The president of Harvard University is the chief

administrator Administrator or admin may refer to: Job roles Computing and internet * Database administrator, a person who is responsible for the environmental aspects of a database * Forum administrator, one who oversees discussions on an Internet forum * N ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

and the ''

ex officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, or council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by r ...

'' president of the

Harvard Corporation The President and Fellows of Harvard College, also called the Harvard Corporation or just the Corporation, is the smaller and more powerful of Harvard University's two governing boards. It refers to itself as the oldest corporation in the Western ...

. Each is appointed by and is responsible to the other members of that body, who delegate to the president the day-to-day running of the university. Harvard's current president is

Alan Garber Alan Michael Garber (born May 7, 1955) is an American physician and health economist, currently serving as the 31st president of Harvard University since December 7, 2024. Previously, he served as provost of Harvard University from 2011 to Marc ...

, who took office on January 2, 2024, following the resignation of

Claudine Gay Claudine Gay (born August 4, 1970) is an American political scientist who is the Wilbur A. Cowett Professor of Government and of African and African-American Studies at Harvard University. Her research focuses on American political behavior, inc ...

. In August 2024, the Harvard Corporation announced he would be in the position until mid-2027.

Role

The president plays an important part in university-wide planning and strategy. Each names a faculty's dean (and, since the foundation of the office in 1994, the university's provost), and grants

tenure Tenure is a type of academic appointment that protects its holder from being fired or laid off except for cause, or under extraordinary circumstances such as financial exigency or program discontinuation. Academic tenure originated in the United ...

to recommended professors. However, the president is expected to make such decisions after extensive consultation with faculty members. Recently, however, the job has become increasingly administrative, especially as fund-raising campaigns have taken on central importance in large institutions such as Harvard. Some have criticized this trend to the extent it has prevented the president from focusing on substantive issues in higher education. Each president is professor in some department of the university and teaches from time to time. The university maintains an official residence for the president's use, which from 1912 until 1971, was President's House, and since then has been Elmwood.

Influence

Harvard presidents have traditionally 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 James Bryant Conant (March 26, 1893 – February 11, 1978) was an American chemist, a transformative President of Harvard University, and the first United States Ambassador to West Germany, U.S. Ambassador to West Germany. Conant obtained a ...

worked to introduce standardized testing;

Derek Bok Derek Curtis Bok (born March 22, 1930) is an American lawyer and educator, and former president of Harvard University. Early life and education Bok was born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Following his parents' divorce, he, his mother, brother and ...

and

Neil L. Rudenstine Neil Leon Rudenstine (born January 21, 1935) is an American scholar, educator, and Academic administration, administrator. He served as president of Harvard University from 1991 to 2001. Early life and education Rudenstine was born in Danbury, C ...

argued for the continued importance of diversity in higher education.

History

At Harvard's founding it was headed by a "schoolmaster",

Nathaniel Eaton Nathaniel Eaton (before 17 September 1609 − before 11 May 1674) was an Anglican clergyman who was the first President of Harvard University#Presidents of Harvard, Headmaster of Harvard, Chairperson, President designate, and builder of Harvard ...

. In 1640, when Henry Dunster was brought in, he adopted the title of president. Since Harvard was founded for the training of

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

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 in 1672 through Nathan Pusey in 1971 were graduates of

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

. Of the presidents since Pusey, nearly all earned a graduate degree at Harvard. The only exception has been

Drew Gilpin Faust Catharine Drew Gilpin Faust (born September 18, 1947) is an American historian who served as the 28th president of Harvard University, the first woman in that role. She was Harvard's first president since 1672 without an undergraduate or graduat ...

, who was the first president since the seventeenth century with no earned Harvard degree.

Role

Influence

History

Presidents of Harvard

Timeline of Harvard University presidential terms

References

External links