Harvard Board of Overseers

Last updated

The Harvard Board of Overseers (more formally The Honorable and Reverend the Board of Overseers) is one of Harvard University's two governing boards. Although its function is more consultative and less hands-on than the President and Fellows of Harvard College, the Board of Overseers is sometimes referred to as the "senior" governing board because its 1642 formation [1] predates the Fellows' 1650 incorporation.

Contents

Unlike the Harvard Corporation, the Board of Overseers is not a fiduciary governing board, but instead "has the power of consent to certain actions of the Corporation." [2]

Overview and function

Today, there are 30 overseers, all directly elected by alumni, with the president and the treasurer of Harvard serving as ex officio members of the board.

Each year, Harvard alumni elect five new overseers to serve six-year terms. Overseer candidates are nominated by the Harvard Alumni Association (HAA), and those not nominated by the HAA (petition candidates) must gather signatures from Harvard alumni to appear on the ballot.

According to the Harvard website, the Board of Overseers complements the work of the President and Fellows of Harvard College: [3]

Drawing on the wide-ranging experience and expertise of its members, the Board exerts broad influence over the University’s strategic directions, provides counsel to the University leadership on priorities and plans, and has the power of consent to certain actions of the Corporation. The Board’s chief functions include superintendence of the visitation process, the principal mechanism for periodic external review of the quality and direction of the University’s schools, departments, and selected other programs and activities. The Board carries out this responsibility largely through the operation of more than fifty visiting committees, whose work is overseen by and reported to the Board.

History

Originally the overseers were self-perpetuating, [4] and included, ex officio , the public officials and Puritan clergy of Cambridge and the neighboring towns, hence the "honorable and reverend" of the title. From 1851 to 1865, the fellows were appointed by the Massachusetts Legislature.

Ambassador Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. quipped famously of the election of John F. Kennedy, his son, to the board in 1957: "Now I know his religion won't keep him out of the White House. If an Irish Catholic can get elected as an Overseer at Harvard, he can get elected to anything." [5]

Petition candidates

In the late 1980s, a group calling for a withdrawal of Harvard's investments in apartheid South Africa helped nominate petition candidates for overseer elections. Known as the Harvard-Radcliffe Alumni Against Apartheid (HRAAA), this group supported the first petition candidate to win an overseer's seat. [6] The HRAAA backed South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu in his successful bid to join the board in 1989, [7] [8] and future U.S. president Barack Obama's unsuccessful petition bid in 1991. [9]

In 2020, Harvard Forward, a group calling for increased attention to climate change (including fossil fuel divestment) and representation of younger alumni on the Board, put forward a slate of five petition candidates. [10] Three of the five were elected to the board: environmental scientist Jayson Toweh, civil rights attorney Thea Sebastian, and professional soccer player Margaret Purce. [11] This was despite the efforts of leaders of the Harvard Alumni Association, who circulated a letter calling climate concerns "special interests" and suggesting that it was inappropriate for overseers candidates to state their views on university issues. [12] Following the election of the three Harvard Forward candidates, Harvard changed the election rules in order to make it harder for petition candidates to be elected. [13]

Current overseers

As of January 2023, the Overseers were: [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">President and Fellows of Harvard College</span> Governing board of Harvard University

The President and Fellows of Harvard College is the smaller and more powerful of Harvard University's two governing boards. It refers to itself as the oldest corporation in the Western Hemisphere. Together with the Board of Overseers, the two boards exercise institutional roles that, at most other colleges and universities, are more commonly consolidated into a single board of trustees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2028 Summer Olympics</span> Future multi-sport event in Los Angeles, California, US

The 2028 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXXIV Olympiad, and commonly known as Los Angeles 2028 or LA28, is an upcoming international multi-sport event scheduled to take place from July 14 to 30, 2028, in and around Los Angeles, California, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elections in Hawaii</span> Overview of the procedure of elections in the U.S. state of Hawaii

Elections in Hawaii are held for various local, state, and federal seats in the state of Hawaii. Regular elections are held every even year, although special elections may be held to fill vacancies at other points in time. The primary election is held on the second Saturday in August, while the general election is held on Election Day, which is the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

There are several sports broadcasting contracts in Italy.

Sports broadcasting contracts in Serbia include:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ann Rest</span> American politician

Ann H. Rest is an American politician and President pro tempore of the Minnesota Senate. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), she represents District 43 which includes portions of the western suburbs of Hennepin County in the Twin Cities metro area.

Sports broadcasting contracts in Kosovo include:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helena Foulkes</span> American businessperson

Helena Grace Foulkes is an American businesswoman and politician. She unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for Governor of Rhode Island in the 2022 election and is the former Chief Executive Officer of Hudson's Bay Company.

The Chicago Board of Education serves as the board of education for the Chicago Public Schools.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">131st IOC Session</span> Meeting of ths International Olympic Committee

The 131st IOC Session took place between September 13 – September 16, 2017 at the Lima Convention Centre in Lima, Peru. The host cities for the 2024 Summer Olympics and the 2028 Summer Olympics were elected during the 131st IOC Session on September 13, 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Midge Purce</span> American soccer player (born 1995)

Margaret Melinda "Midge" Williams-Purce is an American soccer player who plays as a forward for NJ/NY Gotham FC in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the United States women's national soccer team. She previously played for Portland Thorns FC and the Boston Breakers. A 2023 NWSL Champion and Championship MVP, she is known for her strength on the ball and her willingness to defend from the attack.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2026 United States Senate elections</span>

The 2026 United States Senate elections are scheduled to be held on November 3, 2026, with 33 of the 100 seats in the Senate being contested in regular elections, the winners of which will serve six-year terms in the United States Congress from January 3, 2027, to January 3, 2033. Senators are divided into three groups, or classes, whose terms are staggered so that a different class is elected every two years. Class 2 senators were last elected in 2020, and will be up for election again in 2032.

The Intermediate Court of Appeals of West Virginia is the intermediate appellate court in West Virginia, created pursuant to the West Virginia Appellate Reorganization Act of 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">119th United States Congress</span> 2025–2027 meeting of U.S. legislature

The 119th United States Congress is the next meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It is scheduled to meet in Washington, D.C., from January 3, 2025, to January 3, 2027, during the final weeks of the first term of Joe Biden's presidency, and the first two years of the presidential term that will occur following the 2024 United States presidential election. The elections of November 2024 will decide control of both houses.

References

  1. University, Harvard. "Leadership and Governance". Harvard University. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
  2. "2.2. Harvard University Governance". Faculty of Medicine Handbook. Retrieved 2024-01-03.
  3. "Harvard's president and Leadership," harvard.edu, accessed 23 June 2012
  4. Whitehead, John S (1972). The separation of college and state; the transformation of Columbia, Dartmouth, Harvard, and Yale from quasi-public to private institutions, 1776–1876 (Thesis). OCLC   864858.
  5. O'Donnell, Kenneth P.; Powers, David F. (2013). 'Johnny, We Hardly Knew Ye': Memories of John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Open Road Media. ISBN   978-1-4804-3778-4.
  6. Moses, Jonathan M. (October 6, 1986). "Seidman Takes Overseer Seat". The Harvard Crimson . Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  7. "Divestment Opposition Persists Despite Tutu's Overseer Election". The Harvard Crimson . September 15, 1989. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  8. Kurilla, Michelle G.; Zhang, Ruoqi (February 7, 2020). "As New Candidates Move Forward, A Look Back at Previous Board of Overseers Campaigns". The Harvard Crimson . Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  9. "Barack Obama of Harvard Law School—and Beyond". Harvard Magazine . November 5, 2008. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  10. Kurilla, Michelle G.; Zhang, Ruoqi (February 19, 2020). "All Five of Harvard Forward Candidates Listed on Board of Overseers Ballot". The Harvard Crimson . Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  11. Rosenberg, John S. (August 21, 2020). "Insurgent Election". Harvard Magazine . Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  12. Rosenberg, John S. (2020-08-10). "Board of Overseers Campaign Hotly Contested". Harvard Magazine. Retrieved 2021-04-06.
  13. Rosenberg, John S. (2020-09-15). "Governing Boards Change Composition of Overseers". Harvard Magazine. Retrieved 2021-04-06.
  14. "Board of Overseers".