Private Response from Dean Anne-Marie Slaughter to the October Letter

Princeton, Wednesday, October 12th, 2005

Thank you for copying me on this letter. I appreciate your concerns about an active dialogue at Princeton on both sides of the political aisle. Indeed, we at the Wilson School worked very hard to get a speaker on Saturday who would present a different view of American foreign policy, first with Senator Biden and then with Senator Hart. Unfortunately, Senator Hart was able to inform us that he could not come only ten days before the event. Secretary Rice took questions for an hour with a smaller group of Princeton students, then also insisted on an unstaged Q and A session after her talk, when any Princeton student could ask her about any aspect of the Administration's policy. The protests outside also reflected a welcome political engagement on this campus.

The Wilson School has secured confirmation from Madeleine Albright to come to campus for the Colloquium on Public and International Affairs in April; Senator Biden will also come later this year and we have extended repeated invitations to Senator Clinton. I encourage everyone on campus to come to as many 75th Anniversary events as possible, which will explore not only important contemporary political issues, both international and domestic, but also the importance of public service, particularly government service.

In that regard, one of the themes that we will be exploring is why many of our alumni have chosen to go into government service, even when they disagreed strongly with many of the policies of the administration in power. As I tried to indicate in my endorsement of Secretary Rice, her commitment to public service, and her extraordinary personal journey, are to be honored at a University that commits itself "to the nation's service and the service of all nations."

Engagement, rather than polarization, and dialogue, rather than preaching to the converted, are badly needed in this country. I hope that Princeton can help lead the way.

Please feel free to circulate this letter.

Sincerely,

Anne-Marie Slaughter

This letter was privately sent, on October 12, 2005, to the authors of the letter sent to President Tilghman and Dean Slaughter the previous day.