Oxford, Princeton announce collaboration

Oxford and Princeton universities Tuesday announced a major collaboration that will create new research partnerships, increase faculty and student exchanges, and provide opportunities to share resources required for cutting-edge, scientific ventures.

The initiative builds on longstanding relationships between two universities renowned for leadership in research across the academic disciplines and for excellence in undergraduate education.

Research partnerships will be initiated in the humanities and social sciences, as well as in the natural sciences and engineering, where the need for specialized equipment is especially acute.

In addition to identifying and encouraging specific research partnerships, the universities are planning to establish a significant exchange of students, including undergraduates. The universities will make special efforts to include in this exchange students in the sciences, mathematics and engineering -- areas in which study abroad generally has been more difficult to arrange.

"Research and learning increasingly are global endeavors, involving collaboration among faculty members and students from around the world," said Princeton University President Harold T. Shapiro. "This new program will create important new opportunities and synergies by drawing on the complementary strengths and perspectives of faculty and students at two of the world's leading universities."

Oxford University Vice Chancellor Colin Lucas said, "Our two universities are remarkably similar in goals and strengths, with shared traditions and priorities and many existing connections. We are confident that this agreement will help make both institutions even stronger."

The collaboration was approved by the trustees of Princeton University on April 21, and by the Council of the University of Oxford on April 23.

Leaders of the two universities noted that academic research today often requires access to costly or specialized equipment and facilities, and benefits from collaboration within and across disciplines.

Twelve collaborative research projects provisionally have been identified, in fields spanning nanotechnology, astrophysics, genomics, and stone and art preservation. Participating researchers will include some of the most senior scholars on both sides of the Atlantic.

University leaders believe the initiative will enhance research by bringing together scholars with different perspectives and approaches, and improve teaching by increasing interaction among undergraduate and graduate students from different cultures. The collaboration also will help maximize resources at both universities by defraying costs of shared facilities and opening access to additional sources of funding, including international foundations, multi-national corporations, American and British government and, possibly, European Union sources.

To read the full news release and view the provisional list of research projects, click here .

Contact: Marilyn Marks (609) 258-3601