Rockefeller College

John D. Rockefeller III College, or "Rocky", is one of five residential colleges at Princeton University. It was founded in 1982, making it the third residential college to be established at Princeton. It is named for John D. Rockefeller III, Princeton Class of 1929, who served as a major donor and longtime trustee of the University.

The college is located in the northwestern corner of the Princeton campus and is largely composed of Collegiate Gothic style structures, including Madison Hall, home of the college dining hall, office, and common spaces, and the dorms Holder Hall, Buyers Hall, and part of Little Hall. Witherspoon Hall is also part of Rockefeller College, though it is not in the Collegiate Gothic style.

The college is home to roughly 500 freshmen and sophomores and a small number of upperclassmen. The college staff is led by the master (a faculty member), and also includes a dean, a director of studies, a college administrator, a college secretary, and two graduate student assistant masters. The current master of Rockefeller College is Maria DiBattista, Professor of English and Comparative Literature. A council of current students also contributes to college life, organizing trips, study breaks, and other opportunities. The council recently organized a long-term community service partnership between Rockefeller College and the Princeton Family YMCA.

Beginning in the 2007-2008 school-year, Rockefeller College will, along with Princeton's other residential colleges, cater to upperclassmen as well as underclassmen, with new programs and advising. However, the college will continue to house only a small number of upperclassmen. Rockefeller College students who wish to remain living in a residential college after their sophomore year will be permitted to move into neighboring Mathey College, which will begin housing students of all four undergraduate classes.

Rockefeller College's common room, Holder Hall, and Blair Arch (adjacent to Buyers Hall) were all featured in the film A Beautiful Mind.

Rockefeller College is widely regarded as the most luxurious of the residential facilities on Princeton’s campus. With recently renovated dorm rooms equipped with spacious common rooms, new hardwood floors, and stylish paneling, “Rocky” is a stunning masterpiece of interior decoration. Each floor in the famous Holder Hall has a large screen TV with a sitting area for the students to enjoy.

Most remarkable is the stark contrast between lovely Rockefeller College and Butler College, Princeton’s version of government-subsidized housing. Where Rocky is elegant, Butler is sparse and Spartan. Indeed, the vast discrepancy in quality between Rocky and Butler is often compared to the difference in income between the CEO and janitor of the average Fortune 500 Corporation.