I am deeply concerned with the attacks on scholarly integrity and academic freedom by the Trump administration against so many universities. Withholding funds for scholarship, demanding changes in admissions procedures and insisting that academic departments be placed in receivership for ideological reasons all challenge the fundamental purpose and principles of higher education. Columbia caved in to this extortion, which is to say they have agreed to allow their research and pedagogy to be controlled by politics and ideology rather than scholarship and academic integrity. President Eisgruber, by contrast, has taken a principled stand against such extortion, and committed Princeton to continue its mission of academic freedom and scholarly independence. As an alum of Princeton (Class of 1980) and Columbia (Ph.D. 1988) I couldn’t be more ashamed of Columbia and I couldn’t be prouder of Princeton. Thank you, President Eisgruber.
I am deeply concerned with the attacks on scholarly integrity and academic freedom by the Trump administration against so many universities. Withholding funds for scholarship, demanding changes in admissions procedures and insisting that academic departments be placed in receivership for ideological reasons all challenge the fundamental purpose and principles of higher education. Columbia caved in to this extortion, which is to say they have agreed to allow their research and pedagogy to be controlled by politics and ideology rather than scholarship and academic integrity. President Eisgruber, by contrast, has taken a principled stand against such extortion, and committed Princeton to continue its mission of academic freedom and scholarly independence. As an alum of Princeton (Class of 1980) and Columbia (Ph.D. 1988) I couldn’t be more ashamed of Columbia and I couldn’t be prouder of Princeton. Thank you, President Eisgruber.