I welcome the statement by my classmate President Christopher Eisgruber that in the face of the federal government’s unprecedented assault “[u]niversities and their leaders should speak up and litigate forcefully to protect their rights.” I certainly hope that his example inspires others to defend higher education publicly and forcefully.
What’s at stake? What’s at stake is not merely funding for research and a spirit of open inquiry on college campuses. After all, universities aspire to prepare students not just for careers but also for life. What is courage? What is duty? If universities themselves have no answers to questions of this sort, why should they exist? If administrators, trustees, and faculty expect students to have learned something from, say, Sophocles’ Antigone, Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, and the history of the House Committee on Un-American Activities, but exhibit no evidence that they themselves have given these a second’s thought, isn’t that a kind of fraud? At stake in 2025 is the integrity of higher education itself. Display some courage. Show that you take your duties seriously. Your students, past and present, are watching.
I welcome the statement by my classmate President Christopher Eisgruber that in the face of the federal government’s unprecedented assault “[u]niversities and their leaders should speak up and litigate forcefully to protect their rights.” I certainly hope that his example inspires others to defend higher education publicly and forcefully.
What’s at stake? What’s at stake is not merely funding for research and a spirit of open inquiry on college campuses. After all, universities aspire to prepare students not just for careers but also for life. What is courage? What is duty? If universities themselves have no answers to questions of this sort, why should they exist? If administrators, trustees, and faculty expect students to have learned something from, say, Sophocles’ Antigone, Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, and the history of the House Committee on Un-American Activities, but exhibit no evidence that they themselves have given these a second’s thought, isn’t that a kind of fraud? At stake in 2025 is the integrity of higher education itself. Display some courage. Show that you take your duties seriously. Your students, past and present, are watching.