New recipients of endowed professorships reflect on the importance of research amid higher education uncertainty

This June, the University announced that eleven professors were being named to endowed professorships, recognizing them for excellence in research and teaching.

At least once a year, the University names full professors to endowed professorships. Nine of the 11 recently-named endowed professors at Princeton spoke or provided statements to the ‘Prince,’ with all pointing to their appointment as the University’s way of saying that their research still matters.

“Faculty with endowed professorships represent the upper echelon of scholarly and teaching excellence and of administrative service among the full professors at the University,” University spokesperson Jennifer Morrill told The Daily Princetonian in a statement. 

An endowed professorship is typically named after a person or body which provides a large donation to the University. Most endowed professorships are held until the faculty member holding it leaves, retires, dies, or is appointed to another endowed professorship, at which point it may be assigned to another professor. 

Many of these professors interpreted the endowed professorships as a symbol of the University’s commitment to higher education research at a time when universities across the country have come under attack by the Trump administration. Over the past year and a half, the administration has issued mass terminations — including at Princeton — of grants which supported research in both the sciences and the humanities. Lawsuits have reversed some of these terminations. However, relationships between many top research universities and the federal administration remain volatile, especially as Princeton and peer institutions back a Harvard lawsuit against the Trump administration. 

“It’s not new that the humanities have been under siege. It’s just worse now, and ... government policies are affecting us in very negative ways,” Christina Lee GS ’99, the new Edwards S. Sanford Professor of Spanish and Portuguese and chair of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, said in an interview with the ‘Prince.’ “The reason why we’re at Princeton is because we know we’re in a very special place where we receive a lot of support to continue with our work, and I think that’s why you have so much innovation coming out in the humanities at Princeton.” 

Ritter Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Sigrid Adriaenssens said that her research and what she’s teaching her students through the Keller Center for Innovation in Engineering Education have concrete impacts on society.  She focuses on finding more efficient ways of constructing buildings, especially in potentially hostile environments such as areas prone to earthquakes and storm surges. Adriaenssens directs the Keller Center and the Program in Technology and Society, as well as the Program in Entrepreneurship. 

“What is very important is to show how our research matters for society. One of the challenges is that researchers are sometimes perceived as people working in ivory towers,” Adriaenssens said. “Showing how our research, when it is applied in the world and when we work with communities, how it can really change the lives of people — I think that is more important than ever … and I think that’s what these endowed professorships do.” 

To Sun-Yung Alice Chang, the Eugene Higgins Professor of Mathematics, these endowments support “fundamental research” that sets the foundation for all future advancement and development in the sciences. 

“Eventually it’s this fundamental research which will come toward the future development of the whole science … despite the federal ups and downs, the political changes of direction of research,” Chang said.

While endowed professorships do not come with a salary increase, multiple professors spoke of the benefits of the new title, citing the boost to their reputations and increased time off for personal work, which varies by department. 

For Lee, she hopes to put the title to good use when writing students’ recommendation letters. 

“I’m happy that when I write recommendation letters, for example, I can write that title,” Lee said.

Lee added that reaching this level of achievement has been driven by not only her love for teaching, but also her desire to “to make Princeton better.” “You are part of this community that’s trying to produce knowledge for the betterment of the nation, the world.” 

For Adriaenssens, her appointment is an avenue for advocating for the newly-restructured Keller Center, which is set to open its doors in a new building on Prospect Street early this September. The Keller Center underwent a restructuring earlier this year that led to the layoff of multiple employees. It houses three minor programs — the Entrepreneurship, Technology and Society, and Design minors —as well as multiple workshops and clinics for those interested in entrepreneurship. 

And for Chang, the new endowed professorship gives her a chance for some time off in the spring, when she does not have teaching duties as per the departmental rules regarding her endowed professorship This time off will enable her to research more about how AI affects her discipline. 

Most of the professors, however, spoke to the fact that the appointment recognizes their research and is a prestigious academic honor. 

“I feel deeply honored by the recognition, which reflects both achievement and potential, and I plan to use it as added motivation to continue to push myself and grow,” Corina Tarnita, the Frederick D. Petrie Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, said in a statement to the ‘Prince’ provided by a University spokesperson. 

For some, the endowed professorship is also about stepping into the roles held by the professors before them. 

“It is a tremendous honor, particularly because this professorship has previously been held by distinguished scholars such as Ignacio Rodríguez-Iturbe and Mike Celia, whose contributions have had a profound influence on hydrology, environmental science, and engineering,” Gabriele Villarini, the Theodora Shelton Pitney Professor of Environmental Studies, told the ‘Prince’ in a statement. “To follow in their footsteps is both humbling and inspiring.” 

“This professorship is honoring that spirit, that generosity of Sanford” — the Class of 1905 alumnus who is the namesake of her endowed title — “towards the humanities, and I have to say that I’m just so fortunate to be at Princeton because we continue to be supported,” Lee said. 

Luke Grippo is a head News editor for the ‘Prince.’ He is from South Jersey, and typically covers the state of higher education, University affairs, and state politics. He can be reached at luke.grippo[at]dailyprincetonian.com.

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