1949年間,隨著國共政權的鼎革,燕京大學校方、美國托事部與中共圍繞燕大的校務管理展開了博奕。當時燕大多數師生選擇留守北平,中共對燕大採取維持現狀的政策,提供一定的經濟援助,允許其繼續使用美國經費,使其教學秩序得以保持正常,並享有學術自由與宗教自由。以陸志韋、范天祥為代表的中外教職員還進行了管理學校的權力之爭,最終以新的校務委員會成立而使中方獲得實際控制權。燕大校內師生多數對國民黨統治失去希望,對中共充滿憧憬;也有師生採旁觀心態,認為學術與政治關係不大;校內傳教士與基督徒對於堅持無神論的中共仍然存有質疑,但也積極尋求與新時代融合。燕大在1949年出現的諸多新變化,充滿了主動與被動的多樣選擇,中共、美方與燕大根據形勢的不同適時地調適、磨合,其中存在許多波折,特別是中美雙方在經費、宗教問題上的矛盾,更為此後燕京大學的命運埋下了伏筆。
With the shift of national power from the Kuomintang to the Communist regime, Yenching University, its Board of Trustees in America, and the Chinese Communist Party played a game around the management of school affairs in 1949. Most of Yenching's teachers and students chose to stay in Peiping. The CCP adopted a policy to maintain the status quo, provide certain economic assistance, and allow Yenching University to continue to use funds from the United States. Thus Yenching's teaching atmosphere could be maintained as normal, and it enjoyed academic freedom and religious freedom. The Chinese and foreign staff represented by Lu Zhiwei (Luh Chih-wei) and Bliss M. Wiant engaged a power struggle, but finally the new school affairs committee was set up, and the Chinese side gained actual control. Most of the teachers and students at Yenching University supported the CCP, but some stayed on the sidelines and thought that academia had little to do with politics. Missionaries and Christians at Yenching University had doubts about the CCP's adherence to atheism, but they were actively seeking integration with the new era. The many changes at Yenching University in 1949 came about through active and passive choices. The CCP, the Board of Trustees in America, and Yenching University also adjusted and adapted in time according to their different situations. There were many twists and turns, especially the contradictions between the two sides on the issues of funding and religion. The future of Yenching University was foreshadowed in these circumstances.