The President's Page - March
8, 2000
Recommendations of the Wythes Committee: Charting a
Course for the Future
In January, the Trustees received a report from a special committee, chaired by Charter Trustee Paul M. Wythes '55, that was appointed in the fall of 1997 to consider a number of long-term strategic issues facing Princeton over the coming decade. The committee focused on issues related to the size of the undergraduate student body, the strength of the undergraduate financial aid program, the size of the Graduate School, the size and composition of the faculty and of the administrative and support staffs, the management and long-term well-being of the University's physical and financial resources, the implications of new computing and telecommunication technologies for our teaching programs, and the continuing vitality of the Library.
As the committee points out, the history of higher education vividly demonstrates that if an institution does not evolve with changing times, it cannot maintain either its distinction or its social relevance. While retaining its historic emphasis on excellence in undergraduate education, Princeton also needs to continue to expand into new intellectual fields, develop new courses of study, remain accessible to a broad range of students from all economic backgrounds, and reach out in new ways to alumni and others in part through the use of exciting new technologies. The report's recommendations provide us with an excellent blueprint to achieve these goals and would bring new strength and vitality to Princeton, increase its capacity to achieve its fundamental objectives, and prepare it for the challenges of the new century.
The Trustees are planning to consider the report's recommendations at their April meeting. In the meantime, they have requested that we discuss the report and its recommendations with members of the broader University community, and we will meet in the coming weeks with members of the undergraduate and graduate student governments, the chairs of academic departments and programs, and University committees such as the Council of the Princeton University Community. The report also will be discussed at an upcoming meeting of the faculty, and we have also scheduled conversations with members of the Alumni Council Executive Committee and the Association of Princeton Graduate Alumni. The report is available on the Web at www.princeton.edu/pr/reports/wythes/ or through the Secretary's office in 1 Nassau Hall.
One of the report's most important recommendations is that Princeton's faculty should continue to grow at a rate of roughly 1 percent per year, and that the dean of the faculty should oversee this growth in a way that assures an appropriate balance between senior and junior ranks and allocates positions among academic fields in ways that best meet changing teaching and research needs. This will allow Princeton to continue to move into important new fields and develop important new programs (as it has in recent years in such fields as molecular biology, finance, and the creative and performing arts), while also sustaining and strengthening such core elements of the Princeton undergraduate program as the senior thesis, independent study, and instruction in small groups. It also will allow for selective increases in faculty positions in certain areas where pressure on teaching and advising is greatest.
In recommending a 10 percent increase in the size of the undergraduate student body, the committee expects that by the time that increase is fully implemented (following construction of new dormitory space and an additional residential college),
the student-faculty ratio will be about the same as it is now and the University's teaching programs will have been strengthened, not only through addition of faculty in key areas, but through other teaching initiatives already under way or proposed in the report. In short, the Wythes Committee has concluded that Princeton can enrich the overall educational experience of all its students by modestly increasing the number of undergraduates it educates and that it can achieve important educational benefits by expanding the range of talents, perspectives, and academic and non-academic interests in each class. The committee also concluded that, because of the enormous strength of Princeton's applicant pool and the significant growth in Princeton's resources over recent years, the University is in an excellent position to take this step at this time. In addition, by providing its distinctive educational experience to a somewhat larger number of students, Princeton has the capacity to make an even greater contribution to the society it serves.
The Trustees take very seriously their obligation both to exercise responsible stewardship of the University's exceptional resources and to use these resources to optimize Princeton's contributions to higher education, to the world of scholarship, and to society in ways that are consistent with its mission. At the end of its report, the Wythes Committee says, ". . . we believe that Princeton . . . should enhance its financial aid programs for both undergraduate and graduate students; that it should take further steps to strengthen the faculty; that it should extend its educational and scholarly reach, both on campus and off, through enhanced technologies; and that it should take a number of other steps that, individually and collectively, will enable Princeton to serve even better its students and alumni, the nation and the world."
I believe the Wythes Committee has charted a wise and thoughtful course for Princeton, and I encourage alumni to share their own thoughts with us.
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