A university's freedom and obligation are to provide a forum for the most searching and candid discussion of public issues. There is no mechanism by which it can reach a collective position without inhibiting that full freedom of dissent on which it thrives. It arises out of respect for free inquiry and the obligation to cherish a diversity of viewpoints. Finally, teaching, learning and research do not benefit from stagnant air but from fresh winds blowing. There can be no fresh wind without highest quality research.
Mediocrity leads to nothing other than more mediocrity.
Apart from gathering the best minds and providing them with resources, hard work and a substantial measure of freedom in the setting of research priorities have always been among the conditions that make highest quality research possible. Good institutions and good work need a lot of breathing space. I worry that as we attend to the shortcomings of universities, we as a country are losing sight of the conditions that create good work and good institutions. We should also remember that burning the midnight oil, hard work in study and laboratory, remains the rule at Stanford and its sister universities even if those who see only shortcomings will not admit it. The research enterprise can easily be smothered by internal and external politics, pressures and red tape.