Taking the Long View
Williams is committed to sustainability in all its many dimensions. Continue reading »
Columns, Essays, and Speeches
How to Disagree
Ours is an institution of higher learning; such learning cannot occur without broad and enthusiastic exposure to a wide range of ideas and perspectives. Continue reading »
Why ‘Need-Blind’ is the Wrong Goal for College Admissions
“Need-blindness,” taken literally, is actually a narrow and misleading construct. There’s a passiveness to the term that implies, quite wrongly, that we can address the issue of college accessibility simply by turning a blind eye to students’ financial circumstances. Rather, what’s needed is for colleges to act affirmatively to bring socioeconomic diversity to our campuses. Continue reading »
Women at Williams
In marking four decades of coeducation, what we celebrate most deeply aren’t the ways in which Williams has changed women, but rather how women have changed Williams. Continue reading »
Ending Sexual Violence at Williams
My personal commitment, as firm as any I can make, is that sexual assault must be eliminated in our community. Continue reading »
A Pipeline into the Academy
To most effectively educate students of all backgrounds, we need faculty of all backgrounds. Continue reading »
A Powerful Network
The difference our alumni make—to the world, to Williams and to our students—is astonishing. Continue reading »
Sports at Williams
I hope and expect that we’ll continue to win a lot of contests, and even perhaps more Directors’ Cups. The real measure of our athletics program’s success, though will always be how well we fulfill our deeper ideals. Continue reading »
Comment to the U.S. Department of Education Regarding Proposed College Rating System
I appreciate the opportunity to comment here, as a college president, on the effort to develop a system of rating colleges that would better inform students and families and provide a measure for the disbursement of federal financial aid. Continue reading »
Regarding Academic Boycotts
Open discussion of such matters is an important part of the academic freedom we all cherish. Continue reading »