As he embarks his first school year as president of Stanford University, Jonathan Levin is preparing for both intense scrutiny and profound discoveries.
Over the past year, the campus has experienced tensions over the war between Israel and Hamas, a conflict that sparked a prolonged encampment at White Plaza and vandalism of academic buildings, and a brief occupation of the office of his immediate predecessor, Richard Saller. There had been reports of increased Islamophobia and antisemitism and debates about Stanford’s admission policies, faculty composition and endowments.
“We are criticized for not doing enough to address societal challenges and for doing too much,” Levin said Friday during his inauguration and investiture ceremony. “We are criticized for suppressing speech and for permitting it.”
Speaking in front of a receptive and enthusiastic crowd of Stanford alumni, politicians and students at Frost Amphitheater, Levin acknowledged these challenges as he reasserted his mission to keep Stanford at the forefront of world-class innovation and education.
“To be clear, we want Stanford students and faculty to engage with the world,” Levin said. “We expect them to wrestle with social and political issues. We hope that they will have an influence on the direction of society, pursue public service and tackle the pressing challenges of our time.
“Yet the university’s purpose is not political action or social justice. It is to create an environment in which learning thrives.”
With his appointment, Levin became the 13th president in the history of Stanford University. He succeeds Richard Saller, who became president on an interim basis last year following the controversial departure of Marc Tissier-Lavigne, a neuroscientist who stepped down after an independent review found flaws in his research papers.
The university’s board of trustees, led by Jerry Yang, announced Levin’s appointing in April. He officially began serving in his new role on Aug. 1. In his introductory remarks, Yang described Levin as “a Cardinal through and through,” noting that he is the first Stanford alum to become president since Wallace Sterling in 1949.
Born in New Haven, Levin earned undergraduate degrees in English and mathematics at Stanford, a master’s degree in economics at Oxford University and a doctorate in economics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He joined faculty at the Stanford University Department of Economics in 2000 and later served as department chair. In 2016, he was appointed dean of the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
In his formal remarks, Levin described his three aspirations for the university: to foster an open-minded climate, to remain at the forefront of discoveries and to open its educational offering to a broader population.
In describing the first aspiration, Levin cited the Greek philosopher Socrates, who he noted was famously comfortable asking questions even when he didn’t know all the answers.
“The point was that college is about asking questions, about recognizing that however much one knows, there’s always more to discover,” Levin said. “Of course, that cuts against today’s world, where it often seems like everyone on the Internet believes they have the answers and feels compelled to share them.
“Our campus must be a place where we can ask each other questions, experiment with ideas and share our own thinking.”
He also said that he wants to make sure Stanford remains ambitious in “exploring the frontiers of knowledge.” He predicted that over the next decade, everyone will be astonished by the breakthroughs made in many fields.
“What we do know is that if you could pick one place on earth to be during a dramatic acceleration in discovery, it would be here,” Levin said. “Stanford will be the leading university to advance research and teaching and deepen our understanding of the impact and potential of these technologies.”
He acknowledged that his third aspiration may strike some as odd at a time when nationalism and parochialism are on the rise. But he argued that in the coming years, the universities should find “new and creative ways to open a Stanford education to more students.
“In fact, it is precisely when there are political divisions that the openness of universities allows us to make our greatest contribution, because at our best we are among the few institutions that can transcend political differences, enable the exchange of people with ideas and foster mutual understanding,” Levin said.
Earlier this month, the Stanford administration responded to the tensions of the past year by adopting new rules for campus protests. These include a ban on overnight encampments and policy that explicitly prohibits disruptions of university functions, classes and ceremonies. But despite these prohibitions, Levin touted on Friday the university’s culture of “openness and exploration.” He said he had recently tried to count the value of companies founded by Stanford graduates and quickly got to $7 trillion.
“We are open to people around the world, from the widest range of backgrounds,” Levin said.
