2024: 5 times university presidents stood up for American values

While many university presidents have faced severe criticism for their mishandling of academic freedom issues, campus protests, or anti-Semitism, others have bucked this trend. Here are five examples of higher education leaders who stood up for American values in 2024.

1. Harvard interim president rededicates university to ‘free inquiry and expression’ after Gay’s resignation

Harvard University Interim President Alan Garber rededicated the school to “free inquiry and expression” following the resignation of Claudine Gay.

Garber made the comments in a letter to the Cambridge, Massachusetts campus community on Jan. 8 titled “Our Work Together.”

2. ’DIFFERENT KIND OF IVY’: Dartmouth president praised for largely avoiding anti-Semitic chaos and controversy

Dartmouth College president Sian Leah Beilock has received media attention recently due to the school’s relative lack of controversy regarding anti-Semitism, in comparison with other Ivy League institutions. 

Though Dartmouth experienced some anti-Israel protesting, it did not match the intensity of events at other Ivy League schools, and Beilock never faced serious threats to her tenure as president, the Intelligencer noted in an Oct. 6 article. 

3. ’The university’s purpose is not political action or social justice,’ new Stanford prez declares

Stanford’s new president, Jonathan Levin, gave an inaugural speech in which he stated that “the university’s purpose is not political action or social justice.”

In his speech delivered Friday, Levin said that Stanford’s “North Star” is “our fundamental purpose of discovery and learning.” He said that the school exists to “create and share knowledge, and to prepare students to be curious, to think critically, to flourish, and to contribute to the world.”

4. U of Rochester president condemns ‘Wanted’ posters targeting Jewish and pro-Israel faculty

Hundreds of “Wanted” posters featuring pro-Israel University of Rochester faculty members were found on campus on Sunday night.

The posters reportedly attacked various staff members for their response to anti-Israel campus protests after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, as well as their alleged ties to the Jewish state, as first reported by the Rochester Beacon.

5. Mizzou president doubles down on barring SJP from homecoming parade, rejects latest demand letter

University of Missouri President Mun Choi has reaffirmed his decision to deny Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) from participating in the school’s homecoming parade out of safety concerns.

In October, Choi announced his decision to disallow the student group from participating in the parade due to safety concerns from events involving other SJP chapters around the nation. He specifically referred to “significant disturbances” that resulted from SJP groups elsewhere.