Kalven Report Institutional Neutrality

Jerry A. Coyne
Why Evolution is True

Excerpt: Well, Princeton, via its president Christopher Eisgruber, has wussed out of adopting a crucial plank in a university free-speech platform: institutional neutrality. The man simply can’t hold back his ideological or political opinions, even if they chill the speech of faculty and students.

Bridget O'Neill
Daily Princetonian

Excerpt: President Christopher Eisgruber ’83 shared in an interview with The Daily Princetonian that the University will not consider institutional neutrality. The University administration will maintain the current policy of institutional restraint although Eisgruber expressed plans to issue statements “less frequently.”

By Leslie Spencer ’79 

A group of Princeton faculty have come together to create The Princeton Council on Academic Freedom. It mirrors the new faculty groups at peer institutions, like the academic freedom councils at Harvard and Columbia, Faculty for Yale, and the University of Pennsylvania’s Vision for a New Future. 

Christie Davis
Daily Princetonian

Excerpt:  Student-led sociopolitical dissent is an enduring asset of the American university. Since the horrific events of Oct. 7, 2023, on-campus demonstrations have recognizably spiked.

Some even argue that Princeton University is responsible for answering inquiries on its positions regarding national and global events to continuously support marginalized voices. While this goal is undeniably noble, a reexamination of the Kalven Report and recent restrictive legislation levied towards Florida universities serves as a necessary reminder that we at Princeton shouldn’t overlook the power of institutional neutrality to preserve campus discussions of diversity and equity.

Academic Freedom Alliance, Heterodox Academy, FIRE

Excerpt: We stand together in sending this entreaty to college and university trustees and regents across the country during this time of growing national concern about the fate and security of free thought on campuses.

It is time for those entrusted with ultimate oversight authority for your institutions to restore truth-seeking as the primary mission of higher education by adopting a policy of institutional neutrality on social and political issues that do not concern core academic matters or institutional operations.

Khoa Sands ‘26

Campus free speech has rarely been as salient as in the past months. The Israel-Hamas War has supercharged campus activists and the ongoing debate on free speech and the mission of the university. On December 6th, the presidents of Harvard, UPenn, and M.I.T. testified at a disastrous House hearing where they seemed to be unable to take a position against calling for the genocide of Jews. Alumni, students, faculty, and donors were outraged. Four days later, the President of UPenn, Liz Magill, resigned and calls have been growing for the resignation of Claudine Gay, President of Harvard. In the background of this affair has been a series of pro-Palestine protests at university campuses across the country, often crossing the boundary into open anti-semitism. In such an environment, it is hard to feel welcome as a Jewish student.