Rate My Professor Carl A. Fields

Dr. Carl A. Fields was an educator and advocate who served Princeton University from 1964 to 1971. He joined the university as assistant director of student aid in 1964 and was promoted to assistant dean of the college in 1968, becoming the first African American to hold such a high-ranking administrative post at an Ivy League institution. During his time at Princeton, Dr. Fields developed policies and programs that supported increased enrollment and retention of African American students, other students of color, Jewish students, and female students. He established the surrogate family hosting program and a community service summer work program. He also supported the creation of the Third World Center, later renamed the Carl A. Fields Center for Equality and Cultural Understanding in his honor. Dr. Fields mentored numerous students and contributed to the founding of student organizations, including the Association of Black Collegians. He played a key role in establishing the Frederick Douglass Service Award in 1968. Dr. Fields remained engaged with the Princeton-Blairstown Center after departing the university in 1971.

Born in Columbus, Ohio, and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Dr. Fields earned a B.S. in English and social science from St. John’s University in 1942. He received an M.A. in vocational guidance from New York University in 1950 and a Ph.D. in educational philosophy from Philathea College in 1967. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II and received a Bronze Star for bravery. Dr. Fields passed away on July 20, 1998.

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