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A concise and forceful defense of higher education for anyone seeking a principled response to the political battles over universities today.
Why have America’s universities become such fierce political battlegrounds—and what is really at stake in the fight? As a leading voice against recent attacks on higher education, Princeton University President Christopher L. Eisgruber offers an incisive and emphatic defense of the nation’s most vital institutions. At the heart of the modern university’s success, he argues, is academic freedom: the right to ask difficult questions and challenge accepted ideas. Universities often attract controversy not because they have lost their way but because they are fulfilling a mission that is fundamentally provocative.
Eisgruber explains why universities have become increasingly vulnerable to partisan attack and what must be done to protect them. His answer is not retreat but renewed commitment to the principles that make universities invaluable. Clear-eyed, compelling, and sharply attuned to current debates surrounding higher education, On Academic Freedom makes a vigorous case for why universities matter today—and why defending their independence is crucial to the future of our democracy.
Christopher L. Eisgruber is President of Princeton University and author of Terms of Respect: How Colleges Get Free Speech Right. Eisgruber has emerged as a prominent national voice in defense of higher education, with coverage in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Boston Globe, and more.
“This is a terrific, powerful, and beautifully written book about the current assault on American universities and how to defend them. Although short, it packs a multitude of insights and ideas into its pages.”—Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean, UC Berkeley Law
“A clear, compelling collection of lectures from the president of one of America’s finest research universities. Christopher Eisgruber has responded in real time to the challenges facing higher education, including not just rising costs and income inequality but also a newly hostile federal government. Anyone who cares about our nation’s progress should read this book.”—Catharine Bond Hill, Senior Advisor, Ithaka S+R and President Emerita, Vassar College