Transcript: I actually would identify equal opportunity as one of the biggest challenges we face. This is a country – the United States – where the gap between the rich and the poor is large and it’s getting larger. And because access to education can be seen as something that can be affected by socio economic status, I think universities that care about equal opportunity have to make a special effort to ensure that we are attracting students, whether they have the capacity to pay or they do not have the capacity to pay. I think that’s a very large issue not just for Princeton; but I think it’s a large issue for the country.

I think the great force in higher education in the United States has been . . . has really been several things actually, now that I think about it. The first, I think, was the commitment really from the very beginning of this country to free public education. That, I think, was a revolutionary idea in some respects. And I think it is one that has served the country very well until relatively recent times. I think if I have one concern about how that is now playing out today in 2007, I worry about the enormous difference in the quality of the very best and the very worst of our public schools in this country.

I worry about the degree to which our striving for free public education has really been diminished in this country. I think the same thing could be true about the great state universities. They were created so that every individual capable of doing work at the university level would have an opportunity to go to college. As those state colleges and universities are being financially squeezed by their state legislatures, they have only one choice, and that is to raise tuition. And as they raise tuition, those state colleges and universities become less and less accessible to those who are in the bottom of the income bracket.

Recorded on: 8/7/07

Transcript: I don’t know how I would spend $100 billion if I had to give it away today. I think, in fact, one of the most interesting things that is happening in the area of particularly global philanthropy, is that there is a stepping back and asking of what we have done in the past, how much of it has actually made a difference. In other words, how to use resources to actually make progress. I think there are real questions in my own mind having lived in Africa for example, how much of the kind of foreign aid that has been invested in that continent has really helped in the slightest to improve conditions in that continent. So I would probably begin by trying to understand as much as possible the kind of philanthropic injections that have worked and the ones that have failed, and then follow accordingly.

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Transcript: I am in favor of welcoming students to the United States to study. And I am in favor – once they have received their education – of giving them every opportunity to stay in this country and contribute to the well being and the economic prosperity of the United States. Not only do I think that’s a humane policy. I actually think it’s a politically and economically sensible policy; because if you look at the wave upon wave of immigrants who have come to the United States since the 19th century and have stayed and made this country great, this is really a great tradition. And I think if we turn our back on it, we do so at our peril.

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Transcript: I am looking for someone who has a way to get us out of what I think is a shouting match, which is basically the political process today.

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Transcript: I think this country has never really overcome the enormous burden that its history imposed on it through slavery. I continue to worry desperately about the degree to which African Americans constitute an underclass in this country, and an underclass that is not even heard anymore. I just think that this is the major issue facing the United States for the next . . . Until we solve . . . I’m not gonna put a time limit on it. I think it’s enormously important. It affects everything that happens in this country in my view. And as a country, I think we have an obligation to really understand how insidious racism is; how it percolates through so much of what happens in this country; and how we have allowed a group in this country – African Americans – to be marginalized in ways that are deeply hurtful to them and, frankly in my view, _________ to the whole country.

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Transcript: Sort of on a more philosophical level, I think we’re gonna have to figure out how we’re gonna deal with change and the pace of change. One of the things I’ve really noticed as a scientist over the last 20 years, I think, is that as scientific and engineering advances occur, they are always accompanied by anxiety on the part of the public about the degree to which those advances – as wonderful as some of them may be in terms of saving lives or improving the quality of life – they bring change and change is hard. And I think it’s going to be a real challenge to manage that change in a way that does not exacerbate sort of the overall level of anxiety that exists around things like stem cells, around Internet privacy, for example. All legitimate things to be concerned about, but anxiety that’s getting in the way with having that technology actually have a positive impact it’s capable of having.

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Transcript: I worry about how we define identity. I worry about the impact of race and ethnicity on how individuals define themselves and how they define the “other”, and the degree to which conflict in the world is being driven by the way we define ourselves in those categories.

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Transcript: I worry about the fact that Africa is being completely left out of globalization – completely left out – and what the long-term impact of that is going to be for the globe.

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Transcript: For me, the measure of a good life is what you are able to achieve with the gifts that you’ve been handed, and how well you have treated those around you.

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Transcript: I’m inspired, I think, by individuals who strive for excellence. I think that’s how we make progress in the world is by individuals who are capable of expressing their creativity and then striving to achieve it – striving at a high level of excellence. I’m inspired by people who do dream – who have big ideas, and who are undeterred by all the obstacles that are in their path. I’m inspired by big ideas, by people who are able to see beyond the small details of getting through the day to be able to see a big idea, and then to figure out how to execute a big idea.

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Transcript: The other major issue in higher education that I am concerned about is the financing research in science and engineering. If you go back 50 years, you will see that there was established after the Second World War kind of a social contract between the federal government and research universities where the government provided the resources to conduct the research, and the university provided the infrastructure and the labor force. What has been happening over the last 25 years is that social contract is beginning to erode. The percentage of total research dollars that the federal government now provides to the universities is declining as a percentage. And at some point the universities are gonna have to cry uncle and simply say that we cannot afford to fill in the gap that is left by the decline in federal dollars. And if you believe as I do that the economic vitality of the United States over the last half-century is directly related to the degree in which this country invested in research and development, then a decline in research is really not a good prognosis of the future health of the United States.

Recorded on: 8/7/07

Transcript: I think before I became the president of the university, I was very focused nationally on how to encourage not just women, but men and women to continue in careers in science. One of the things I was most concerned about as a working scientist was seeing too many young men and woman discouraged by the length of time it took to become a scientist; by the competitiveness that is inherent in seeking research funds in order to conduct science; and I was worried that this career path which was looking increasingly difficult was turning away the very best students who, after all, have lots and lots of options. So I spent a lot of time before I became president really working on that particular education issue. Since I have become president, I am really focused on making Princeton the very best place that it can be. That is my most important job and role as the president of Princeton. But I’ve also been interested in a number of national issues that affect higher education, like commencement addresses _________ was addressing concerns that I have about federal regulation of higher education today, which I think is problematic. And I hope we are able to figure out a way out of the mess that we’re currently in.

The other major issue in higher education that I am concerned about is the financing research in science and engineering. If you go back 50 years, you will see that there was established after the Second World War kind of a social contract between the federal government and research universities where the government provided the resources to conduct the research, and the university provided the infrastructure and the labor force. What has been happening over the last 25 years is that social contract is beginning to erode. The percentage of total research dollars that the federal government now provides to the universities is declining as a percentage. And at some point the universities are gonna have to cry uncle and simply say that we cannot afford to fill in the gap that is left by the decline in federal dollars. And if you believe as I do that the economic vitality of the United States over the last half-century is directly related to the degree in which this country invested in research and development, then a decline in research is really not a good prognosis of the future health of the United States.

Recorded on: 8/7/07

Transcript: I think cancer research right now is at a very interesting place. If you think about what has happened over the last 25 years, it has largely been identifying the 100 to 200, maybe slightly more than that genes in the human genome that are involved one way or another in controlling growth. Because cancer is fundamentally a disease where growth is uncontrolled. The genes that are most important in understanding cancer are those growth control genes. And we’re getting close to what I think is probably a comprehensive list of those genes. The next step is identifying which genes are important in which kinds of cancer, and I think we’re making real progress there as well. Then comes the hard part, and the hard part is turning that knowledge into disease-specific cancer treatments. We have some early examples, success stories in this area. _________, which was developed for the treatment of breast cancer; _________, which was developed for the treatment of lymphoma. But I think there are going to be many, many more in the future. And what’s really exciting about those therapies is unlike those therapies that exist today, which are largely poisons – poisons that target dividing cells – these new therapies are very, very specific and target the cancer itself. And what that’s gonna mean is that those drugs are gonna be far more effective than the drugs we use today. And importantly, the quality of life of the patient is gonna be significantly better because you’re not killing off hundreds of other cells while you’re trying to kill the cancer cell.

Recorded on: 8/7/07

Transcript: I would have to say that my prediction for the next 20, 30, 40 years is that one of the most important and exciting fields is going to be in the area of euron science – understanding how the human brain works.  It’s going to be important because we know so little about it, and because it’s going to be so important in understanding who we are and how we evolved the way we did.  So I think euron science is an extraordinarily exciting field right now.  In a field that is closer to my own, which is genomics, I think that too is a field that is really at the cusp of taking the information that we glean from sequencing the human genome and turning it into both understanding about how organisms work, like development, which I studied; but perhaps more importantly turning it into medical benefits for treating disease.  The other area of science which I think is going to be enormously important for the next 50 years is going to be developing alternatives – realistic alternatives to the burning of fossil fuels.  If we don’t do that, our future is really grim indeed.

I think cancer research right now is at a very interesting place.  If you think about what has happened over the last 25 years, it has largely been identifying the 100 to 200, maybe slightly more than that genes in the human genome that are involved one way or another in controlling growth.  Because cancer is fundamentally a disease where growth is uncontrolled.  The genes that are most important in understanding cancer are those growth control genes.  And we’re getting close to what I think is probably a comprehensive list of those genes.  The next step is identifying which genes are important in which kinds of cancer, and I think we’re making real progress there as well.  Then comes the hard part, and the hard part is turning that knowledge into disease-specific cancer treatments.  We have some early examples, success stories in this area.  _________, which was developed for the treatment of breast cancer; _________, which was developed for the treatment of lymphoma.  But I think there are going to be many, many more in the future.  And what’s really exciting about those therapies is unlike those therapies that exist today, which are largely poisons – poisons that target dividing cells – these new therapies are very, very specific and target the cancer itself.  And what that’s gonna mean is that those drugs are gonna be far more effective than the drugs we use today.  And importantly, the quality of life of the patient is gonna be significantly better because you’re not killing off hundreds of other cells while you’re trying to kill the cancer cell.

Recorded on: 8/7/07

Transcript: I think my father influenced me more than any other person when I was growing up.

I was the eldest of three daughters. He clearly was someone who believed in women’s rights well before there was such a thing as a women’s rights movement. He told me from the moment I can remember that I could be anything that I chose to be if I was prepared to work hard. He never set limits to my dreams. He encouraged my interest in mathematics. And I think without that encouragement I would be doing something very different today.

I don’t really remember what it was, but my earliest memory was one of loving puzzles. I loved math puzzles in particular and still do them. My father and I at bedtime used to do math puzzles together rather than read stories together. So I think from the very beginning, it was some fascination with numbers that I really can’t explain.

It is very important that we continue to encourage young women . . . girls to think about science. I think the rationale is extremely straightforward, and that is that we have to be drawing our scientific future from the largest talent pool that we possibly can. And if we’re restricting that talent pool in any way, including by discouraging girls, then inevitably the quality of the science that is done in the future will not be nearly as good. There are many reasons why women ultimately are discouraged from entering science. I think most of them are cultural. Most of them have to do with what little girls are encouraged to do, and how those are different from what little boys are encouraged to do. I think there are unrecognized stereotypical attitudes that many of us in society have developed about the appropriateness of a girl going into science that need to be stamped out. I think colleges and universities like my own have to be far more encouraging as well. So I think there are literally hundreds of ways in which we could begin to do this. There is not a silver bullet. There is not a single thing, but there are many things. And if we do even a handful of them, we’ll probably make progress.

Recorded on: 8/7/07

Transcript: I think the biggest difference that I see between Canada and the United States where I currently live is the fundamental difference of whether the group rights are trumped by the individual, or whether the individual’s rights are trumped by the group. I think in Canada it is the former. And I think that has very much influenced who I am as a person.

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Transcript: "How can we make a difference” is the question that we should be asking ourselves. How can we lead lives that matter? How can we leave the world a better place?

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Question: Collectively, what should we be doing?

Transcript: Talking. I think what we need to be doing globally is talking to one another. I think there needs to be a great deal more global understanding. I think that is the only way in which we can get to a place where we understand that we are not going to be able to solve some of these global problems alone, individually as separate countries. We’re going to have to find ways of cooperating, collaborating so that we can see that we’re all in this mess together. So I think that what we are not doing enough of is finding the common ground that will bring us together.

Question: What should we be doing as individuals?

Transcript: I think the most important thing that each one of us can do individually is to educate ourselves about what the issues are – stretch ourselves so that we, like the students at Princeton, encounter the “other” so that we begin our process of understanding why people who live in Egypt, or in Saudi Arabia, or in Iraq fundamentally think differently than we do; and understanding the history of that and why that is true. So I think we have an obligation to understand why there is so much difference in the world today, and then get to the point of understanding that despite those differences, we’re not going to change those differences. How we are going to come together and unite to solve some of the horrible problems that we face.

Recorded on: 8/7/07

Question: Are you generally optimistic or pessimistic about the way the world is headed?

Transcript: I am an optimist in general. In fact I have always believed that you can’t be a scientist unless you are an optimist, because experiments fail more often than they succeed. But I must say that at the moment, I am not terribly optimistic about where we are globally. I do not see many leaders stepping up and leading. And I think until we see those kinds of people rising up, I don’t see how we are going to solve some of these major issues that we face as a society.

Question: How will this age be remembered?

Transcript: In the United States, I think it’s going to be remembered as a second gilded age. And I think a major question is going to be whether the wealth that has been created in the last 10 to 15 years is going to benefit more than those who created that wealth. And I think we have wonderful role models. I think Bill Gates has provided a tremendous example of turning his extraordinary wealth into opportunities for helping those less fortunate than he is. But I think the . . . what we are going to watch play out over the next five to 10 years is how this great wealth that has been so concentrated in so few hands, how it gets mobilized for the well being of more people.

Recorded on: 8/7/07

Question: What forces that have shaped humanity most?

Transcript: I don’t think there is a single force. As a biologist I would have to begin with the force of evolution. Clearly I believe in evolution. I believe in the theory of natural selection. I think it’s had enormous impact on who we are as a species and where we are today. I believe in the power of technology. I think particularly if you look at the history of human endeavor, you could write that history based on the kinds of technological advances, you know, from the Bronze Age on. The first time someone picked up a stick and realized it could be a tool, to what is happening today in . . . with the Internet, for example. I think that has been a tremendous, tremendous force that has affected the way we have developed as a species. I think the other would be the move away from subsistence to creating excess, which is another way of saying the ability to move from living hand-to-mouth to finally creating wealth. And what wealth allowed individuals to do both in terms of creating a greater comfort in the way we live; but I think also in allowing us the leisure time that allows us as humans to create art, for example.

Question: What forces have shaped education?

Transcript: I think the great force in higher education in the United States has been . . . has really been several things actually, now that I think about it. The first, I think, was the commitment really from the very beginning of this country to free public education. That, I think, was a revolutionary idea in some respects. And I think it is one that has served the country very well until relatively recent times. I think if I have one concern about how that is now playing out today in 2007, I worry about the enormous difference in the quality of the very best and the very worst of our public schools in this country. The gap between what happens in Princeton High School and what happens in the high schools in Trenton, which are just 20 miles away, are night and day. And I worry about the degree to which our striving for free public education has really been diminished in this country. I think the same thing could be true about the great state universities. They were created so that every individual capable of doing work at the university level would have an opportunity to go to college. As those state colleges and universities are being financially squeezed by their state legislatures, they have only one choice, and that is to raise tuition. And as they raise tuition, those state colleges and universities become less and less accessible to those who are in the bottom of the income bracket.

Recorded on: 8/7/07