Latest news with #ChristopherEisgruber
Boston Globe
10-04-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
A handful of college presidents emerge as leaders of burgeoning resistance movement against Trump
As a small liberal arts school, Mount Holyoke doesn't have as much federal funding on the line as major research universities. Nonetheless, 'If we don't speak up and fight back about what our core values are, there won't be anything left for us,' she added. Advertisement Holley's comments make her an outlier so far among most university leaders, many of whom have largely adopted a Advertisement The administration has accused some schools of tolerating antisemitism on campus in the wake of the Gaza war, alleged they engage in racial discrimination through their diversity programs, and taken aim at policies allowing transgender women to participate in women's sports. But faculty members, students, and prominent alumni have There are signs some are heeding those calls. The president of Princeton University, Christopher Eisgruber, encouraged his peers to oppose what he views as threats to academic freedom. Princeton University president Christopher Eisgruber Christopher Goodney/Photographer: Christopher Goodne 'It is a crisis,' Eisgruber said in an episode of The New York Times podcast 'The Daily' on Wednesday. 'The funding that is essential to the quality of American research and America's universities is under threat. That's a crisis for universities and it is a crisis for our country.' The Trump administration has put more millions in research funding at Princeton on hold, but so far has not issued a series of demands as it had to Harvard and Columbia. Nonetheless, Eisgruber said Princeton will not 'make concessions,' even if it risks losing federal funding. He told the Times the university would contest in court any directives to put an academic department under a form of receivership, as the government directed Columbia to do. 'I believe it is essential for us to protect academic freedom,' Eisgruber said. Brown University president Christina Paxson recently issued a Advertisement Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education, which represents about 1,600 colleges and universities, said he is working to circulate an open letter among industry associations and leaders of individual schools that would emphasize the need to preserve academic freedom and US research preeminence. Michael Roth, president of Wesleyan University, has also spoken out in interviews and authored pointed op-eds. 'Appeasement right now is a disastrous policy,' Roth said in a recent Globe interview. 'What's at stake here is freedom. If you give up your freedoms to someone who wants more power, they're going to take more of your freedom.' The Trump administration has made it hard for university presidents to push back by presenting their funding threats as a crackdown on antisemitism, Mitchell said. 'It's hard to pull those apart because presidents don't want to be perceived as saying, 'We don't think we need to do better to protect our Jewish students,' ' Mitchell said. 'Every college president I know agrees with the point that we need to do a better job protecting our Jewish students, period. Don't hold research hostage to the solution to that problem.' Eisgruber, the Princeton leader, said fighting antisemitism is 'a fundamental responsibility for any university president,' and is something schools should work on in partnership with the government. But, he added, the government 'should be observing the due process that our law provides' for civil rights investigations, including allowing universities to 'respond and offer their side of the story.' Due process, he added, was not observed in the case of Columbia. Even so, Eisgruber, who is Jewish, also pushed back against the government's argument that antisemitism is rampant on elite campuses. He personally received at least two antisemitic messages last year, which he said is 'unacceptable,' but added such incidents at Princeton were 'marginal.' Advertisement Mitchell said Eisgruber, Paxson, and Roth are better positioned than most to speak out because they have been in their roles longer than most college presidents. 'They have created credibility with their peers, they have credibility with the donor community, and with government agencies,' Mitchell said. 'I'm eager to see how many other people join.' Meanwhile, Harvard, Columbia, and UPenn have all had turnover at the top amid the turmoil over the handling of campus protests and allegations of antisemitism. In March, Columbia replaced interim president Katrina Armstrong amid negotiations with the Trump administration. At Harvard, school leaders are being importuned by students, alumni, and faculty members to take a strong stance after the administration demanded numerous changes and began reviewing nearly $9 billion in federal funding the university and its affiliated institutions receive. The government has a similar inquiry at Columbia. There the Trump administration placed Harvard, for its part, has not said how it will respond to the Trump administration's demands, which include ending diversity programs, implementing 'merit-based' admissions and hiring practices, cooperating with federal immigration authorities, and changing student disciplinary procedures. On Monday, the university gave the first public indication it's anticipating losing federal funding by borrowing $750 million, which spokesperson Jason Newton described as preparing 'for a range of financial circumstances.' Advertisement The Trump administration has deployed various strategies to target funding at elite universities. An antisemitism task force from several federal agencies announced reviews of funding at Harvard and Columbia and then sent specific demands, which critics saw as an extraordinary infringement on universities' independence. The task force directed Columbia to place a Middle East studies department under new oversight, and told Harvard to close diversity offices and cooperate with the Department of Homeland Security, which has arrested and attempted to deport international students at several universities. At other schools, including Brown, the White House, not the task force, has led the communications, but so far provided fewer details. Although a White House spokesperson confirmed last week that the government plans to pause $510 million of funding for Brown, the university still has 'not heard from the federal government,' spokesperson Brian Clark said Wednesday. Hilary Burns can be reached at
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Princeton University Will Not Change Polices in Response to Trump Administration Pulling Federal Funding
One of the biggest stories in education this spring is how the Trump administration has systematically begun to pull federal funding from Ivy League institutions over alleged antisemitism on campus and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policies. At Princeton last week, the Trump administration halted funding from agencies such as Department of Energy, NASA, and the Defense Department. Now, the president of the university, Christopher Eisgruber, has revealed that his school will not be making any concessions to the administration in an effort to try and reverse the funding decisions. 'We make our decisions at Princeton based on our values and our principles,' he told NPR. 'You know, I don't want to pass judgment on what other universities do. These are extraordinarily difficult circumstances. But we're going to stand strong for our values at Princeton, and I think we have a community that is united behind those values.' When All Things Considered host Asma Khalid followed up, asking, 'So you're not willing, at this point, to make any concessions?' Eisgruber replied, 'We believe it's important to defend academic freedom, and that's not something that can be compromised.' He added, 'At this point, we haven't gotten any instructions to change anything, all right? So - and again, when I talked about what happened at Columbia, one of the reasons that it made it such a fundamental threat to academic freedom was that the government effectively said, in order to get these funds back, you have to do these other things, which were inconsistent with the respect for academic freedom. We have not received any communication from the government that explains why these grants were suspended or any requests to do anything in response to the suspensions.' Columbia was the first school to have funding pulled, followed by the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard, and Brown. So far, Dartmouth and Cornell have yet to be targeted. You Might Also Like 12 Weekend Getaway Spas For Every Type of Occasion 13 Beauty Tools to Up Your At-Home Facial Game
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump administration halts dozens of research grants at Princeton University
WASHIGNTON (AP) — The Trump administration has halted several dozen federal research grants at Princeton University, the Ivy League school said Tuesday. The university received notifications this week that grants were being suspended by agencies including the Department of Energy, NASA and the Defense Department, according to a campus message from Princeton President Christopher Eisgruber. The rationale was not fully clear but Princeton will comply with the law, Eisgruber said. 'We are committed to fighting antisemitism and all forms of discrimination, and we will cooperate with the government in combating antisemitism,' he wrote. 'Princeton will also vigorously defend academic freedom and the due process rights of this University. Princeton is the latest Ivy League school to have its federal funding threatened by Trump administration amid investigations into campus antisemitism. This month Columbia University agreed to several demands from the federal government after it pulled $400 million and threatened to cut billions more. A federal task force on antisemitism announced Monday that Harvard was facing a 'comprehensive review' of almost $9 billion in federal grants and contracts. Princeton is among more than 100 universities with open investigations into antisemitism or Islamophobia following a wave of pro-Palestinian protests. The federal government is a major provider of revenue for American universities through grants for scientific research. ___ The Associated Press' education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
The Independent
01-04-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Trump administration halts dozens of research grants at Princeton University
The Trump administration has halted several dozen federal research grants at Princeton University, the Ivy League school said Tuesday. The university received notifications this week that grants were being suspended by agencies including the Department of Energy, NASA and the Defense Department, according to a campus message from Princeton President Christopher Eisgruber. The rationale was not fully clear but Princeton will comply with the law, Eisgruber said. 'We are committed to fighting antisemitism and all forms of discrimination, and we will cooperate with the government in combating antisemitism,' he wrote. 'Princeton will also vigorously defend academic freedom and the due process rights of this University. Princeton is the latest Ivy League school to have its federal funding threatened by Trump administration amid investigations into campus antisemitism. This month Columbia University agreed to several demands from the federal government after it pulled $400 million and threatened to cut billions more. A federal task force on antisemitism announced Monday that Harvard was facing a 'comprehensive review' of almost $9 billion in federal grants and contracts. Princeton is among more than 100 universities with open investigations into antisemitism or Islamophobia following a wave of pro-Palestinian protests. The federal government is a major provider of revenue for American universities through grants for scientific research. ___ The Associated Press' education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
Associated Press
01-04-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Trump administration halts dozens of research grants at Princeton University
WASHIGNTON (AP) — The Trump administration has halted several dozen federal research grants at Princeton University, the Ivy League school said Tuesday. The university received notifications this week that grants were being suspended by agencies including the Department of Energy, NASA and the Defense Department, according to a campus message from Princeton President Christopher Eisgruber. The rationale was not fully clear but Princeton will comply with the law, Eisgruber said. 'We are committed to fighting antisemitism and all forms of discrimination, and we will cooperate with the government in combating antisemitism,' he wrote. 'Princeton will also vigorously defend academic freedom and the due process rights of this University. Princeton is the latest Ivy League school to have its federal funding threatened by Trump administration amid investigations into campus antisemitism. This month Columbia University agreed to several demands from the federal government after it pulled $400 million and threatened to cut billions more. A federal task force on antisemitism announced Monday that Harvard was facing a 'comprehensive review' of almost $9 billion in federal grants and contracts. Princeton is among more than 100 universities with open investigations into antisemitism or Islamophobia following a wave of pro-Palestinian protests. The federal government is a major provider of revenue for American universities through grants for scientific research. ___
