In late spring, I had the opportunity to interview Jonathan Levin, president of Stanford University, and Rich Lyons, chancellor of UC Berkeley. The conversation took place onstage during the 2025 Bay Area-Silicon Valley Summit held in the Julia Morgan Ballroom in downtown San Francisco — and it couldn’t have been timelier.

Higher education has never been under such scrutiny and attack by the federal government. Universities across the nation are facing unprecedented challenges with President Donald Trump’s administration cutting research grants, halting projects and threatening billions of dollars in funding. Meanwhile, the public’s trust in higher education is significantly lower than it was 10 years ago.

Levin became the 13th president of Stanford in August 2024. Prior to his appointme

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