Part 1 - The Institute Libraries - Institute for Advanced Study

their interests, as well as a distinguished contributor to sthematical
thought ,
An editorial in the Princeton A l m i Weekly of the 14th of
October revealed mixed feelings et the University:
There has been some questioning of the value to Princeton
on the grounds that Dr. Flexnes, with his challenging theory
of research and his practical meens of putting it into effect,
will draw men away from the University. This line of
reasoning is nos quite sound: the question is not whether
we should refer to have Professor Einstein on our faeulty
cr on Dr. Flexner's, but whethex we should prefer to have
him in Princeton or Berlin. Similarly, everyone will regret
that Professor Veblen, one of Princeton's ablest mathematicians,
has left the University faculty, but assuming that
Dr. Flexner coull attract him anyway, the question is vhether
we should rzther have him living in Princeton or some place
else. Dr. Flexner was bound to build up a strong faculty;
we are plezsed thst it will be near us.
Opportunity for scholarly development fs one of the prim
factors considered by teachers in changing from ore univer-
sity to another, Included under this head are a good libr-
ary, well-equipped laboratories, a reasonable teaching sehed-
ule, snd the chznce fox associations with lesders in scholar-
ly work. If Dr. Flexner's group helps to mike Princeton more
fanous as a center of research, we will have a better chance
of competing on even terms with sister institutions which are
as anxious as we are to strengthen their facilitie~.~~
This line of rezsoning appealed to those who wanted the Univer-
sfty to advance the interests of scholarship and research; needless t o
say, it did not have the szme effect upon those among f~culty, trustees
and al-i who valued more highly the traditions of the College of New
Jersey. Nor did It still the crfticism of those who felt that if the
Institute needed and wanted to be near the University, it should recruit .
its faculty elsewhere.
It will be recalled that Prafessor Peblen rafsed a serious
question with Dean Elsenhart on this mstter from ~8ttingen. Then he had
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