WashU Chancellor Andrew D. Martin defended the decision to meet with the Trump administration in the fall, discussed the impact of AI on higher education, and talked about emergency preparedness in a Q&A with Student Life on Wednesday, April 1. Martin also shared updates on WashU’s financial situation, including the reasons behind the transition to Workday, the University’s construction planning, and the decision to purchase the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy (UHSP). 

In short, my university made me open to learning. It showed me how to be a better officer because it showed how I could, as Sun Tzu explained, “Know your enemy and know yourself, and you can fight a hundred battles without disaster.”

WashU, as an institution, has traded public-facing politics for career outcomes, encouraging students to do the same as individuals. When a university defines the primary purpose of education as professional preparation, civic engagement becomes a risk and is disregarded rather than made an educational responsibility.

Author and feminist philosopher Judith Butler spoke to a crowd of about 200 members of the WashU community about their most recent book, “Who’s Afraid of Gender?” and the future of world democracy in the Clark-Fox Forum in Hillman Hall, Feb. 3. 

As WashU continues to grapple with improving national name recognition and school identity, we caution the university against emulating Ivy Plus institutions and prioritizing rankings over becoming an institution that advances social progress.

Chancellor Andrew D. Martin met virtually with White House representatives on Friday afternoon to discuss President Trump’s higher education compact, which asks universities to commit to a range of policy changes in exchange for preferential access to federal funding, per Vice Chancellor of Marketing and Communications Julie Flory. 

Think of the best educational experiences you’ve had at WashU: the classes that resonated most with you, the conversations with peers about the world or something you read, the moments that sparked creativity and excitement for you. A true education isn’t simply pouring knowledge from one bucket to another, from professor to student. It’s a lively, unpredictable conversation where professors’ expertise meets students’ intellectual energy, generating new insights and ideas. That conversation requires academic freedom for all of us. And when that freedom is jeopardized, students lose. 

As the Student Life editorial board, we call on Chancellor Martin and the WashU administration to stand up for minority students on campus, just as they do for their researchers.

I am deeply in support of the expansion of university resources and the long-term sustainability of higher education. I am not convinced, however, that tying up billions of dollars in private capital is the best way to fulfill WashU’s obligations as an educational institution.

If higher education truly wishes to help solve the world’s complex problems, it is essential that all voices get a seat at the table, including those of graduate student workers.