Ryan L. White ’04, who took a philosophy course with Appiah this fall, e-mailed various lists asking students to e-mail Appiah to urge him to remain at Harvard.

White said Appiah’s departure is “unfortunate” for students interested in studying the intersection between philosophy and race relations.

“He’s so brilliant, but there are a few other people here involved in the same field,” White said.

At Princeton, Appiah will join his close friend and academic collaborator Princeton Provost Amy Gutmann ’71, who founded its Center for Human Values. In 1996, Appiah and Gutmann co-authored the critically acclaimed “Color Conscious: The Political Morality of Race.”

In a statement released today, Princeton University President Shirley M. Tilghman said she was “delighted” to bring Appiah to Princeton.

“Anthony Appiah brings even greater distinction to our philosophy department, to our Center for Human Values, and to our distinguished and growing work in African-American studies,” Tilghman said.

—Staff writer Kate L. Rakoczy can be reached at rakoczy@fas.harvard.edu.