If President Shapiro's departure is, in the words of University Vice President and Secretary Thomas Wright '62, like "losing a parent," then the presidential search committee will have to look long and hard for his replacement. Shapiro was many things — a strong fund raiser, a diligent manager and a phenomenal physical constructionist. The next University president will have large shoes to fill, but will also have a unique path to walk.
As Princeton begins its search for a new president, we would like to express our hope that whomever the search committee selects will be as dedicated to the University's students as presidents past. That said, our next president will have to develop a grander sense of vision. While Shapiro was very good at financing the University's future, now we need someone who can envision that future.
Princeton faces radical changes in the coming years. Following through with the Wythes committee's recommendations to increase the size of the student body by 500 students during the next eight years will be an administrative task to rival the implementation of coeducation and the residential college system. The committee should be mindful of these and other marked changes, which will challenge the new president to develop a coherent strategy for adapting and improving campus life. The University is on the cusp of dramatic change, and Princeton's future depends on the new president's capacity for extraordinary vision within that context.
Of course, the ability to implement wide-scale and long-term policy changes, such as those outlined in the Wythes report, must be matched by a full understanding of Princeton's rich history and a respect for its longstanding traditions. Princeton's new president will not be able to carve out a successful future for the University without having a real sense of its past.
As evidenced by our Sept. 26 article in which undergraduates struggled to qualify Shapiro's impact on student life, the new University president will have to be accessible to all. In the same way that many high-profile professors are able to engage students on a personal level in and out of the classroom, we would expect the new University president to be able to do the same. An ideal president is one who is willing to solicit students' ideas, not merely willing to listen when approached. It is not enough to hold office hours during the first hours of daybreak Tuesday. Attending student performances or sporting events — even simply being a presence on campus — would be a welcome change. With so many possibilities for the University so close at hand, it is imperative that the new president be in touch with the student body — its opinions, its grievances and its hopes for the future.
The search committee has an enormous responsibility not only to this generation of undergraduates, but to future students and alumni as well. We hope that committee members are aware of Princeton's reputation as a predominantly white school with primarily patriarchical leadership, and we encourage them to take a step toward changing this image by considering a diverse applicant pool. The search should be broad enough to cross all lines — such as gender, ethnicity and race. It is not enough to find the best man for the job among a crowd of white male candidates.
With the Ivy League bidding farewell to three of its parental figures — Brown and Harvard are also looking for new presidents — the search committee's task will be even more challenging. And while we are proud and excited to be undergraduates during this critical juncture, Princeton students will have to wait and see how their 'family' Reunions will look in the decades to come.
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