An hour after the Council of the Princeton University Community (CPUC) meeting on Monday, March 24, President Christopher Eisgruber ’83 addressed the Princeton town community to address the state of higher education, the University endowment, and ways to maintain collaboration between the town and the University.
The Princeton Town Hall Meeting is an event held annually by members of the Princeton Council in collaboration with Eisgruber, with the goal of facilitating open communication between the University and the town.
Eisgruber began the meeting by sharing his position on where the University currently stands.
“I do want to say some things about where we stand right now as a University and where we stand as a sector of colleges, universities, and higher education in this country at the moment: a moment where I feel very fortunate to be here in Princeton, New Jersey, in the middle of this town and in this state.”
Eisgruber also reflected on the impact of the Princeton University Art Museum (PUAM) on the Princeton township. He highlighted the Art on Hulfish and Art@Bainbridge gallery spaces as locations that have attracted town residents since the old art museum closed. “It will be an important point of pride, I hope, for this entire community,” he said.
Art on Hulfish closed for the final time in January. PUAM is set to open in October of this year, although the official opening date has not been announced at the time of publication.
Eisgruber also addressed concerns over federal funding cuts across the United States, telling the Council, “I think that higher education right now faces a kind of crisis that we have not faced for at least 70 years.” Last week, he described the funding cuts as a “radical threat to scholarly excellence” in an op-ed in The Atlantic.
He also reaffirmed the importance of research in the United States. “[The cuts are] serious threats to the science and research that have made the United States a world leader in innovation, in healthcare, in technology. They have contributed to our prosperity and our security as a society,” he noted.
Councilmember Brian McDonald asked Eisgruber to clarify how the University’s endowment works and is used, explaining, “Many people in town like to talk about the University’s endowment.”
Eisgruber clarified that the endowment does not function like a savings account, as it necessitates an annual payout. According to him, the University currently has a payout of five percent a year from the endowment. It must also make five percent a year to cover it, in addition to covering any shifting costs due to inflation.
With the number of new projects in which the University is investing, such as increasing graduate stipends and expanding financial aid, the University currently has targets of earning around eight to 10 percent of the endowment each year to cover spending. However, the Trump administration is considering raising the 1.4 percent tax rate on University endowment returns, which was established under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.
Eisgruber explained that the proposed tax increases “would undermine our ability to continue to support the affordability and accessibility of the education we offer and to ensure that the research that we’re doing is cutting edge in the way that this country needs it to be.”
As well as research costs, the University has plans to help with town development. In January 2024, it announced a five-year plan to allocate $50 million in unrestricted cash donations to municipal projects and local agencies supporting lower- and middle-income residents. Eisgruber noted that “the five-year agreement provides an excellent framework for us going forward.”
Funding is currently being used towards town transit updates, which, according to Councilmember Michelle Lambros, are focused on “easing parking challenges — making our town more walkable, less car-centric.” She also mentioned that the town is working on getting two new EV buses.
Looking forward, Eisgruber said he is excited to work with the town on celebrating the University’s 280th anniversary, and suggested that the University community is “much stronger” compared to other institutions facing disunity and external pressures.
“One of the things that has dismayed me as I’ve looked at some other universities, is, at times, the folks there seem, metaphorically speaking, to be shooting at one another” he said. “Their community is under intense pressure from the outside, and one would hope they would all be standing up together … Instead, they seem to be divided against one another.”
Eisgruber also expressed appreciation for the commitment to patience and appreciation throughout Princeton’s entire community for the way the University is handling its affairs, and noted, “We need people to be able to respect institutions, even if they don’t agree with everything that’s going on, even if they’re pretty upset with some of the things going on.”
Luke Grippo is a senior News writer for the ‘Prince.’ He is from South Jersey and usually covers administrative issues, including Undergraduate Student Government, the Council of the Princeton University Community, and institutional legacy.
Irene Kim is a News contributor for the ‘Prince.’
Leela Hensler contributed reporting.
Please direct any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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