Photo by: Beverly Schaefer
Karen Jezierny Named 2019 Winner Of The Marvin Bressler Award
May 21, 2019 | General
Karen Jezierny, whose behind-the-scenes work and passion for the values of Princeton athletics have touched literally hundreds of Tiger athletes though the years, is the 2019 winner of the Marvin Bressler Award, awarded to that member of the Princeton family who, through heartfelt support of the University's student-athletes and coaches, best embodies a belief in the lifelong lessons taught by competition and athletics as a complement to the overall educational mission.
It is given in the spirit of Marvin Bressler, professor of sociology, 1963-94.
"Karen Jezierny has been the quintessential member of our 'Team around the Team,'" said Ford Family Director of Athletics Mollie Marcoux Samaan. "As a Fellow for multiple teams and a dedicated fan to several others, Karen has impacted the lives of hundreds of student-athletes. She has dedicated countless hours to advising, supporting, educating, and even feeding students as they pursue excellence academically, athletically and within the community. She is a wise and trusted friend who has fully embraced the value of Education through Athletics and who has changed the lives of so many. We are thrilled and grateful to present her with this very well-deserved award."
Jezierny serves as the University's Director of Public Affairs, and she has also been a longtime supporter of the women's basketball and women's soccer programs as an Academic-Athletic Fellow.
An alumna of the University of Connecticut and of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, she began her career as an Assistant Director for Budget and Fiscal Analysis in the New Jersey State Assembly's Assembly Majority Office before coming to Princeton in 1986 as the University's Director of Community and State Affairs.
After two years away from the University in the early 1990s to serve as an Assistant State Treasurer under then-Governor Jim Florio and then as the Associate Vice President for Public Affairs at Fairleigh Dickinson University, she returned to Princeton in 1992 and has been a part of the campus community ever since, serving as Associate Dean at the Woodrow Wilson School until becoming the University's Director of Public Affairs in 2004.
Her involvement as an Academic-Athletic Fellow began in 2007 after she and her husband Gregg Smith would take their daughter Dana, now a Lafayette College graduate, to Princeton women's soccer games. She then became as much of a role model to Princeton's student-athletes as they had been for Dana, who went on to play lacrosse at Lafayette.
Jezierny has been there for Princeton's athletes both near - as she has often hosted the women's soccer team in her home for preseason picnics - and far - as she has traveled internationally with women's basketball twice.
In her professional role at the University, Jezierny helps to represent Princeton's interests at the state government level. Her advocacy for Princeton has earned her praise from public officials both within the town of Princeton and from members of the state government in Trenton.
It is given in the spirit of Marvin Bressler, professor of sociology, 1963-94.
"Karen Jezierny has been the quintessential member of our 'Team around the Team,'" said Ford Family Director of Athletics Mollie Marcoux Samaan. "As a Fellow for multiple teams and a dedicated fan to several others, Karen has impacted the lives of hundreds of student-athletes. She has dedicated countless hours to advising, supporting, educating, and even feeding students as they pursue excellence academically, athletically and within the community. She is a wise and trusted friend who has fully embraced the value of Education through Athletics and who has changed the lives of so many. We are thrilled and grateful to present her with this very well-deserved award."
Jezierny serves as the University's Director of Public Affairs, and she has also been a longtime supporter of the women's basketball and women's soccer programs as an Academic-Athletic Fellow.
An alumna of the University of Connecticut and of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, she began her career as an Assistant Director for Budget and Fiscal Analysis in the New Jersey State Assembly's Assembly Majority Office before coming to Princeton in 1986 as the University's Director of Community and State Affairs.
After two years away from the University in the early 1990s to serve as an Assistant State Treasurer under then-Governor Jim Florio and then as the Associate Vice President for Public Affairs at Fairleigh Dickinson University, she returned to Princeton in 1992 and has been a part of the campus community ever since, serving as Associate Dean at the Woodrow Wilson School until becoming the University's Director of Public Affairs in 2004.
Her involvement as an Academic-Athletic Fellow began in 2007 after she and her husband Gregg Smith would take their daughter Dana, now a Lafayette College graduate, to Princeton women's soccer games. She then became as much of a role model to Princeton's student-athletes as they had been for Dana, who went on to play lacrosse at Lafayette.
Jezierny has been there for Princeton's athletes both near - as she has often hosted the women's soccer team in her home for preseason picnics - and far - as she has traveled internationally with women's basketball twice.
In her professional role at the University, Jezierny helps to represent Princeton's interests at the state government level. Her advocacy for Princeton has earned her praise from public officials both within the town of Princeton and from members of the state government in Trenton.
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