Blog

Remarks on the Flushing Remonstrance (December, 1657)
April 9, 2025

As delivered at the New York Public Library.

Thank you for that introduction.  I am honored by it, and by the opportunity to say a few words today about the extraordinary document that is the subject of this exhibition.

I am grateful to the New York Public Library, the New York State Archives, Barbaralee Diamonstein…

Partners in Regional Progress
March 28, 2025

Hilary Parker ’01 became Princeton’s vice president and secretary in 2019. She is a key member of my leadership team and plays an important role in advancing the University’s strategic initiatives. I invited her to update PAW’s readers about one of the areas under her supervision, Princeton’s connections to the region around it. — C.L.E.…

Moments of Joy
Feb. 28, 2025

"You have one of the hardest jobs in America,” alumni will sometimes say to me. That’s an exaggeration — but it’s true that university presidents face lots of challenges and that the last five years have been especially demanding.

I am confident, however, that I have one of the best jobs in America, not least because I get to share in so…

“The Structure of Academic Freedom”: Robert Post Lecture Introduction
Feb. 21, 2025

As written

It is a pleasure to say a few remarks to introduce an outstanding scholar and longtime friend, Professor Robert Post of the Yale Law School.  Professor Post is among the nation’s most insightful constitutional theorists and one of its leading experts on both free speech and academic freedom.  His talk this…

The Cost of a College Degree is Going Down
Jan. 30, 2025

Conventional wisdom in America holds that the cost of college rises faster than inflation. That was once so — but it has not been true for a long time.

I was therefore glad when C-SPAN anchor Mimi Geerges gave me an opportunity to bust the myth. I appeared on C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal” in early December.

She asked me why “a…

President's Annual "State of the University Letter" 2025: “Princeton Under Construction”: Our Commitment to a Campus Where People and Scholarship Thrive
Jan. 29, 2025

Eight years ago, in 2017, I began writing annual “State of the University” letters to provide updates about Princeton’s progress toward strategic goals along with my reflections on major issues relevant to higher education.   The first of those letters summarized priorities from the strategic framework adopted by the Board of Trustees…

Venture Forward Hits the Home Stretch
Nov. 27, 2024

The Venture Forward campaign is entering its final year, and it is already transforming the University in spectacular fashion.

Venture Forward is a mission-driven campaign. We’ve not set any internal or external dollar goals. Instead, we have focused intensely on gifts and initiatives that advance key priorities as defined in Princeton’s…

The Committee of Three
Oct. 28, 2024

Princeton’s excellence depends on many factors, but foremost among them is the caliber of the professors who produce world-class research, educate our students, help to run the institution, and conduct searches to identify potential colleagues.

At Princeton, the most important guarantor of faculty quality is a committee known as “the…

Remarks at the Jewish Center on Yom Kippur: Antisemitism and Free Speech on Campus
Oct. 12, 2024

I am honored by the invitation to speak with you on this, the holiest of days in the Jewish calendar.

If I may, I would like to start on a personal note and tell you a bit about my family history.

My great-grandfather, Salomon Kalisch, was a lawyer in Breslau, Germany, and a prominent member of the Reform community in that city.

Opening Exercises 2024: ‘Something Transcendent’
Sept. 30, 2024

For Opening Exercises on September 1, we gathered on the front lawn of Nassau Hall to welcome Princeton’s new transfer students and the Class of 2028. I invited students to carefully consider the meaning and value of liberal arts education as they pursue their Princeton journey, and to be inspired by the “transcendent” experience of Pre-read…