Bard College Joins Letter Opposing U.S. Department of Education Investigation of Princeton Based on the University’s Acknowledgment of Systemic Racism
Photo: Princeton University / Denise Applewhite
Bard College President Leon Botstein joined a group of university and college presidents Thursday in signing a letter opposing the U.S. Department of Education’s (DOE) investigation of Princeton University launched in response to Princeton’s public statement outlining steps the university will take “to address systemic racism at Princeton and beyond.” Calling Princeton University President Christopher Eisgruber’s statement “admitted racism,” the Trump administration announced this week that it was investigating whether Princeton, by acknowledging the need to combat systemic racism, has admitted to violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Bard and the drafters and signatories of the letter call for the DOE to drop this cynical reaction to a valid and necessary recognition of historical and systemic racism in higher education.
Presidents’ Letter Regarding DOE's Princeton Investigation
Wesleyan University’s president, Michael Roth, and Amherst College’s president, Biddy Martin, have written the following statement regarding the DOE’s investigation of Princeton surrounding racism and adherence to federal nondiscrimination law:
Across the nation, individuals, families, communities, businesses, corporations, and educational institutions are coming to grips with the country’s legacies of slavery and racial oppression, which stretch back over four hundred years. Recently, the U.S. Department of Education Office of Postsecondary Education announced that it would be investigating Princeton University for possible misrepresentations in its reports of adherence to federal nondiscrimination law because its president publicly recognized that historic racism has been embedded in the institution over time.
It is outrageous that the Department of Education is using our country’s resources to investigate an institution that is committed to becoming more inclusive by reckoning with the impact in the present of our shared legacies of racism.
As presidents of colleges and universities, we, too, acknowledge the ways that racism has affected and continues to affect the country’s institutions, including our own. We stand together in recognizing the work we still need to do if we are ever “to perfect the union,” and we urge the Department of Education to abandon its ill-considered investigation of Princeton University.
Michael Roth, President, Wesleyan University
Biddy Martin, President, Amherst College"
Jeff Abernathy, Alma College
Barbara K. Altmann, Franklin & Marshall College
Carmen Twillie Ambar, Oberlin College
Teresa L. Amott, Knox College
David R. Anderson, St. Olaf College
Lawrence Bacow, Harvard University
Bradley W. Bateman, Randolph College
Joanne Berger-Sweeney, Trinity College
Scott Bierman, Beloit College
Lee C. Bollinger, Columbia University
Leon Botstein, Bard College
Elizabeth H. Bradley, Vassar College
John Bravman, Bucknell University
Mark Burstein, Lawrence University
Alison Byerly, Lafayette College
Michael T. Cahill, Brooklyn Law School
Roger Casey, McDaniel College
Kimberly Cassidy, Bryn Mawr College
Shirley M. Collado, Ithaca College
Marc C. Conner, Skidmore College
Elizabeth Davis, Furman University
Sean M. Decatur, Kenyon College
Kent Devereaux, Goucher College
Harry J. Elam Jr., Occidental College
Margee Ensign, Dickinson College
Damián J. Fernández, Eckerd College
Jacquelyn S. Fetrow, Albright College
William L. Fox, St. Lawrence University
Michael L. Frandsen, Wittenberg University
Jorge G. Gonzalez, Kalamazoo College
Jonathan D. Green, Susquehanna University
Amy Gutmann, University of Pennsylvania
Philip J. Hanlon, Dartmouth College
Kathleen Harring, Muhlenberg College
David Harris, Union College
Marjorie Hass, Rhodes College
Jonathan Holloway, Rutgers University
Joyce Jacobsen, Hobart & William Smith Colleges
Paula Johnson, Wellesley College
Rock Jones, Ohio Wesleyan University
Cristle Collins Judd, Sarah Lawrence College
Thomas Katsouleas, University of Connecticut
Water Kimbrough, Dillard University
Maria Klawe, Harvey Mudd College
John C. Knapp, Washington & Jefferson College
Hilary L. Link, Allegheny College
Maud S. Mandel, Williams College
Biddy Martin, Amherst College
Michael C. Maxey, Roanoke College
Kathleen McCartney, Smith College
Patricia A. McGuire, Trinity Washington University
Anthony Monaco, Tufts University
Kathleen Murray, Whitman College
S. Georgia Nugent, Illinois Wesleyan University
Melvin L. Oliver, Pitzer College
Lynn Pasquerella, Association of American Colleges & Universities
Laurie L. Patton, Middlebury College
Martha E. Pollack, Cornell University
Vincent Price, Duke University
Wendy Raymond, Haverford College
Ravi S. Rajan, California Institute of the Arts (CalArts)
L. Rafael Reif, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Suzanne Rivera, Macalester College
Clayton Rose, Bowdoin College
Michael S. Roth, Wesleyan University
Peter Salovey, Yale University
Ruth J. Simmons, Prairie View A&M University
Valerie Smith, Swarthmore College
Clayton Spencer, Bates College
G. Gabrielle Starr, Pomona College
Tania Tetlow, Loyola University New Orleans
Lara Tiedens, Scripps College
Stephen E. Thorsett, Willamette University
Laura Trombley, Southwestern University
Laura R. Walker, Bennington College
Jianping Wang, Mercer County Community College
Wim Wiewel, Lewis & Clark College
David Wippman, Hamilton College
(9/24/20)
Post Date: 09-24-2020
Presidents’ Letter Regarding DOE's Princeton Investigation
Wesleyan University’s president, Michael Roth, and Amherst College’s president, Biddy Martin, have written the following statement regarding the DOE’s investigation of Princeton surrounding racism and adherence to federal nondiscrimination law:
Across the nation, individuals, families, communities, businesses, corporations, and educational institutions are coming to grips with the country’s legacies of slavery and racial oppression, which stretch back over four hundred years. Recently, the U.S. Department of Education Office of Postsecondary Education announced that it would be investigating Princeton University for possible misrepresentations in its reports of adherence to federal nondiscrimination law because its president publicly recognized that historic racism has been embedded in the institution over time.
It is outrageous that the Department of Education is using our country’s resources to investigate an institution that is committed to becoming more inclusive by reckoning with the impact in the present of our shared legacies of racism.
As presidents of colleges and universities, we, too, acknowledge the ways that racism has affected and continues to affect the country’s institutions, including our own. We stand together in recognizing the work we still need to do if we are ever “to perfect the union,” and we urge the Department of Education to abandon its ill-considered investigation of Princeton University.
Michael Roth, President, Wesleyan University
Biddy Martin, President, Amherst College"
Jeff Abernathy, Alma College
Barbara K. Altmann, Franklin & Marshall College
Carmen Twillie Ambar, Oberlin College
Teresa L. Amott, Knox College
David R. Anderson, St. Olaf College
Lawrence Bacow, Harvard University
Bradley W. Bateman, Randolph College
Joanne Berger-Sweeney, Trinity College
Scott Bierman, Beloit College
Lee C. Bollinger, Columbia University
Leon Botstein, Bard College
Elizabeth H. Bradley, Vassar College
John Bravman, Bucknell University
Mark Burstein, Lawrence University
Alison Byerly, Lafayette College
Michael T. Cahill, Brooklyn Law School
Roger Casey, McDaniel College
Kimberly Cassidy, Bryn Mawr College
Shirley M. Collado, Ithaca College
Marc C. Conner, Skidmore College
Elizabeth Davis, Furman University
Sean M. Decatur, Kenyon College
Kent Devereaux, Goucher College
Harry J. Elam Jr., Occidental College
Margee Ensign, Dickinson College
Damián J. Fernández, Eckerd College
Jacquelyn S. Fetrow, Albright College
William L. Fox, St. Lawrence University
Michael L. Frandsen, Wittenberg University
Jorge G. Gonzalez, Kalamazoo College
Jonathan D. Green, Susquehanna University
Amy Gutmann, University of Pennsylvania
Philip J. Hanlon, Dartmouth College
Kathleen Harring, Muhlenberg College
David Harris, Union College
Marjorie Hass, Rhodes College
Jonathan Holloway, Rutgers University
Joyce Jacobsen, Hobart & William Smith Colleges
Paula Johnson, Wellesley College
Rock Jones, Ohio Wesleyan University
Cristle Collins Judd, Sarah Lawrence College
Thomas Katsouleas, University of Connecticut
Water Kimbrough, Dillard University
Maria Klawe, Harvey Mudd College
John C. Knapp, Washington & Jefferson College
Hilary L. Link, Allegheny College
Maud S. Mandel, Williams College
Biddy Martin, Amherst College
Michael C. Maxey, Roanoke College
Kathleen McCartney, Smith College
Patricia A. McGuire, Trinity Washington University
Anthony Monaco, Tufts University
Kathleen Murray, Whitman College
S. Georgia Nugent, Illinois Wesleyan University
Melvin L. Oliver, Pitzer College
Lynn Pasquerella, Association of American Colleges & Universities
Laurie L. Patton, Middlebury College
Martha E. Pollack, Cornell University
Vincent Price, Duke University
Wendy Raymond, Haverford College
Ravi S. Rajan, California Institute of the Arts (CalArts)
L. Rafael Reif, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Suzanne Rivera, Macalester College
Clayton Rose, Bowdoin College
Michael S. Roth, Wesleyan University
Peter Salovey, Yale University
Ruth J. Simmons, Prairie View A&M University
Valerie Smith, Swarthmore College
Clayton Spencer, Bates College
G. Gabrielle Starr, Pomona College
Tania Tetlow, Loyola University New Orleans
Lara Tiedens, Scripps College
Stephen E. Thorsett, Willamette University
Laura Trombley, Southwestern University
Laura R. Walker, Bennington College
Jianping Wang, Mercer County Community College
Wim Wiewel, Lewis & Clark College
David Wippman, Hamilton College
(9/24/20)
Post Date: 09-24-2020