Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
On May 1, David Nirenberg, the Institute for Advanced Study’s Director and Leon Levy Professor, was joined by Christopher L. Eisgruber, President of Princeton University, for a wide-ranging Director’s Conversation on the past, present, and future of the research university.
Drawing on ideas in Eisgruber’s recent book, “Terms of Respect” (Basic Books, 2025), Nirenberg and Eisgruber discussed the essential roles research universities have played in the United States since World War II as institutional forms for discovery, offering a timely look at what it means to evolve and adapt to a changing global landscape while remaining dedicated to foundational principles.
Together, they also reflected on the unique relationship between the Institute and Princeton University, considering how proximity and intellectual exchange have enriched both institutions since the Institute’s founding in 1930.
Wolfensohn Hall, Institute for Advanced Study, 1 Einstein Drive, Princeton, NJ
May 1, 2026
On May 1, David Nirenberg, the Institute for Advanced Study’s Director and Leon Levy Professor, was joined by Christopher L. Eisgruber, President of Princeton University, for a wide-ranging Director’s Conversation on the past, present, and future of the research university.
Drawing on ideas in Eisgruber’s recent book, “Terms of Respect” (Basic Books, 2025), Nirenberg and Eisgruber discussed the essential roles research universities have played in the United States since World War II as institutional forms for discovery, offering a timely look at what it means to evolve and adapt to a changing global landscape while remaining dedicated to foundational principles.
Together, they also reflected on the unique relationship between the Institute and Princeton University, considering how proximity and intellectual exchange have enriched both institutions since the Institute’s founding in 1930.
Wolfensohn Hall, Institute for Advanced Study, 1 Einstein Drive, Princeton, NJ
May 1, 2026
