The leadership of American universities today is in a bit of turmoil as students and leaders try to work out the limits of freedom of speech and the need for quiet educational worlds for students to thrive and move forward with their studies.
Following the resignations of two Ivy League presidents at Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania after the hearings with the House of Representatives, Committee on Education and Workforce, in December of 2023 in Washington, D.C.; two more leaders at Columbia and Cornell Universities have stepped aside and been replaced with interim managers. Ironically, despite all the uproar, both the former Penn and Harvard presidents have been asked to join the Harvard Law faculty for a brief period of time.
Today’s eight Ivy League of universities are now run by four women and four men with a variety of backgrounds. Tenured leaders at Brown, Dartmouth, and Yale are all ladies with PhDs in economics, psychology and art history respectively. They are joined, as of June, 2024, by Katrina Armstrong, who is a doctor from the current faculty at Columbia School of Physicians and Surgeons, as Columbia’s interim president. Similarly, the men running three of the four Ivy schools are interim leaders, all doctors, at Harvard, Cornell, and U Penn. There is one male attorney at Princeton who has been the full time President since April of 2013. All eight pedigrees support many years of diligent education, publications of all kinds, and clear leadership excellence all around.
On August 26, 2024 the lead article in The New York Post was entitled, “Anti-Israel vandals deface the entry to the President’s Office at Cornell.” They smashed the door down and scrawled, “Blood is on your hands. Israel bombs and Cornell Pays.” The interim President, Michael Kotlikoff, had assumed his job July 1, 2024 after leading the Dept. of Bio-Medical Science there as a veterinary doctor as well as serving in the Provost office of the college.
Students have accepted the privilege of studying with talented, committed professors and getting world-class educations which only a few people are lucky enough to experience. There need to be forums for expression of opinions which do not disrupt education. It is abundantly clear that the deans in charge of the universities need to set guidelines for student behavior and the consequences for protests including suspension and expulsion. These should be made clear to all students and their parents.
While there are no written guidelines for dealing with these political crises on campuses, I have found a number of ideas put forth at various institutions. The Dartmouth President, Sian Beilock, who took on the job in June of 2023, has started a monthly program called Dartmouth Dialogues, which convenes students, faculty, and professional guests to discuss any issues that they feel need to be addressed on campus. Her PhD work in Psychology is obviously helpful at this time as well as her years as President of Barnard College in New York city.
Similarly, the President of Princeton, Chris Eisgruber, runs a monthly meeting which is open to the entire Princeton community to meet with faculty, students, staff, and alumni representatives. He is willing to discuss any issues relevant to life on campus. In this regard, the University of Pennsylvania has reached beyond its campus and is working with the city of Philadelphia as community partners to address both city and campus challenges. Strategies to engage both campus and local police forces is one priority now in this dialogue. The interim President of Columbia, Dr. Katrina Armstrong, has started a program on campus called the Campus Climate Collaborative. It is designed to embrace inclusive pluralism while rejecting harassment and any destruction of the campus identity. Students, faculty and staff will engage in this program this fall.
One article that I found written by the President of my undergraduate women’s college, Mount Holyoke, has some ideas with which I think all academic leaders would agree. They are as follows:
- Believe in your ability to grow and identify obstacles and opportunities in your environment.
- Exhibit confidence and assurance with guidance, forecast and clear goals and initiatives.
- Develop resilience, flexibility and adapt policies of community engagement.
- Embrace change, face your fears, and stay open with listening and receptive views.
- Set up professional networks on campus for strategic planning on all levels.
In summary, my conclusion is that these are trying times and all educational leaders need to form a huddle, like a football team, and agree how to move the ball forward on each campus. Collective wisdom and agreements might help solve these problems as they arise in these complex times.
Ivy University Presidents- listed by length of tenure.
Brown University, Christine Hull Paxson, BA. MA. PhD. appointed October, 2012.
Founded 1764. Endowment- $ 7 billion.
Princeton University, Chris Eisgruber, BA,MA,JD. appointed April 21, 2013.
Founded 1746. Endowment- $34 billion.
Dartmouth College, Sian Beilock, BS,PhD. appointed June 2023.
Founded 1769. Endowment $ 8 billion.
University of Pennsylvania, Larry Jameson, BS,MD,PhD., appointed December 2023. Interim leader.
Founded 1740. Endowment $ 21 billion.
Harvard University, Alan Garber, BA,MA,PhD, MD. appointed January 2024. Interim leader.
Founded 1636. Endowment $ 53 billion.
Yale University, Maurie McInnis, BA, PhD. appointed May 2024.
Founded 1701. Endowment $ 41 billion.
Columbia University, Katrina Armstrong, BA,MS,MD. appointed June 2024. Interim leader.
Founded 1754. Endowment $ 14 billion.
Cornell University, Michael Kotlikoff, BA,PhD, VMD. appointed July 2024. Interim leader.
Founded 1865. Endowment $ 10 billion.
Sources consulted:
Websites of all Ivy League Universities.
The New York Post.
Mount Holyoke College, Presidential Notes. Danielle R. Holley.