On the heels of a University board of trustees meeting last November, Princeton may shift its academic focus toward a better understanding of international issues, and the pursuit and appointments of internationally renowned professors may be part of that effort.
President Tilghman said in an e-mail that the trustees want students to embrace a more "global perspective" in their studies.
This change in policy may be a response to academics' criticism that the University and, in particular, the Wilson School have lost much prestige and prominence in international studies.
"There has been a feeling that the Woodrow Wilson School over a period of years has somewhat drifted away from its strength in international affairs," said Wilson School professor Stanley Katz.
Contributing to the decision to appoint Anne Marie Slaughter as dean of the Wilson School was Slaughter's expertise in international affairs, Tilghman said.
New faculty appointments in the Wilson School and pursuit of international scholars may indicate a shifting in focus toward the study of international relations.
Thomas Christensen, currently a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, recently accepted a joint position in the politics department and Wilson School.
"He is a great hire for the [Wilson] School as both a China expert and an important voice in national security studies," Slaughter said in an e-mail.
Slaughter also said in her e-mail that Georgetown University professor John Ikenberry and Columbia University professor Helen Milner have visited the University "for talks" about possibly joining the faculty.
Tilghman has also appointed a task force headed by professor Sheldon Garon of the history department to review how the University might best address international issues.
"I believe President Tilghman is very committed to [expanding the international forum] and I think it's of great interest to many of us on the faculty who care about international issues" Katz said.
But, Katz said, the endeavor might not be as simple as recruiting faculty and reallocating resources. Part of the problem lies in the structure of the academic experience at the University, Katz said.
"[The switch to an international focus] is not as easy as it sounds in that one of the things that needs to happen is the University needs to open itself across the disciplines to [these international issues]," Katz said.
Katz also said he believes the shift away from international studies at the Wilson School has been indicative of greater trends in the social sciences, in which scholarship has been more theoretical and less internationally oriented in recent years.
Slaughter said via e-mail that the University's current litigation with the Robertson Foundation — in which the Robertson family has alleged misuse of its donation to the Wilson School — has not spurred her decision to rebuild the Wilson School.
This weekend, the Wilson School held a major colloquium on morality in international affairs.
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