Partners in Regional Progress

Hilary Parker ’01 became Princeton’s vice president and secretary in 2019. She is a key member of my leadership team and plays an important role in advancing the University’s strategic initiatives. I invited her to update PAW’s readers about one of the areas under her supervision, Princeton’s connections to the region around it. — C.L.E.

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Hilary Parker ’01

Photo by Matthew Raspanti, Office of Communications

Having grown up in the Princeton area, taught in a nearby public school, and reported for a local newspaper before joining the University administration more than 15 years ago, I find it especially meaningful to be heading up the University’s efforts to connect to and cultivate a thriving regional ecosystem.

During my undergraduate days here, a hackneyed old saw held that “Princeton is in New Jersey but not of New Jersey.” I am delighted that this is not the case today. We’ve worked hard in recent years to make it clear that Princeton is not only both in and of New Jersey — we’re proud of it and committed to making it even stronger.

The Board of Trustees established a need to deepen connections to the region as a University priority in the 2016 strategic framework, recognizing that “technology is making proximity and human contact not less important, but rather more important, to the basic research and teaching mission of the University: Princeton needs to find ways to cultivate interaction between its faculty members, researchers, and students and their counterparts in the non-profit, corporate, and government sectors.”

Since that time, our opportunity, responsibility, and commitment to enhance the regional ecosystem has expanded. We have an ongoing and growing need to engage with a range of partners to advance Princeton’s educational mission and strategic priorities. We have strengthened relationships with leaders at the local, regional, and state level, and with other New Jersey colleges and universities. There are important aspirations for New Jersey that are shared across industry, government, and academia. And, importantly, our partners are supportive of our work to play a leadership role in driving regional progress.

We took a giant leap forward earlier this year, when we announced that Microsoft and CoreWeave joined the University and the state as founding partners for the NJ AI Hub.

The announcement followed the December 2023 launch of plans for Princeton and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority to put Central New Jersey on the artificial intelligence map with a major public-private partnership. The inaugural NJ AI Summit, held on campus in April 2024, built on the momentum. Featuring a keynote address by Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith ’81, a University trustee, the event brought together around 600 experts from industry, academia, and the public sector to discuss the AI landscape and help shape the vision for the future of the Hub.

Here on campus, Provost Jen Rexford ’91 and I are leading efforts to guide the University’s participation in the Hub, which is a manifestation of what the trustees envisioned in the strategic framework, and an embodiment of the principles we’ve established to guide our efforts to connect to and enhance the regional ecosystem. The Hub will advance the University’s core teaching and research mission. It aligns with the University’s long-standing commitment to serve the nation and humanity. And it has been shaped by the distinctive needs, goals, and assets in our region to ensure that it will benefit many beyond our campus community.

As I write this column, our facilities team is putting the finishing touches on the NJ AI Hub’s soon-to-be-opened home at 619 Alexander Road in West Windsor.

When it launches, the NJ AI Hub will emphasize three programmatic pillars.

The first, centered on research and development, will connect companies with expertise, talent, and tools to help them integrate AI into their businesses. Building on the strengths of our region, this work will focus on industry sectors with a robust presence in New Jersey, such as the life sciences and biotechnology, clean energy, and information technology.

The second pillar, focused on catalyzing innovation, will nurture and expand the AI startup ecosystem in the region by establishing an AI-focused accelerator that provides early-stage ventures with a range of critical supports, including compute power and mentorship.

Third, the NJ AI Hub — working in close partnership with New Jersey’s colleges and universities — will lead a range of efforts to educate learners and workers at all stages of their careers, equipping them with the knowledge and skills needed to support both individual successes and a thriving regional economy. Microsoft’s TechSpark program, which “fosters inclusive economic opportunity, job creation, and innovation,” will be integral to these efforts, which also build on the University’s work in recent years to enhance collaborations with New Jersey’s public community colleges.

I am currently leading a search for the inaugural executive director of the NJ AI Hub, who will work closely with all of the founding partners to bring the vision to life.

This is a novel and distinctive project for us, launching at a time of massive transformation in AI. While it’s a fool’s errand to attempt to forecast with any degree of specificity how the NJ AI Hub will evolve over time or the precise impact it will have, we can confidently predict that we will look back on the launch of the Hub as a catalytic moment for both the University and the region.