Dear Stanford Community,

As we begin the quarter, we look ahead to the joys of spring on the Stanford campus, with its warmth and energy. We also have a sharp focus on the federal policy issues challenging the university, and we want to share a few principles that are guiding our approach.

First, we are committed to the university’s fundamental mission of research and education in our decisions, policies, and financial priorities. We are advocating for the importance of federal research funding that drives national scientific leadership and innovation. We are also preparing for how to sustain excellence in multiple budget scenarios, including maintaining continuity in financial support for graduate and undergraduate students. Stanford is a resilient institution, full of problem-solvers. We are confident that we will be able to address whatever challenges come and find creative solutions.

Second, academic freedom and a culture of open inquiry are at the core of Stanford’s ability to fulfill our mission of research and education. Universities thrive when faculty and students invite and confront competing ideas and arguments. We have made it a primary focus this year to nurture that ideal: from clearer time, place, and manner rules on free speech, to the e Pluribus initiative, to new programs to support a strong civic culture. And we are committed to defending the right of faculty and students to research and discuss issues they care about, free from internal and external coercion.

Third, a defining strength of the university is to bring together students and faculty with different ideas, backgrounds, and aspirations, to create a community of scholars who enhance each other’s learning. Stanford functions best when we have compassion for the needs of others. We are sponsoring town halls to address uncertainty about science funding, providing resources and information for our international students, and addressing many other timely issues. When we work together, there is so much to celebrate: just last quarter, the completion of the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) Camera, the Civic Learning Week National Forum, the opening of the CoDa building for interdisciplinary data science, and our first ACC conference title, won by the women’s gymnastics team.

Finally, we are advocating, in public and private settings, for the value of universities – for open minds, for discovery, for learning. The creativity, dynamism, and leadership of this country depend on the strength of American universities. Our excellence derives from the investment of public as well as private resources. We are at a time when opportunities for discovery and global competition make that commitment vital. So it is essential that we address criticisms with reflection and humility, and restore public trust.

The success of universities also rests on the American ideal of the open exploration of ideas, a culture of freedom, and horizons of opportunity for all. At its best, Stanford epitomizes that spirit and we are committed to sustaining the campus as a place where, in the words of our motto, the wind of freedom blows.

Jon Levin
President

Jenny Martinez
Provost