Higher education faces an "extraordinary moment" as universities navigate complexities related to civil discourse, academic freedom, and AI alongside challenges to federal research funding, institutional autonomy, and public trust, said President Jonathan Levin during the 2024-2025 Annual Meeting of the Academic Council on Thursday.
"Today, those challenges are clear and present," Levin said. "Yet I can report that Stanford stands as a pillar of excellence in its mission of research and education, as a home for curiosity and free inquiry, and as a source of ideas and innovation for the country and world."
Levin moderated a panel discussion titled Exploring Stanford's Enduring Role at a Pivotal Time for Universities, where university leaders reflected on key issues facing higher education. Levin and Faculty Senate Chair Marcia Stefanick also delivered annual updates.
In his report, Levin noted both the strides Stanford has made on institutional priorities and how the university is responding to challenges.
Led by the Faculty Senate's Committee on University Speech, the university began the year by reaffirming its speech protections and clarifying time, place, and manner rules, as well as striving for consistent enforcement.
"Of course, these protections are boundary conditions," Levin said. "They specify the location of the foul lines. What matters even more at a university is what takes place in the middle of the field, in the everyday interactions in classrooms, seminars, and dorm rooms. This is where academic culture is defined and permeates the life of the university."
He cited encouraging developments such as the Civic, Liberal, and Global Education (COLLEGE) curriculum; Pizza, Politics, and Polarization events; Civic Salons; and the new ePluribus Stanford initiative as examples of efforts promoting an academic culture of free inquiry and robust debate.
On AI, Levin acknowledged both excitement and unease across campus, but said there's broad consensus that Stanford must lead the way in AI and data-driven discovery. This year, the university opened Marlowe (a high-performance shared GPU for research), the Stanford Robotics Center, and the new Computing and Data Science building. The Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI (HAI) and Stanford Data Science continue to support research and drive cross-sector conversations between industry leaders and policymakers.
Levin said he would like to see faculty insights on classroom use of AI coalesce in the coming year - a key priority for the new Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education Jay Hamilton.
He also addressed the university's bureaucratic burdens, sharing examples such as the difficulty of reserving space or signing a data use agreement. Even a taco truck the provost tried to bring to campus involved months of red tape.
To address these issues, Levin and Provost Jenny Martinez tasked former President Richard Saller, former Provost John Etchemendy, and Vice President for University Affairs Megan Pierson with a simplification initiative. Early wins include streamlining the data use agreement signing process; speeding up Institutional Review Board approval of social science research projects; simplifying travel and expense reimbursements; and reducing paperwork for student events.
"While it is tempting to think of curbing bureaucracy as mundane, it isn't," Levin said. "Stanford should be an entrepreneurial place in the best sense of that word - a place where if you have a good idea, people will help, and you can get it done. It's important we make that so."
Levin warned of mounting threats to federal research funding that fuels discovery and innovation; to university endowments which support financial aid, graduate fellowships, and professorships; to university autonomy; and to international student enrollment.
The president and provost shared a set of principles this spring as Stanford navigates these challenges. They include an aim to support faculty and students who may be adversely affected by federal policy changes; a commitment to defend the academic freedom of the university and its members; and prioritization of Stanford's core mission of research and teaching when facing potentially difficult decisions in finances and operations.
Stanford is actively advocating for federal policies that support the national research strategy and joining other universities to challenge federal actions, including through lawsuits.
But broader public support for higher education must be rebuilt, Levin said, by highlighting the value of scientific research and the economic benefits of innovation, and by modeling the breadth of inquiry and robust dialogue that characterizes a liberal arts education.
"Federal support for research is not largesse. It is one of the most effective long-term investments this country makes, which is why so many other countries emulate the American model," Levin said.
Stanford continues to strengthen a culture of curiosity and inquiry and foster constructive dialogue, which are key to its fundamental missions, said Provost Martinez during the panel discussion.
"The freedom of thought in a university is absolutely essential to our mission of knowledge creation and of education," Martinez said. "We can't do the fundamental things we do as a university if our faculty and our students aren't free in their ability to express different ideas, even when they're controversial, even when they may be offensive to others, even when they may cut against the conventional wisdom or the tides of a particular moment."
Martinez said a prerequisite for this is ensuring that the university's ground rules for people to express their ideas is very clear.
The Faculty Senate's approval of a Statement on Freedom of Expression at Stanford and a policy on Institutional Statements Policy last year clarified the university's policies, which were then centralized online.
Martinez said she's also encouraged by programs like COLLEGE and ePluribus as well as student-organized activities like Democracy Day, which facilitate civil discourse.
In response to a question on public support of universities, Hoover Institution Director Condoleezza Rice said it's critical to communicate the role of the research university in the innovation ecosystem of the country, which has historically resulted in discoveries like the double helix structure of DNA, stem cells, and the transistor.
Rice also spoke about the public misperception of elite institutions, emphasizing that while Stanford attracts top students, many of those students come from non-elite backgrounds and are often the first in their families to attend college.
Levin added that most Stanford students graduate with no debt due to the university's strong financial aid program, which is made possible by the university's endowment.
Vice Provost and Dean of Research David Studdert said that while most existing federal grants remain active and faculty continue to submit new proposals, Stanford has received 58 federal funding termination notices in the past three and a half months.
Some have been quickly reversed, and others are being appealed. The situation remains fluid with new directives coming in daily, Studdert said.
"Our federally funded research continues," Studdert said. "There are great things happening in libraries and labs all across campus right now. As we sit here, we have a remarkable research ecosystem. It is strong, it is diverse, and it's resilient, and I'm optimistic that we'll weather this storm."
The School of Medicine (SoM) and biomedical research account for approximately 75% of Stanford's research.
Yvonne "Bonnie" Maldonado, SoM senior associate dean of faculty development and engagement and the Taube Professor of Global Health and Infectious Disease, said the SoM is continually focused on how it can best support faculty as they face the whirlwind of changes at this time.
Maldonado stressed the importance of communicating the societal value of research to lawmakers. "We're all dedicated to making sure that we improve the health of not only people in the U.S. but around the world," she added.
Levin also asked Rice to speak to the rationale and value of having international students attend U.S. universities.
"It is extremely important that American students get to know people from other cultures," Rice said. "...And it's equally important that students from other countries and other cultures get to know us."
"There are a lot of benefits of having international students," Rice continued. "They enrich us, I think we enrich them, and after all, we want to train, recruit, and send back out into the world the best and brightest, whatever the nationality."
Alyce Adams, Stanford Medicine Innovation Professor and professor of epidemiology and population health and of health policy, asked how the university and faculty can support early career scholars, such as the Provostial Fellows who are conducting research related to underserved communities.
Maldonado said the university is building leadership programs to help early career scholars collaborate across departments, refine their skill sets, network, obtain funding, and more. Data on the programs is currently being analyzed as the university considers how it can best support these faculty, particularly in light of ongoing challenges, Maldonado added.
Cecilia Ridgeway, the Lucie Stern Professor in the Social Sciences, emerita, asked about how faculty can move forward with research on topics of inequality when the legitimacy for this research is being questioned or attacked in the political sphere.
Levin said that the university must unequivocally defend and protect the ability of faculty and students to work on topics of their choosing. Further, when political priorities change and impact funding, it's important for the university to prioritize and potentially find alternative sources of support for that research, Levin said.
David Spiegel, the Jack, Lulu, and Sam Willson Professor of Medicine, said he feels that free speech is not the most pertinent issue facing universities but rather government threats to the existence of universities.
Martinez countered that many people on campus across the political spectrum have shared with her for years that they don't feel comfortable freely sharing their views. "It's not just a problem in universities," Martinez said. "It's a problem in society and it's sort of a perpetual problem with respect to free speech ... It's really worth defending as an American value, and I think that universities need to play a very fundamental role in defending the societal value of free speech across the board."
In her report, Stefanick described the past year as "interesting," with the senate tackling key matters such as a proctoring pilot, the use of AI at Stanford, and shifting priorities.
In the fall, the senate heard a Planning and Policy Board presentation regarding the role of the senate in matters related to condemnation. After lengthy discussion, the senate voted against rescinding a 2020 censure of Scott Atlas and charged an ad hoc committee with considering what process should be used for future motions. The committee will report back to the senate at its next meeting.
The senate also approved modifications to the university's research policy and made changes to its election process.
Stefanick said senators greatly appreciated the opportunity to hear from and ask questions of the president and provost during meetings and executive sessions.
Stefanick announced that the senate has elected Anna Grzymala-Busse as the next year's chair of the Faculty Senate. Grzymala-Busse is the Michelle and Kevin Douglas Professor of International Studies and a senior fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies.