After eight years as New Jersey’s governor, Phil Murphy left Nassau Hall on Saturday after his final Board of Trustees meeting.
Murphy enjoyed a close relationship with the University, having helped steward the development of two strategic innovation centers: the New Jersey HAX Plasma Forge in collaboration with the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) and the AI Hub, which opened earlier this year.
In an interview with The Daily Princetonian following the meeting, Murphy discussed Princeton’s partnerships with the state, unpacked the University’s response to the Trump administration, and looked back on his eight-year relationship with President Christopher Eisgruber ’83.
Murphy commended the Board of Trustees' approach to handling threats made amidst the Trump administration’s attacks on higher education, although he declined to comment specifically on the board’s discussions. In early April, Princeton was notified that multiple federal agencies had suspended several dozen research grants totaling around $210 million. The University responded by launching its “Stand Up” campaign in May.
“I have nothing but respect for the way they’ve had to balance a lot of different interests and challenges,” Murphy said.
Murphy specifically expressed “enormous regard” for Eisgruber’s leadership.
“It’s safe to say that [Eisgruber’s] not only the dean of the Ivy League presidents, but I would argue he’s the dean of American university presidents, particularly in what has been a very tumultuous, volatile time,” Murphy, who graduated from Harvard in 1979, said.
Murphy added that he learned from Eisgruber’s leadership.
“It can be quite hard knowing when to stand up and fight and trying to find ways at the same time to find common ground with conflicting interests,” Murphy said. “Watching him in action, watching his team in action... has been very instructive for us as we try to go through a similar balancing of interest.”
Beyond the personal relationship Murphy has cultivated with Eisgruber, Princeton has collaborated with the state on several professional fronts. The School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA) recently launched “SPIA in NJ,” a partnership with the state Office of the Public Defender and the ACLU of New Jersey to assist state prison inmates seeking clemency. Fifty Princeton students volunteered for the initiative, helping 32 individuals file clemency petitions. Earlier this month, Murphy held a press conference at Whig Hall announcing 48 pardons and commutations.
Addressing the AI Hub, Murphy described “an enormous amount of excitement,” highlighting the collaboration among Princeton, the NJEDA, Microsoft, CoreWeave, and other partners. He emphasized the project’s focus on ethics and regulation and its economic development potential, in other words, startup potential.
The hub was recently chosen to incorporate a new AI model called Microsoft Discovery, which will provide more powerful AI technology for selected researchers.
The AI Hub is one of 10 Strategic Innovation Centers funded by the NJEDA, part of a broader effort to spur industry growth in the state by providing support to early-stage companies.
The Plasma Forge, another Strategic Innovation Center announced earlier this year, will foster plasma research in low-temperature environments in partnership with venture capital firm Sean O’Sullivan Ventures (SOSV) — the namesake of which is a Princeton resident.
Looking forward, Murphy expressed his faith in his successor, Mikie Sherrill, who was elected earlier this month. He shared that he had made an announcement earlier in the day to the Board of Trustees about Sherrill elevating the state's relationship with the University to "even greater heights."
“She’s terrific, and I’m thrilled that she won the election,” Murphy said. "Princeton is the number one private university in America, if not the world. And if you're the governor of New Jersey, I think you should be doing everything you can to deepen that relationship. That's what I've been doing. I'm certain that's what Mikie will do.”
Sherrill and her running mate, Dale Caldwell ’82, will assume office on Jan. 20. The first Board of Trustees meeting of Sherrill’s term is set for Jan. 31.
Luke Grippo is an assistant News editor for the ‘Prince.’ He is from South Jersey, and typically covers University and town politics, on a national, regional, and local scale. He can be reached at lg5452[at]princeton.edu.
Sena Chang is a senior News writer and Features contributor for the ‘Prince.’ She typically covers town topics and campus unions. She can be reached at sc3046[at]princeton.edu.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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