Dear Members of the Yale Community,
To me, universities have always been a great experiment, a question of what happens when we let curiosity run free, when we pursue new ideas and bold innovations unfettered by the limitations of current human understanding. Over the past three centuries, Yale’s answers to this question have strengthened our country and changed the world: research that has saved untold lives; art and literature that have explored the human condition in all its contradictions and complexity; historical inquiry that has illuminated our past and informed our future.
Our community’s contributions to humanity are undeniable, and our commitment to the pursuit of knowledge is everlasting. Of course, that doesn’t make us infallible. Nor does it exempt us from public accountability and criticism.
Today, universities nationwide are facing a historic wave of calls for change. Trust in institutions is waning, and that’s not a problem we can brush aside. For higher education to serve the public good, we need the public’s trust. We need the American people to believe fully in the power and purpose of higher education.
I have been committed to earning that trust from the moment I took this job. That’s why, last spring, I formed the Committee on Trust in Higher Education. I asked ten faculty members to undertake a project of thorough self-examination.
Over the past year, the committee members have convened events across campus, interviewed dozens of critics and supporters, engaged in hundreds of conversations with members of the Yale community, read many more comments submitted by the public, and compiled a bibliography of over 300 sources, including articles that critically examine the current state of universities.
On April 10, they submitted the culmination of this work—a careful assessment of why trust in higher education has declined, followed by twenty thoughtful recommendations for efforts Yale can undertake to begin rebuilding the public’s confidence. I encourage you to read the full report.
I’m grateful for the committee’s dedication, and I have reviewed their recommendations. Their suggestions touch nearly every aspect of university life, from affordability and access, to grading and intellectual pluralism, to self-censorship and support for the city we call home. But what connects all of these ideas is the truth that trust is never a given. Trust must always be earned.
Today, I share how we plan to act on the committee’s pivotal work to do our part in restoring trust in higher education.
Taking responsibility
In its report, the committee calls on Yale to reflect on and take responsibility for our role in the erosion of public trust. I accept this judgment fully. This decline did not come out of nowhere, nor did it happen overnight. And we were certainly more than mere bystanders. We must acknowledge how we have fallen short. That means welcoming as comprehensive a panorama of perspectives as possible—even, and especially, those that may be critical—and facing such criticism with humility and curiosity.
Reaffirming foundational principles
I accept without reservation the committee’s recommendations to protect free speech and support academic freedom. More than fifty years ago, Yale codified our commitment to free expression in the Woodward Report, a seminal defense of open inquiry. Today, we must hold fast to that promise. We must ensure that Yale is a place where people are free to take intellectual risks, including the risk to disagree and be disagreed with.
To that end, we recently formed a new faculty committee to establish clear, forward-looking principles of academic freedom at Yale. I look forward to reviewing their work at the end of the fall semester.
I also welcome the trust committee’s recommendation to reaffirm Yale’s core mission as described in the Yale Faculty Handbook: “To create, disseminate, and preserve knowledge through research and teaching.” Though the forms and applications of our research and teaching have evolved over time, they remain our essential undertaking. We must affirm and clearly communicate our academic purpose.
Addressing affordability and access
The committee’s report identified many reasons for the decline in public trust in higher education, but none more obvious than the price tag of a college degree. In recent years, a four-year college degree has felt increasingly out of reach for the average American family. As costs rise, confidence falters.
I agree with the committee that one of the most effective ways we can begin regaining trust is by making our university more affordable and ensuring that our applicants have the clearest information possible about costs.
As the committee notes, we have already made progress here. Just a few months ago, we announced that Yale would be tuition-free for families making less than $200,000 annually, and we will continue to focus on the affordability of a Yale College education. And to make it easier for families and students to understand financial aid options, I commit to working with deans to improve the clarity of financial aid information for Yale College and all schools at the university.
I also appreciate the committee’s recommendation to focus on professional schools where students carry higher debt burdens relative to their expected earnings, and I will prioritize fundraising efforts to help address those disparities.
Another step we can take is ensuring we apply the highest standards of academic rigor in whom we admit and why. The committee has made several recommendations to reform our undergraduate admissions process. I have shared these with the Presidential Council on Yale College Admissions, which will consider them as it prepares to finalize its recommendations.
Expanding our reach
Yale’s impact extends well beyond the gates of Old Campus, and I accept the committee’s recommendation that we experiment with ways to make Yale’s educational resources more broadly available.
My office, in partnership with offices and schools across the university, is assessing the wide range of existing outreach efforts. This assessment will help us identify additional ways to make Yale’s immense educational resources more accessible to the public, and in the coming months, I will invite the community to submit ideas to expand these efforts.
Broadening intellectual life
All that we do on our campus contributes to the intellectual life of our university, which plays a vital role in sustaining trust within our community. But it also shapes how the outside world sees and connects with us. The committee heard a range of views on the intellectual approaches and vibrancy of our campus, and they noted that nearly everyone agreed “echo chambers do not produce the best teaching, research, or scholarship.”
We must continue to do everything we can to cultivate and defend rigorous, respectful dialogue across our campus. I accept the committee’s charge to begin with self-study on the breadth of scholarly methodologies and perspectives. The results of this evaluation will help us to prioritize future efforts and ensure that our teaching, research, and scholarship are rooted in our institutional commitment to open inquiry. I will also work with departments and schools across campus to explore the committee’s recommendation to “undertake a multi-pronged series of initiatives and experiments, with the goal of enhancing open and critical debate on campus,” and I will update the community on our progress.
In addition, I have asked the deans to convene students and faculty to establish classroom principles that foster intellectual openness. Just as dissent is an indication of a healthy democracy, it is a sign of vitality at a university.
Deepening our educational mission
Trust is built when we accomplish what we promise to do, and education has always been at the heart of Yale’s purpose. The committee has focused a number of its recommendations on areas that are essential to creating an enriching educational environment in the classroom and across the university.
The committee rightly calls the liberal arts the “foundational wisdom…that will serve [students] throughout their lives.” Across Yale’s history, the liberal arts have been the common denominator, and I will ensure that they remain so.
Yet at no point in history have the liberal arts faced the fundamental challenge to attention that has been created by the rise of cellphones, social media, and related technologies. I agree with the committee that what our students come here to learn and what our faculty teach demands active engagement and sustained concentration. Although technology has benefited teaching and learning in many ways, it has also introduced distractions. I have asked the deans to work with faculty members and students to create and implement policies on the appropriate use of devices in classrooms.
One of the most concerning byproducts of increased phone and social media usage, though, has taken place outside the classroom. The committee identified loneliness and isolation as urgent and growing challenges on campus that erode our ability to realize our educational mission. I share the committee’s belief that to connect fully with their studies, students also need to connect fully with each other—and with the wider world beyond campus.
To that end, I have asked University Secretary and Vice President for University Life Kim Goff-Crews to create a committee of students across our schools that will develop social media guidelines and generate new ideas for in-person engagement. Ultimately, students should lead the way on this issue. But I will continue to do what I can to help foster community and connection at Yale.
Just as attention and connection are necessary for a meaningful classroom experience, so are substantive assessments of what has been learned in the classroom. That’s why grade inflation is another area which requires our focus. I have urged the existing Committee on Teaching, Learning and Advising to confront grade inflation directly within Yale College. Raising the bar for ourselves will also raise trust in our university. Before society can value the integrity of our assessments, we must show that we do.
Maximizing resources for education and research
Some of the most important decisions we make surround how we manage and spend our resources. I agree with the committee’s view that how we allocate those resources affects the trust of our colleagues, students, and everyone outside our campus.
I have tasked Senior Vice President Geoff Chatas with working with the faculty to explore ways to minimize bureaucratic hurdles in operational areas and to direct more of our budget toward teaching, research, and scholarship—the primary work of a university. And I want to recognize everything our schools and units have done recently, guided by the faculty and staff of the Budget Advisory Group, to address the anticipated budget impacts of the increased endowment tax. Because of their efforts, we are better prepared for the future.
Communicating our progress
I agree with the committee’s recommendation that Yale should “develop a sustained, long-term commitment to communicating about its mission, its decisions, and its reforms.” Deans, fellow university leaders, and I will keep our community and the public updated on our work to advance Yale’s mission and rebuild trust.
Of course, as the committee points out, good communication means listening, too. The committee has given us a blueprint for doing exactly that, and we will begin to implement some of its recommendations in this area. New initiatives will welcome input from communities across the country. In addition, I have asked the Yale Alumni Association to partner with Yale clubs nationwide to seek honest perspectives on Yale and higher education writ large, and I will continue to learn from and speak with people across the country about higher education.
In addition, we recently launched a new fifty-state project that highlights Yale’s impact on communities nationwide. The project’s website features an interactive map that enables users to see Yale’s contributions state by state. We will continue to update the site as we gather additional input from across the nation and learn more about how Yalies are making a difference in each state.
The work ahead
All of this work is extensive, but it is also only the beginning.
While we have already begun implementing the committee’s recommendations, many will require additional planning with various campus groups. But the committee’s report provides us with a roadmap to guide us through this period of prevailing uncertainty.
I believe Yale is stronger, and our judgment sounder, when those closest to the issues at hand help guide our decisions. I will be the first to acknowledge that administrators do not have all the answers, and it is on us to make sure we work with as many colleagues as possible when making crucial decisions. So, our work will be done in close partnership with our faculty as well as our students, staff, and alumni. That is one of the reasons why I commissioned a trust committee, and why we have drawn on the vast expertise of the entire Yale community as we have tackled other important issues.
I am grateful to the committee co-chairs, Julia Adams and Beverly Gage, and their fellow committee members: Anton Bennett, Marijeta Bozovic, David Bromwich, Judith Chevalier, Jason Hockenberry, Anthony Leiserowitz, Priyamvada Natarajan, and Sarath Sanga. Over the past year, they worked tirelessly to carry out the committee’s charge, while balancing their other educational and scholarly responsibilities. Their judgment, thoughtfulness, and unflinching introspection have helped light the way forward.
In the spirit of collaborative governance, I encourage you to share your ideas about how we can continue to rebuild trust in higher education through this feedback webform. I also encourage you to nominate students to the committee that will help develop social media guidelines and recommend ways to enhance in-person engagement. You can submit nominations here, and Kim Goff-Crews will provide more information about this committee once it’s established.
In scholarship, even the most distinguished records cannot justify resting on one’s laurels. The same holds for a university’s relationship with the public. Trust is dynamic, and the work that earns it is continuous. But that work is also collective. Each of us has a role to play in it. Together, we can do our part in inaugurating new possibilities for Yale, the American people, and all of humanity.
With gratitude,
Maurie
Maurie McInnis
President
Professor of the History of Art