Harold Shapiro reflects on career

Harold Shapiro GS '64, former University president and author of the new book, "A Larger Sense of Purpose," talks with The Daily Princetonian's Sophia Dwosh about the future of academia, being a twin and life after the presidency.

The Daily Princetonian:

You have stressed that universities have a responsibility to both serve and critique American society. Do you think Peter Lewis ['55's] recent pledge of $101 million to support the creative and performing arts both on campus and in the surrounding community will advance Princeton's duty to each of these responsibilities?

Harold Shapiro:

Oh, I definitely think it will. I think it's one of the most exciting things that's happened at Princeton in recent years. And the creative and performing arts themselves are both a reflection of society, a commentary on society and, in my view, at their best an encouragement to think of how we can really build a better world. And so I think it's an enormously important initiative. I wish I had done it, but I didn't.

DP:

In addition to your academic endeavors, you have been very active in serving the public through positions on panels and committees. Do you think academics, as well as the universities they are associated with, have a duty to advance civil society?

HS:

I certainly think they have a very important role to play and I tried to do my part in that respect over many, many years. Universities, after all, are supported by the society of which they are a part and therefore, I think they have some obligation when asked or called upon to try to help in some productive way to advance important civil causes. They have an inherent responsibility, regardless of whether they're asked, to promote new ideas and to [urge] society to think a little differently, to think of how the status quo can be changed in a positive way and to always be a little uncomfortable with the current situation. You know, when President Tilghman asked me if I had any advice for her when she became president, I said, "I have only one comment: every thing we do could be done better." And so I think I'm a big fan of sort of always being uneasy with existing arrangements, and I think university faculty have responsibility in their areas of expertise to keep pushing us.

DP:

What are your views on the relationship between intellectuals and war? Do academics have special responsibilities to serve and critique society in times of war?

HS:

I don't think that the responsibilities change because a nation, from time to time, is at war. All wars raise very complex, difficult and often very subtle issues but that doesn't change anything in the sense of our ongoing responsibility both as academics and as citizens to always be evaluating what we're doing and doing what we can to make it better. We have obligations as citizens, those we share with every other citizen. We don't have any kind of special prerogatives that put us outside the system in that sense, but we also have responsibilities as intellectuals and scholars to pursue our work and to pursue our concerns.

DP:

You have served as president of both Princeton as well as the University of Michigan. Do you have any plans to take a leadership position at another institution of higher education?

HS:

No, I don't (laughs). No plans. I've done enough. And maybe people will say I've done too much. But I've done enough and there's a lot of ... you know the younger generation is always a little bit smarter and better. I've had my chance. Now it's their chance.

DP:

Your twin brother is also a very accomplished academic and public figure noted for his work including having served as the former Principal and Vice-Chancellor of McGill University and the first Ethics Commissioner of Canada. Is there any competition between you two?

HS:

Well, you know, since we're twins, people have been asking us this question forever. I don't really, in my own sense, sense any competition. When we were very young, we had very different interest, different friends, and while we shared a bedroom in our house, you know we really didn't pursue the same kind of interests at all. As we grew older, our interests got more alike.

DP:

In your new book "A Larger Sense of Purpose," you note that universities are on the brink of a major transformation. What is this transformation and how is it happening? Why is it needed?

HS:

With the so-called information revolution, it would be preposterous to think that would have no impact on a university whose central activities, whether in education or scholarship, circle around the world of information. And so, it's already been changed in many, many ways. But I don't foresee a transformation that, so to speak, we would all hang out on the Internet and we'd never accumulate in one geographic space and interact with each other on a wide range of social dimensions. I think that the university as a geographic center, bringing people together to live together and study together and to do other things together is something which cyberspace will not replace. But the nature of what you do in this geographic center will be changed. There're a lot of very good things that you can learn on your own, there's just no question about it. But there are some things that are very much harder to do on your own and some things that still require person-to-person interaction. After all, students, in my view, learn as much from each other as they do any other way, and if they were sitting at home, that would be very much less of a benefit.

DP:

Unlike some other university presidents who leave the schools when their tenure is up, you're still here as a professor. Do you ever advise President Tilghman? And if so, what kinds of advice do you give?

HS:

If President Tilghman calls me to ask me something, I do my best to answer, but President Tilghman doesn't need my advice. She's more than capable of doing everything she has to do. And I'm an enormous admirer of hers. I think she's doing a great job here. And one of the things that's very satisfying is when you leave a place as president and you are succeeded by someone you have great admiration for.

DP:

Princeton's unofficial motto is "In the Nation's Service and the Service of all Nations." Is that still a relevant motto in the 21st century? How well do you think Princeton is instilling that sense of service in its students?

HS:

Well I think it's still a good model. As you know that motto was expanded on the occasion of our 250/215th? anniversary, expanded to "in the nation's service and the service of all nations" to reflect the fact that we are all very much interconnected, with people and institutions all around the world. Yet at the same time our own nation is very important to us, and more important than any single other nation — but I think that, that motto still works and is trying to reflect the fact that we have ethical responsibilities that are entirely new. And to say nothing of economic and other interconnections that we have.