There is no one definitive way to determine when presidents of higher ed institutions should speak out, though there are good general guidelines to follow, according to four university presidents during a panel discussion hosted by think tank Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC).
Dr. Ana Mari CauceUniversity of Washington
During Thursday's virtual panel, Politics, Institutional Speech, and the College Campus, several university leaders spoke about their own experiences with making statements amid tense situations and how best to decide when they should weigh in.
"The office of the president has the unique power to embody the mission and values of their school,” said discussion moderator Dr. Jacqueline Pfeffer Merrill, director of BPC’s Campus Free Expression Project. “When a president speaks, it has particular resonance for the entire campus community and even the wider public."
Higher ed presidents should be “judicious” and “cognizant” in choosing when and which situations to make statements in, the panelists said. That way, the statements that end up being made are taken more seriously instead of being “watered down.”
