith Simmons, Dean of Student Affairs at Princeton, offered me the position of Assistant Dean of Student Affairs. Two of my supporters were Bill Bowen and Neil Rudenstine, the respective President and Provost of the University. They were very encouraging and gracious before and after the job offer, but I chose to remain at Harvard as an assistant director of admissions and a proctor in Harvard Yard for personal reasons.
Recently the Princeton student newspaper, The Daily Princetonian, ran a letter to the editor from its archives that had been published on September 12, 1974 regarding student involvement in filling the position that I was offered. The letter is interesting for several reasons, but especially for one of its signatories, a sophomore named Sonia M. Sotomayor. I remember her as a sharp, inquisitive and concerned questioner during my sometimes tense interview with students. Therefore, I am not surprised that she has risen to the esteemed position of judge on the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and I am also confident that her judicial ascension hasn’t ended.
David Evans