As student interest in engineering soars at Princeton and nationwide, conversations at institutions like ours often revolve around the benefits of liberal arts studies for engineers. In reflecting upon the growth and future of engineering education at Princeton, I want to emphasize the flipside of that coin — engineering clearly is now an essential part of an excellent liberal arts education. (From the Dec. 3, 2014, Princeton Alumni Weekly)

Completing my senior administrative team was an urgent priority in my first year as president, and I was delighted that Professor of Economics and Public Affairs David S. Lee *99 accepted the challenge of serving as our new provost. I have invited Provost Lee to offer his perspectives on an exciting entrepreneurship initiative he is overseeing and how it relates to his new role. (From the Nov. 12, 2014, Princeton Alumni Weekly)

The senior thesis is iconic — a rite of passage that links today’s students to generations of Princetonians. Yet, like all great Princeton traditions, the thesis not only endures, it lives, grows, and changes. We recently took steps to enhance the thesis experience, spurred by practices of peer review that undergird the quality of American higher education. (From the Oct. 22, 2014, Princeton Alumni Weekly)

This year’s Pre-read selection, Susan Wolf’s Meaning in Life and Why It Matters, inspired my Opening Exercises address on September 7. I encouraged our freshmen to engage deeply with the remarkable people they will encounter at Princeton, and to wrestle with questions about what makes life meaningful. (From the Oct. 8, 2014, Princeton Alumni Weekly)

Unforeseen circumstances, combined with the general precept that major policies deserve periodic reexamination, led me to ask a faculty committee to review Princeton’s policies regarding academic assessment and grading. (From the Sept. 17, 2014, Princeton Alumni Weekly)

Capping nearly a week of joyous orange-and-black celebrations that included Reunions, Baccalaureate, Class Day and the graduate Hooding Ceremony, I had the honor of presiding over my first Commencement as Princeton’s president on June 3. (From the July 9, 2014, Princeton Alumni Weekly)

Some of the most exciting moments of my tenure as provost came in 2004, when professors Jonathan Cohen of the Department of Psychology and David Tank of the Department of Molecular Biology visited my office to make very persuasive cases for why Princeton needed to do something big and impactful in neuroscience. (From the June 4, 2014, Princeton Alumni Weekly)