Christopher L. Eisgruber Named 20th President of Princeton University

Christopher L. Eisgruber, Princeton's provost for the past nine years, has been named the University's 20th president, effective July 1.

The announcement was made Sunday afternoon at Nassau Hall.

"Chris Eisgruber has all of the qualities we were looking for in Princeton's next president," said Kathryn Hall, chairwoman of the University's board of trustees and head of the presidential search committee. "He has keen intelligence and excellent judgment; he cares passionately about teaching and research of the highest quality; he is deeply committed to principles of excellence, equity and integrity; and he is devoted to Princeton. 

The committee wanted a new president who could not only carry forward's Princeton success but also set a strategic course for the University, Hall said. 

Eisgruber succeeds Shirley M. Tilghman, who last fall announced her intention to step down at the end of this academic year after completing 12 years in office.

"It is a great joy for me to accept this appointment and I do want to start by thanking the Board of Trustees and the Search Committee for their confidence in me and to thank my friend and mentor Shirley Tilghman, whose extraordinary leadership has left this University in a stronger position than at any point in its history," Eisgruber said at Sunday's press conference.

"This University has shaped my life ever since I set foot on its campus as a freshman 34 years ago, and that time as a student, as an alumnus, as a faculty member, has given me a heartfelt appreciation for Princeton's very special strengths," Eisgruber said. "I include among these and I admit some bias- but I think those of you who agree with me will agree with me on every single word of this- that we have the best alumni in the world and the most cohesive and collegial community at any major research university. But most importantly of all, this university aims like no other to be simultaneously a great research university and the world's best liberal arts college. And we insist on what I consider the audacious belief that these two things are ... two complimentary part of a single ideal."

Eisgruber was appointed at a special meeting of the University's Board of Trustees on the unanimous recommendation of a 17-member search committee following a more than six-month search. The search committee included nine trustees, four faculty members, three students and a staff member.

Eisgruber said Princeton still has challenges to face and must ask the tough questions.

"How can we ensure that the gift of a Princeton education is accessible and beneficial to the greatest possible range of people?" he asked. "How can we ensure that our research addresses the questions that matter most to this nation and to the world? What can we do fully engage every graduate student and undergraduate whom we are lucky enough to have on this campus? What does the advent of online education mean for Princeton and how should we participate in it? How can we cooperate with and assist other colleges and universities that share our scholarly ideals and mission in the face of severe financial and political pressures?

"On a more local level, I hope we find ways to strengthen our civic partnership with Princeton and our surrounding communities....I look forward to working with Mayor Lempert and her colleagues in the years ahead," he said.

Eisgruber earned his undergraduate degree in 1983 with a major in physics, spent two years at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, and then received his law degree from the University of Chicago.

After clerking for U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Patrick Higginbotham and U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens and teaching at New York University Law School for 11 years, he joined the Princeton faculty in 2001 as a professor and director of the Program in Law and Public Affairs.

He was named Princeton’s 11^th provost in 2004 and in that capacity has been the University’s second-ranking official and its chief academic and budgetary officer.

A renowned constitutional scholar, whose most recent books examined the Supreme Court appointments process and religious freedom and the constitution, he is also a gifted teacher who has continued to teach as provost. This past fall he taught a freshman seminar on the Supreme Court and constitutional democracy. 

His wife, Lori A. Martin, is a securities litigator with the firm of WilmerHale, and they have a 14-year-old son, Danny.