With it being such a complicated time in higher education, and with the atmosphere of colleges and universities shifting with frequency, I offer here a set of notes and observations titled “Notes From the Campus.” Perhaps, together, these notes offer a sense of what it is like to sit in a president’s chair at a leading national university in these complicated times.
On Peter’s Glen
In perhaps one of the most unusual juxtapositions of moods and activities, two different, atypical sets of activities and concerns have been on my desk these past several months. First, over the past several months, we have witnessed the final landscape work undertaken to establish and complete Peter’s Glen — a new, nearly 5-acre set of pathways and plazas through the campus, connecting the traditional academic core of the campus with the developing Middle Campus. This was a massive project, involving moving truckloads of dirt and planting quite literally hundreds of new trees and shrubs.
At the same time, a shifting approach to American colleges and universities by the White House and the departments of education and justice has taken up countless hours with the senior administration and the Board of Trustees.
The juxtaposition of those two matters — replanting a part of the campus and managing a changing political landscape — seemed striking at times. It would not be unusual for me, on any given day, to be responding to the latest message from the White House and consulting with our experts in Washington in the morning, and then walking over to the massive construction project in the heart of the campus. Was it odd to be tending to the beauty of the campus at the exact moment that the whole landscape of higher education itself was shifting?
Yes, but that reflects something that has always been a feature of this position. At all times, you must be alert to the challenges of the present while thinking about what the campus will be like — academically, financially, and physically — in the future. It’s as if you are managing two Colgates on any given day.
One thing is certain, though. The introduction of Peter’s Glen — with its long staircase from the Dana Arts Center and Bernstein Hall to Frank Dining Hall — has wrought a marvelous change on campus. Suddenly Colgate feels both smaller and larger. It is both better connected and more expansive.
In a trying season, a new landscape somehow emerged, one that will mark the campus for decades.
On Compacts and Principles
One of the most dramatic messages to come from Washington was a proposed “Compact for Academic Excellence,” which, among other things, promised favorable access to federal funds for research in exchange for certain checks on admissions, bans on tuition increases, and possible reviews of what was taught in classrooms. While the compact was not originally sent to Colgate, via a social media message, it was eventually implied that all colleges and universities were to have the compact made available to them if they accepted its terms.
Well before the announcement of this compact, we had developed a set of principles to guide our reactions to changing federal rules and regulations. First we stated that Colgate would always follow the law. In reacting to announcements, social media messages, and executive orders, however, we stated that we would follow these guidelines: 1) Colgate alone would determine who could be on our campus as students, faculty, or staff; 2) Colgate alone would determine what could and could not be taught in our classrooms, as academic freedom demands; and 3) Colgate alone would determine how to provide care to members of our community.
While the compact was never formally offered to Colgate, we came to the conclusion that its offerings would violate the first two of these guidelines and, should it come our way, we would not enter into such an arrangement.
On a Colgate Union
As you will read in a piece in this issue, Colgate has, for years, explored the topics of freedom of speech and academic freedom. In the years leading up to the University’s Bicentennial, a task force composed of trustees, faculty members, and staff members issued a report on these topics, arguing that a deep commitment to free expression combined with a focus on the needs of the community should guide the members of this academic community.
In the years that have followed, and building on the culture of discourse and discernment that has long been present at Colgate, student and faculty programs have provided multiple venues for community members to discuss and debate challenging issues. Whether these are groups of faculty gathered at the provost’s home or students gathered in the Memorial Chapel basement, robust discussion takes place all around the campus.
The question is, how might we make those sorts of efforts and programs more visible and more widely available? How can we actually show the nation that Colgate is a place of serious and considered discourse?
For months now, I have been speaking to Colgate faculty, students, and alumni about creating just such a visible program. Thanks to the generosity of former trustee Becky Hurley ’81 and Christopher Hurley ’81, P’12,’12, we now have the funds to renovate a space on Broad Street for this work, in something we have called a “Colgate Union.” I view this as both a place and a program — one that is strictly nonpartisan — that has, at its core, the training of students (and, when appropriate, faculty and staff) in the skills of discourse, conversation, and, yes, debate. I join with the Hurleys in the hope that this will also be a place where notions of community participation and civic education are emphasized. At its most profound, might this be a place where the foundations of a flourishing democracy are strengthened?
We have much thinking to do about how to create such a space and a program wisely and well. But I have full confidence we will get there.
On the Colgate Commitment
Lastly, the University just announced the third expansion of the Colgate Commitment, its signature financial aid program. At each one of these announcements, we have made access to Colgate wider and wider. Few things ensure a university’s future more than undertaking those steps necessary to bring talented and exceptional students to its campus. The Colgate Commitment is that work.
And while the expansion of a financial aid program might not be as visible or dramatic as the construction of a beautiful new glen, in all ways, it is quietly as powerful.
As I write this, the Colgate Class of 2030 is beginning to be shaped. One wonders about the world they will eventually enter. For now though, we stay focused on the campus that is about to welcome them next fall.