President Christopher L. Eisgruber welcomed incoming undergraduate and graduate students to Princeton’s “community of scholars” during Opening Exercises on Sunday, Aug. 31, and introduced them to the “commitments that define academic life” on campus and across America’s research universities.
“Scholarly standards, respectful disagreement, personal integrity: these qualities, among others, help to define the community that you now join,” Eisgruber said to Class of 2029 members and incoming transfer students seated on the lawn in front of Nassau Hall.
President Christopher L. Eisgruber welcomes new undergraduate and graduate students to Princeton's community of scholars.
“We want you to participate in the research activity and scholarly ethos of the University because doing so will equip you with the skills, knowledge and character required to distinguish fact from fiction, knowledge from opinion and science from pseudoscience,” he added.
Opening Exercises is part of Orientation programming introducing students to academic, co-curricular and extracurricular life at Princeton. Classes begin Tuesday, Sept. 2.
The ceremony — an annual tradition that dates to at least 1802 — also included readings from various faith traditions and the awarding of undergraduate academic prizes. In presenting the awards, Dean of the College Michael D. Gordin recognized the students for their intellectual curiosity, wide-ranging interests and academic accomplishments.
During his remarks, Eisgruber called Opening Exercises one of his favorite days.
“It’s our New Year’s Day, a moment when Princeton starts fresh,” Eisgruber said, as he welcomed those who “join the ranks of students who have left their marks on the Princeton campus — and the world — for generations through their intellect, creativity and passion.”
Eisgruber said the ceremony also provided an opportunity to reflect on the “larger purposes that should guide our community as we begin another year.”
The Class of 2029 is Princeton's newest undergraduate class.
Eisgruber said the University is committed to measuring student and faculty scholarship strictly by standards of academic excellence.
“Universities must be independent sources of data, theory and argument,” he said. “Faculty members and students should have the incentive, the responsibility, and the freedom to pursue scholarly excellence even when the arguments they generate might anger or displease powerful people.
“That independence gives universities a unique and essential role within a free and democratic republic,” he continued. “It also guarantees that they will be controversial.”
Eisgruber noted that scholarly communities like Princeton “treat respectful disagreement as desirable and beneficial.” His forthcoming book, “Terms of Respect: How Colleges Get Free Speech Right,” centers on this idea.
“When people ask hard but fair questions about our ideas, we should regard their inquiry as a compliment: it means they are taking our thoughts seriously enough to care whether they are correct,” Eisgruber told the students, later adding, “There is value and honor in being wrong. Being wrong is an indispensable part of improvement, learning and discovery.”
“Let me mention one other principle that is fundamental to this and other scholarly communities,” Eisgruber continued. “That is a commitment to honesty. At Princeton, the undergraduate honor code is one especially visible manifestation of this important commitment.”
Honesty has “a special connection to scholarship and education,” Eisgruber said. “A dedication to truth requires, among other things, truthfulness about the sources for our ideas and claims.
“We must own up to our ideas, including our mistakes, if we wish to learn from our errors and benefit from criticism of our thinking,” he added.
The student procession displayed colorful residential college banners and shirts.
Eisgruber said Princeton is also a scholarly community that equally values teaching and research.
“While undergraduate education is essential to Princeton’s mission, Princeton is much more than an undergraduate college,” he said. “Graduate education and research are equally important to this University’s mission.”
To fully immerse themselves in Princeton’s scholarly community, Eisgruber encouraged undergraduates to form connections with their professors.
“One of the great privileges of being a student here is the access you have to faculty members who are not only world-leaders in their academic discipline but also dedicated teachers,” he said. “Go to their office hours. Invite them to lunch or to your athletic competitions or artistic performances. Find out what they know and who they are beyond the classroom.”
As he ushered in the new academic year, Eisgruber said every person who studies, teaches and works at Princeton should feel fortunate to be on a campus “that values the fearless pursuit of truth, cherishes the importance of service, and celebrates the dazzling diversity of identities, cultures, faiths, and backgrounds that form the rich tapestry of our community.”
Class of 2029 members walked in the Pre-rade as alumni, faculty, staff, family and friends cheered for them.
After the Opening Exercises ceremony, students walked in the Pre-rade as alumni, faculty, staff, family and friends cheered them on.
The afternoon followed a robust week of Orientation activities, including a session on academic freedom and free expression held last week with Eisgruber and Vice President for Campus Life W. Rochelle Calhoun.
Orientation also included three small-group experiences — Community Action, Dialogue and Difference in Action, and Outdoor Action.
Community Action, coordinated by the John H. Pace Jr. ’39 Center for Civic Engagement, introduces students to the University’s long-standing commitment to service.
Dialogue and Difference in Action provides opportunities to engage in critical conversations focused on identity, difference, community building and social action.
Outdoor Action helps incoming undergraduates establish new friendships through activities such as camping, canoeing, biking and hiking.
Opening Exercises can be viewed on the University’s YouTube channel. The event will be archived online for later viewing.
