Regardless of the heated political local weather on campus, Stanford College’s new president, Jonathan Levin, who started his time period on Aug. 1, entered his solemn inauguration ceremony Friday afternoon with minimal disruption.
This sharply contrasted with the tip of the 2024 faculty 12 months, when 13 college students have been arrested for breaking into and occupying the president’s workplace, and a whole lot walked out of their commencement ceremony to protest the conflict in Gaza.
However Levin, the previous enterprise faculty dean, is beneath no phantasm that main one of many nation’s most prestigious universities within the coronary heart of Silicon Valley might be clean crusing.
“Discovery and learning require fresh ideas, open discussion, sometimes sharp disagreement,” Levin stated throughout his inauguration ceremony. “It is no accident that Stanford’s first president chose as our motto, ‘The wind of freedom blows.’”
Except for addressing the difficult political and social local weather universities face, Levin stated in his 30-minute speech that the college is dedicated to open dialogue and tutorial freedom. He additionally highlighted the college’s pivotal position in propelling Silicon Valley into the worldwide tech hub it’s as we speak.
And given the circumstances of his choice as president, Levin is aware of all eyes might be on him.
“I am conscious that I begin my term as president at a time when American universities are under intense scrutiny,” Levin stated. “The difficulties we have faced in recent years are evident.”
Levin takes over from interim president Richard Saller, who served for almost a 12 months after former Stanford President Marc Tessier-Lavigne resigned final 12 months following a assessment of educational misconduct allegations. Though the committee discovered lapses in oversight inside his analysis, they concluded that he didn’t personally interact in fraud.
Among the many robust choices Levin faces as president is that if he ought to push for prices to be filed in court docket in opposition to 13 pro-Palestinian protesters who have been arrested after getting into the president’s workplace and barricading themselves inside.
A coalition of pro-Palestinian teams at Stanford stated in a press release earlier this month they might current a petition to Levin urging him to drop prices in opposition to the 13 protesters. Levin has but to deal with this difficulty.
An alumnus of Stanford, Levin started as a college member in 2000 as an assistant professor of economics. After eight years, he was promoted to full professor and led the economics division from 2011 to 2014.
He turned dean of the Stanford Graduate College of Enterprise in 2016.
Since 2021, Levin has been a part of President Joe Biden’s advisory group, specializing in points resembling excessive climate and the appliance of synthetic intelligence in scientific analysis, based on Stanford.
Levin has three youngsters and is married to Amy Levin, an inside drugs physician at Personal Medical in Menlo Park. She holds a medical diploma from Yale College and a grasp’s from the Harvard College of Public Well being.
Stanford College’s administration has been grappling with a polarized scholar physique, particularly amid the continued conflict in Gaza, and has confronted criticism from either side.
Lots of the challenges the college faces “stem from outside influences, global events, politics, skepticism about elite institutions,” Levin stated. “We are criticized for not doing enough to address societal challenges — and for doing too much. We are criticized for suppressing speech — and for permitting it.”
A 2023 faculty-led subcommittee discovered that antisemitic and anti-Israeli bias “exists today on the Stanford campus in ways that are widespread and pernicious.”
On the identical time, scholar activists have criticized the administration of former President Richard Saller for its alleged harsh remedy of pro-Palestinian activists.
“To be clear, we want Stanford students and faculty to engage with the world. We expect them to wrestle with social and political issues,” Levin stated. “We hope that they will have an influence on the direction of society, pursue public service and tackle the pressing challenges of our time.”
Levin added that whereas college students ought to interact in nationwide and world affairs, “the university’s purpose is not political action or social justice. It is to create an environment in which learning thrives.”
Diego Kagurabadza, a political science and American research double main, stated he’s assured Levin will be capable to work with all college students regardless of the polarized political local weather.
“I think he’s very patient, very insightful, and that’s exactly the quality you need in a leader during difficult times,” Kagurabadza stated. “I’m optimistic to see how he’ll handle the diverse range of issues that might arise during the academic year.”
