Trustees convene for exploratory meeting

The University Board of Trustees discussed intellectualism and the prospect of increasing private science research funding among other issues at an extended meeting this weekend, said Thomas Wright '62, University vice president and secretary.

The session, which ran from Thursday evening to Sunday morning and included all 39 trustees, was "an opportunity for the trustees to step back and take a longer view of the issues that Princeton will be facing in years ahead," Wright said, noting that making final decisions was not the meeting's purpose.

Trustees discussed what the University would do if it lost public science research funds. Since the end of World War II, the federal government has made a major commitment to scientific development. The University has been a beneficiary of that support.

But with economic doldrums and changing views about what institutions should receive federal funds, Wright said trustees were looking at broadening sources of funding.

One option is to pursue more private support from industry, he said. However, he noted that private support could be "less predictable than the federal government" and that private institutions would want more practical research done than basic research. The University currently leans toward basic research.

Trustees also broached a hot issue in campus debate, intellectualism, at Thursday night's dinner. Six trustees, Assistant Dean of the College Frank Ordiway and Vice President for Campus Life Janet Dickerson met with student representatives to discuss the results of the precept committee's report last spring and intellectual life on campus.

Josh Anderson '04, U-Council chair who has led the inquiry into campus intellectualism, said that at the dinner students discussed the concerns that were outlined in a letter to the campus community a few weeks ago.

"We tried to give more texture to the problem than our brief letter is able to provide, and then we began to speculate on what some of the causes of this problem might be at the trustees' request," Anderson said.

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He said trustees were extremely receptive to the comments.

Wright said the trustees also took an initial look at the next budget.

"The budget is tight, but it is still in balance," Wright said. To keep the balance "is going to require some hard decisions to be made."

The biggest tradeoff ultimately will be between capping increases in tuition and salaries, he said.

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The trustees also considered whether the University has adapted well to the challenges of globalization, as there has been a large increase in the number of undergraduates studying abroad and foreigners attending the University, he said.