Hopes for Eisgruber?s Presidency

Yesterday the Princeton community learned that the University’s search for a president had culminated in the selection of University Provost Christopher Eisgruber ’83. The Editorial Board would like to congratulate Eisgruber on being named Princeton’s 20th president. Back in September, the Board wrote an editorial complimenting President Tilghman on her confident leadership and detailing the issues we believed were imperative for the incoming President to address during his or her tenure. In light of Mr. Eisgruber’s appointment, the Board would like to reflect on his time as provost and express its hopes for his presidency.

Recently, there has been much discussion of the issue of elitism and privilege at Princeton. One cause of this elitism has been Princeton’s failure to attract students from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. Consequently, we hope President Eisgruber will focus on increasing the University’s accessibility to individuals who have typically not been able to benefit from the University’s educational resources — an initiative he seems to have embraced in his early statements since his appointment. As Eisgruber noted in his speech on Sunday, Princeton has a fantastic and incomparable financial aid program. However, just as the University actively recruits high-achieving students from well-to-do backgrounds, it should work to attract high-achieving students from low-income backgrounds. Merely making Princeton more affordable is not sufficient to attract low-income students who would contribute significantly to our campus community. Princeton might also increase its accessibility by offering its resources to individuals who do not have the opportunity to attend college. Thus far, its expansion of online lecture offerings is an important improvement in this field. Indeed, Eisgruber’s tenure as provost saw the expansion of Princeton’s online presence through free online lectures available to the public, and we hope that he will continue to increase the digital accessibility of both lectures and the University’s other scholarly resources.

As provost, Eisgruber advocated for the expansion of Princeton’s international presence. Eisgruber sponsored initiatives to hire more international faculty members and oversaw the expansion of the Bridge Year and International Internship programs. We applaud the increase of opportunities to intern, study and work abroad, and the Board fully supports the continuation of this trend. Moreover, though the University prides itself on being a global research institution, Princeton’s name recognition on the international scale is far below its domestic prominence. We hope that President Eisgruber will continue spearheading Princeton’s globalization so that Princeton can truly be “in the service of all nations” and so that its students can benefit from exposure to global perspectives.

We further hope that the incoming administration will strengthen its relationship with elected officials representing the town of Princeton and local residents. Princeton’s plans for the construction of the Arts and Transit Neighborhood have already strained town-gown relations, and we hope that, as president, Eisgruber will repair and improve these ties. Including Mayor Liz Lempert and municipality officials in the University’s decision-making processes and increasing University participation in the community would benefit both parties.

Perhaps most importantly, Princeton prides itself on being like a small liberal arts college with a strong undergraduate focus. In September, the Board noted that some of President Tilghman’s policies, such as grade deflation and the fraternity rush policy, sparked controversy among the student body. Because Eisgruber is an alumnus, we hope that he will express special sensitivity toward undergraduate concerns and will lead with undergraduates in mind. While we appreciate the participation of undergraduates in the presidential selection process, we encourage the University to be more transparent when formulating policies that affect undergraduates. We hope that, as president, Eisgruber will continuously consult undergraduate students when making decisions that affect their social, extracurricular or academic lives. If Princeton is to maintain its claims about creating the liberal arts college experience, it must remain sensitive to the wishes of students on important policy issues.

The Board realizes the challenge of balancing the expansion of Princeton’s outreach and the maintenance of the University’s relationship with all community members. We further recognize that Eisgruber will face difficult choices and a sometimes contentious environment. We hope that he will nevertheless confront issues such as grade deflation and Princeton’s international expansion with a sensitivity to both student needs and Princeton’s commitment to educational excellence and public service.