Harvard's Princeton Complex
I'm always struck, speaking with and interviewing folks at Harvard, by how much they have Princeton on their minds. The New Jersey university has several things that Harvard just can't seem to develop: outstanding undergraduate education based on personal interaction between students and professors; a sense of community and school spirit; alumni who give money in impressive percentages. (Harvard's alumni give a lot of money, but the percentage of alumni who give is relatively low.)
Now Princeton also has another advantage over Harvard: a progressive president who wants to build on Princeton's strengths while addressing its shortcomings (the small university's elitism and clubbiness, primarily). Shirley Tilghman presents such an interesting counterpart to Larry Summers; she clearly thinks about many of the same issues Summers did while he was president, yet moves her university forward in a much more consensus-driven way.
The Wall Street Journal just conducted this very interesting interview with
Tilghman.
Some parts relevant to Harvard:
WSJ: You were outspoken in your criticism of Mr. Summers's comments about women in the sciences. Why did you speak out?
Ms. Tilghman: There are 25 years of good social science that demonstrate the many cultural practices that act collectively to discourage women from entering and continuing careers in science and engineering. The research is overwhelming, and it is there for anybody to see. On the other hand, the data that would suggest there are innate differences in the abilities of men and women to succeed in the natural sciences are nonexistent.
WSJ: I keep hearing your name as a possible candidate to be president of Harvard. Are you interested?
Ms. Tilghman: I have the best job in higher education, and I have no intention of leaving it. I have also always understood that there was kind of an unwritten rule in the Ivy League that you don't poach each other's presidents.
Tilghman also speaks on fundraising, alumni preferences, increasing the size of Princeton's student body, financial aid, and more.
(And, incidentally, would that unwritten rule apply to Amy Gutmann?)
