Princeton University, one of the leading universities in black studies, yesterday announced an expansion in its program, including at least a doubling in the number of faculty members, the introduction of a major for undergraduates and the creation of a new center for teaching and research on race in America.

Shirley M. Tilghman, Princeton’s president, said in a telephone interview yesterday that she hoped the effort would help the university contribute greater insights to issues like the nature of racial identity and help train a “new generation of leaders to solve problems that have persisted too long.”

“Of all the challenges that confront America, none is more profound than the struggle to achieve racial equality and understand the impact of race on the life and institutions of the United States,” she said.

Robert Bruce Slater, the managing editor of The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, called the change “a big deal” and predicted that it will broaden the base of knowledge and help Princeton attract more black students and professors.