President of Harvard University
Encyclopedia
The President of Harvard University is the chief administrator
of the university. Ex officio the chairman of the Harvard Corporation
, he or she is appointed by and is responsible to the other members of that body, who delegate to him or her the day-to-day running of the university. The current incumbent is Drew Gilpin Faust
, formerly the dean of Harvard's Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
.
Harvard is a famously decentralized university, noted for the "every tub on its own bottom" independence of its various constituent faculties. They set their own academic standards and manage their own budgets. The president, however, plays an important part in university-wide planning and strategy. He names each faculty's dean
(and, since the foundation of the office in 1994, the university's provost
), and grants tenure
to recommended professors. (He is, however, expected to make such decisions after extensive consultation with faculty members).
Traditionally, as the leader of one of the United States
' most prominent universities, Harvard presidents have influenced educational practices nationwide. Charles W. Eliot, for example, originated America's familiar system of a smorgasbord of elective courses available to each student; James B. Conant worked to introduce standardized testing; Derek Bok and Neil L. Rudenstine argued for the continued importance of diversity in higher education.
Recently, however, the job has become increasingly administrative, especially as the president has become increasingly responsible for conducting fund-raising campaigns. Some have criticized this trend to the extent it has prevented the president from focusing on substantive issues in higher education.
Each president is a qualified academic professor
in some department of the university and will, on occasion, teach courses.
. He was soon dismissed, however; and when in 1640 Henry Dunster
was brought in he adopted the title "president". The origins of this title have been grounds for a certain amount of speculation; see President (title).
Harvard was originally founded for the training of Puritan
clergy, and even though its mission was soon broadened, nearly all presidents through the end of the 18th century were in holy orders.
All presidents from Leonard Hoar through Nathan Pusey were graduates of Harvard College
(i.e., they were undergraduates at the university). Of the presidents since Pusey, Bok took his undergraduate degree at Stanford
, Rudenstine at Princeton
, and Summers at MIT
; but each earned a graduate degree at Harvard. Drew Gilpin Faust
is the first president since the seventeenth century with no earned Harvard degree.
(John Winthrop (1714-1779)
served as acting president in 1769 and again in 1773; but both times he declined the offer of the full presidency on grounds of old age.)
(Other minor acting presidents have included William Brattle, Edward Wigglesworth
, Henry Ware
(1810, 1828-1829), Andrew Preston Peabody
(1862, 1868-1869), and Henry Pickering Walcott. Henry Rosovsky
, former Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, served as acting president for three months in 1987 when Bok traveled abroad. Provost Albert Carnesale
served as acting president November 1994-February 1995, during Rudenstine's leave of absence for exhaustion. Bok served as interim president July 1, 2006 - June 30, 2007, until the appointment of Faust.)
Academic administration
An academic administration is a branch of university or college employees responsible for the maintenance and supervision of the institution and separate from the faculty or academics, although some personnel may have joint responsibilities...
of the university. Ex officio the chairman of the Harvard Corporation
President and Fellows of Harvard College
The President and Fellows of Harvard College is the more fundamental of Harvard University's two governing boards...
, he or she is appointed by and is responsible to the other members of that body, who delegate to him or her the day-to-day running of the university. The current incumbent is Drew Gilpin Faust
Drew Gilpin Faust
Catherine Drew Gilpin Faust is an American historian, college administrator, and the president of Harvard University. Faust is the first woman to serve as Harvard's president and the university's 28th president overall. Faust is the fifth woman to serve as president of an Ivy League university, and...
, formerly the dean of Harvard's Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard is an educational institution in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and one of the semiautonomous components of Harvard University. It is heir to the name and buildings of Radcliffe College, but unlike that historical institution, its focus is directed...
.
Harvard is a famously decentralized university, noted for the "every tub on its own bottom" independence of its various constituent faculties. They set their own academic standards and manage their own budgets. The president, however, plays an important part in university-wide planning and strategy. He names each faculty's dean
Dean (education)
In academic administration, a dean is a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, or over a specific area of concern, or both...
(and, since the foundation of the office in 1994, the university's provost
Provost (education)
A provost is the senior academic administrator at many institutions of higher education in the United States, Canada and Australia, the equivalent of a pro-vice-chancellor at some institutions in the United Kingdom and Ireland....
), and grants tenure
Tenure
Tenure commonly refers to life tenure in a job and specifically to a senior academic's contractual right not to have his or her position terminated without just cause.-19th century:...
to recommended professors. (He is, however, expected to make such decisions after extensive consultation with faculty members).
Traditionally, as the leader of one of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
' most prominent universities, Harvard presidents have influenced educational practices nationwide. Charles W. Eliot, for example, originated America's familiar system of a smorgasbord of elective courses available to each student; James B. Conant worked to introduce standardized testing; Derek Bok and Neil L. Rudenstine argued for the continued importance of diversity in higher education.
Recently, however, the job has become increasingly administrative, especially as the president has become increasingly responsible for conducting fund-raising campaigns. Some have criticized this trend to the extent it has prevented the president from focusing on substantive issues in higher education.
Each president is a qualified academic professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
in some department of the university and will, on occasion, teach courses.
History
At Harvard's founding it was headed by a "schoolmaster", Nathaniel EatonNathaniel Eaton
Nathaniel Eaton was the first schoolmaster of Harvard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and later became a clergyman.- Biography :...
. He was soon dismissed, however; and when in 1640 Henry Dunster
Henry Dunster
Henry Dunster was an Anglo-American Puritan clergyman and the first president of Harvard College...
was brought in he adopted the title "president". The origins of this title have been grounds for a certain amount of speculation; see President (title).
Harvard was originally founded for the training of Puritan
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
clergy, and even though its mission was soon broadened, nearly all presidents through the end of the 18th century were in holy orders.
All presidents from Leonard Hoar through Nathan Pusey were graduates of Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
(i.e., they were undergraduates at the university). Of the presidents since Pusey, Bok took his undergraduate degree at Stanford
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, Rudenstine at Princeton
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, and Summers at MIT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
; but each earned a graduate degree at Harvard. Drew Gilpin Faust
Drew Gilpin Faust
Catherine Drew Gilpin Faust is an American historian, college administrator, and the president of Harvard University. Faust is the first woman to serve as Harvard's president and the university's 28th president overall. Faust is the fifth woman to serve as president of an Ivy League university, and...
is the first president since the seventeenth century with no earned Harvard degree.
Presidents of Harvard
- Nathaniel EatonNathaniel EatonNathaniel Eaton was the first schoolmaster of Harvard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and later became a clergyman.- Biography :...
("schoolmaster," 1637-1639) - Henry DunsterHenry DunsterHenry Dunster was an Anglo-American Puritan clergyman and the first president of Harvard College...
(1640-1654) - Charles ChauncyCharles ChauncyCharles Chauncy was an Anglo-American clergyman and educator.He was born at Yardleybury , Hertfordshire, England and educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he later was a lecturer in Greek. After serving as a pastor in England at Marston St. Lawrence, Northamptonshire , he emigrated to...
(1654-1672) - Leonard HoarLeonard HoarLeonard Hoar was an English-born early American minister and educator, who spent a short and troubled term as President of Harvard College.-Life:...
(1672-1675) - Urian OakesUrian OakesUrian Oakes was an English-born American minister and educator.-Life:He was born in England in 1631 or 1632, and went when a child with his father to Massachusetts; Thomas Oakes was his brother. He graduated at Harvard College in 1649. While in America he married Ruth, daughter of the...
(acting president, 1675-1680; president, 1680-1681) - John RogersJohn Rogers (Harvard)John Rogers was an English academic in early Colonial America. Eldest son of minister Nathaniel Rogers, he was born in Coggeshall, a small town in Essex, and immigrated to New England with his family in 1636. In 1649, at age 19, in the recent settlement of Cambridge , he earned a B.A...
(1682-1684) - Increase MatherIncrease MatherIncrease Mather was a major figure in the early history of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and Province of Massachusetts Bay . He was a Puritan minister who was involved with the government of the colony, the administration of Harvard College, and most notoriously, the Salem witch trials...
(acting president, 1685-1686; rector, 1686-1692; president, 1692-1701) - Samuel WillardSamuel WillardReverend Samuel Willard was a Colonial clergyman. He was born in Concord, Massachusetts; graduated at Harvard in 1659; and was minister at Groton from 1663 to 1676, whence he was driven by the Indians during King Philip's War. The Reverend Willard was pastor of the Third Church, Boston, from...
(acting president, 1701-1707) - John LeverettJohn Leverett the YoungerJohn Leverett was an early American lawyer, politician, educator, and President of Harvard University.John Leverett was the son of Hudson Leverett, an attorney, and Sarah Leverett,...
(1708-1724) - Benjamin WadsworthBenjamin WadsworthBenjamin Wadsworth was an early American clergyman and educator. He was trained at Harvard College...
(1725-1737) - Edward HolyokeEdward HolyokeEdward Holyoke was an early American clergyman, and the 9th President of Harvard College.-Background:Edward Holyoke was the son of a wealthy and influential businessman, Elizur Holyoke Jr, who held several local town offices and served in the legislature...
(1737-1769) - Samuel LockeSamuel LockeSamuel Locke was a U.S. Congregational clergyman and educator. After serving as pastor in Sherborn, Massachusetts, he was appointed president of Harvard University. He held that post from 1770 to 1773 when he resigned. He then returned to Sherborn where he died of apoplexy.-Notes:...
(1770-1773) - Samuel LangdonSamuel LangdonSamuel Langdon was a American Congregational clergyman and educator. After serving as pastor in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, he was appointed president of Harvard University in 1774. He held that post until 1780....
(1774-1780) - Joseph WillardJoseph WillardJoseph Willard was a U.S. Congregational clergyman and academic. He was educated at the Dummer Academy and Harvard College and served as pastor in Beverly, Massachusetts...
(1781-1804) - Eliphalet PearsonEliphalet PearsonEliphalet Pearson U.S. educator; 1st principal of Phillips Academy 1778-1786; acting president of Harvard University 1804-1806.Pearson graduated from Harvard in 1773 after having attended Dummer Charity School ....
(acting president, 1804-1806) - Samuel Webber (1806-1810)
- John Thornton KirklandJohn Thornton KirklandJohn Thornton Kirkland served as President of Harvard University from 1810 to 1828. A religious minister like many of his predecessors, he is remembered chiefly for his lenient treatment of students...
(1810-1828) - Josiah QuincyJosiah Quincy IIIJosiah Quincy III was a U.S. educator and political figure. He was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives , Mayor of Boston , and President of Harvard University...
(1829-1845) - Edward EverettEdward EverettEdward Everett was an American politician and educator from Massachusetts. Everett, a Whig, served as U.S. Representative, and U.S. Senator, the 15th Governor of Massachusetts, Minister to Great Britain, and United States Secretary of State...
(1846-1849) - Jared SparksJared SparksJared Sparks was an American historian, educator, and Unitarian minister. He served as President of Harvard University from 1849 to 1853.-Biography:...
(1849-1853) - James WalkerJames Walker (Harvard)James Walker was a Unitarian minister, professor, and President of Harvard College from February 10, 1853, to January 26, 1860....
(1853-1860) - Cornelius Conway FeltonCornelius Conway FeltonCornelius Conway Felton was an American educator. He was regent of the Smithsonian Institution, as well as professor of Greek literature and president of Harvard University....
(1860-1862) - Thomas HillThomas Hill (clergyman)-References:...
(1862-1868) - Charles William EliotCharles William EliotCharles William Eliot was an American academic who was selected as Harvard's president in 1869. He transformed the provincial college into the preeminent American research university...
(1869-1909) - Abbott Lawrence LowellAbbott Lawrence LowellAbbott Lawrence Lowell was a U.S. educator and legal scholar. He served as President of Harvard University from 1909 to 1933....
(1909-1933) - James Bryant ConantJames Bryant ConantJames Bryant Conant was a chemist, educational administrator, and government official. As thePresident of Harvard University he reformed it as a research institution.-Biography :...
(1933-1953) - Nathan Marsh Pusey (1953-1971)
- Derek Curtis Bok (1971-1991)
- Neil L. Rudenstine (1991-2001)
- Lawrence H. Summers (July 1, 2001 - June 30, 2006)
- Drew Gilpin FaustDrew Gilpin FaustCatherine Drew Gilpin Faust is an American historian, college administrator, and the president of Harvard University. Faust is the first woman to serve as Harvard's president and the university's 28th president overall. Faust is the fifth woman to serve as president of an Ivy League university, and...
(July 1, 2007 - present)
(John Winthrop (1714-1779)
John Winthrop (1714-1779)
John Winthrop was the 2nd Hollis Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy in Harvard College. He was a distinguished mathematician, physicist and astronomer, born in Boston, Mass. His great-great-grandfather, also named John Winthrop, was founder of the Massachusetts Bay Colony...
served as acting president in 1769 and again in 1773; but both times he declined the offer of the full presidency on grounds of old age.)
(Other minor acting presidents have included William Brattle, Edward Wigglesworth
Edward Wigglesworth
Edward Wigglesworth was a clergyman and teacher in Colonial America.-Life:His father was clergyman and author Michael Wigglesworth ....
, Henry Ware
Henry Ware
Henry Ware may refer to:*Henry Ware , U.S. preacher and theologian*Henry Ware, Jr. , Unitarian theologian, son of the above*Henry Ware , Bishop of Chichester...
(1810, 1828-1829), Andrew Preston Peabody
Andrew Preston Peabody
Andrew Preston Peabody was an American clergyman and author.Born in Beverly, Massachusetts, Peabody was descended from Lieut. Francis Peabody of St. Albans, who emigrated to Massachusetts in 1635...
(1862, 1868-1869), and Henry Pickering Walcott. Henry Rosovsky
Henry Rosovsky
Henry Rosovsky is an American economist and university administrator. From 1973 to 1984 and 1990 to 1991, he was the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University. At Harvard, where he was a Professor of Economics, he also served as Acting President in 1984 and 1987...
, former Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, served as acting president for three months in 1987 when Bok traveled abroad. Provost Albert Carnesale
Albert Carnesale
Albert Carnesale is an American academic. He is a former chancellor of the University of California, Los Angeles, provost of Harvard University, and dean of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. In November 1994, while serving as Dean and Provost, Carnesale also served as Acting President...
served as acting president November 1994-February 1995, during Rudenstine's leave of absence for exhaustion. Bok served as interim president July 1, 2006 - June 30, 2007, until the appointment of Faust.)