Christopher Eisgruber
The National Institute of Social Sciences is delighted to announce Christopher Eisgruber, President of Princeton University, as one of the 2025 Honorees for its Gold Honor Medal for distinguished service to society and humanity.
The National Institute will celebrate President Eisgruber and the other Honorees at the 111th Annual Gold Medal Gala, which will be held in person in New York City on Tuesday, December 9, 2025. We hope you will be able to join us to honor Mr. Eisgruber and our other extraordinary Honorees and their accomplishments.
Christopher Eisgruber has served as Princeton University’s 20th president since July 2013. He served previously as Princeton’s provost for nine years, beginning in 2004, after joining the Princeton faculty in 2001.
As president, Eisgruber has led efforts to increase the representation of low-income and first-generation students at Princeton and other colleges and universities. Princeton’s socioeconomic diversity initiatives have attracted national attention from the New York Times, the Washington Post, 60 Minutes and other news outlets. Eisgruber has also been a leading voice in Washington and elsewhere for the value of research and liberal arts education. He has also emphasized the importance of both free speech and inclusivity to Princeton’s mission and championed the University’s commitment to service.
President Eisgruber is a recipient of the United States Navy’s Distinguished Public Service Award and the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. He serves as board chair for the Association of American Universities, as co-chair of the American Talent Initiative steering committee, and was a member of the United States Navy’s Education for Seapower Advisory Board from 2023 to 2025.
Eisgruber received his A.B. in physics from Princeton in 1983, graduating magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. He then earned an M.Litt in politics at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, and a J.D. cum laude at the University of Chicago Law School. After clerking for U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Patrick Higginbotham and U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, he taught at New York University’s School of Law for 11 years.
Eisgruber’s books include Constitutional Self-Government (2001); Religious Freedom and the Constitution (with Lawrence Sager, 2007); The Next Justice: Repairing the Supreme Court Appointments Process (2007); and Terms of Respect: How Colleges Get Free Speech Right, to be published by Basic Books in September 2025.
Previous Gold Medal Honorees, 1913-2024
About the National Institute of Social Sciences
Established in 1912, the National Institute of Social Sciences is a voluntary association of public-spirited citizens who explore issues of urgent and lasting concern. One of the nation’s oldest honorary societies, the National Institute sponsors speeches, discussions, and events that encourage balanced, non-partisan debate and discussion; celebrates distinguished Americans and world leaders who have contributed at the highest level to the welfare and improvement of society; and provides financial support to emerging scholars who are conducting research in the social sciences.