President of Harvard University

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President of Harvard University
Harvard Alumni Day 2025 - Alan Garber 28 (cropped).jpg
Incumbent
Alan Garber
since January 2, 2024 (2024-01-02)
Appointer Harvard Corporation
Formation1640 (1640)
First holder Henry Dunster
Website harvard.edu/president/

The president of Harvard University is the chief administrator of Harvard University and the ex officio president of the Harvard Corporation. [1] 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.

Contents

Harvard's current president is Alan Garber, who took office on January 2, 2024, following the resignation of Claudine Gay. In August 2024, the Harvard Corporation announced he would be in the position until mid-2027. [2]

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 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. [3]

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. [4]

Influence

Five Harvard University presidents, sitting in order of when they served. Left-to-right: Josiah Quincy III, Edward Everett, Jared Sparks, James Walker and Cornelius Conway Felton. HarvardUniversityPresidents1829-1862.jpg
Five Harvard University presidents, sitting in order of when they served. Left-to-right: Josiah Quincy III, Edward Everett, Jared Sparks, James Walker and Cornelius Conway Felton.

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 worked to introduce standardized testing; Derek Bok and Neil L. Rudenstine argued for the continued importance of diversity in higher education.

History

At Harvard's founding it was headed by a "schoolmaster", Nathaniel Eaton. In 1640, when Henry Dunster was brought in, he adopted the title of president. Since Harvard was 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 in 1672 through Nathan Pusey in 1971 were graduates of Harvard College. Of the presidents since Pusey, nearly all earned a graduate degree at Harvard. The only exception has been Drew Gilpin Faust, who was the first president since the seventeenth century with no earned Harvard degree.

Presidents of Harvard

The following persons have served as president of Harvard University: [5]

No.ImagePresidentsTerm startTerm endLengthRef.
– Noimage.svg Nathaniel Eaton [a] 163716392 years [6]
1 Noimage.svg Henry Dunster [b] August 27, 1640October 24, 165414 years, 1 month and 27 days [7]
2 HarvardPresidentCharlesChauncy.jpg Charles Chauncy November 2, 1654February 19, 1672 [c] 17 years, 3 months and 17 days [8]
3 Noimage.svg Leonard Hoar [d] December 10, 1672March 15, 16752 years, 3 months and 5 days [9]
acting Urian Oakes tomb - Cambridge, MA.jpg Urian Oakes April 7, 1675February 2, 16804 years, 9 months and 26 days
4February 2, 1680July 25, 1681 [c] 1 year, 5 months and 23 days [10] [8]
5 Harvard president John Rogers.png John Rogers April 10, 1682July 12, 1684 [c] 2 years, 3 months and 2 days [11] [12] [8]
acting Appletons' Mather Richard - Increase.jpg Increase Mather [e] June 11, 1685June 23, 16861 year and 12 days
rectorJune 23, 1686June 27, 16926 years and 4 days
6June 27, 1692June 29, 17019 years and 2 days [13] [8]
acting Appletons' Willard Simon - Samuel.jpg Samuel Willard [f] 170117076 years and 6 days [14]
7 John Leverett.gif John Leverett [g] 17081724 [c] 16 years, 3 months and 19 days [8] [15]
8 BenjaminWadsworth 1stChurch Boston.png Benjamin Wadsworth 17251737 [c] 11 years, 8 months and 9 days [12] [8]
9 John Singleton Copley - Edward Holyoke (1689-1769) - H6 - Harvard Art Museums.jpg Edward Holyoke [h] 17371769 [c] 32 years [12] [8]
acting JohnWinthropAstronomer.jpg John Winthrop [i] 17691769 [16]
10 Noimage.svg Samuel Locke [j] 177017733 years, 6 months and 10 days [17]
acting JohnWinthropAstronomer.jpg John Winthrop [k] 17731774 [18]
11 Noimage.svg Samuel Langdon [l] 177417806 years, 1 month and 12 days [8] [19]
acting Edward Wigglesworth II.jpg Edward Wigglesworth 17801781
12 Coat of Arms of Joseph Willard.svg Joseph Willard 17811804 [c] 23 years and 20 days [20]
acting Eliphalet Pearson.png Eliphalet Pearson 18041806
13 Noimage.svg Samuel Webber 18061810 [c] 4 years, 2 months and 11 days [21]
acting Henry Ware Sr. (1764-1845).jpeg Henry Ware 18101810
14 JohnThorntonKikland.jpg John Thornton Kirkland [m] 1810182817 years, 4 months and 19 days
acting Henry Ware Sr. (1764-1845).jpeg Henry Ware 18281829
15 Josiah Quincy 1772-1864.jpg Josiah Quincy III 1829184516 years, 6 months and 29 days [22]
16 Edward Everett, 1794-1865, three-quarter length portrait, standing, facing left (cropped closein 3x4).jpg Edward Everett [n] 184618482 years, 11 months and 27 days [23]
17 Jared Sparks.jpg Jared Sparks 184918534 years and 9 days [24]
18 James Walker Harvard.jpg James Walker 185318606 years, 11 months and 16 days [25]
19 Cornelius Conway Felton (cropped).jpg Cornelius Conway Felton 1860February 26, 1862 [c] 2 years and 10 days [26]
acting Andrew Preston Peabody.jpg Andrew Preston Peabody 18621862
20 Thomas Hill b1818.jpg Thomas Hill 186218685 years, 11 months and 24 days [27]
acting Andrew Preston Peabody.jpg Andrew Preston Peabody 18681869 [28]
21 Appletons' Eliot Charles William.jpg Charles William Eliot [o] 1869190940 years, 2 months and 7 days [29] [30] [31] [32]
acting Henry Pickering Walcott [p] 19001901 [33]
19051905
22 Picture of Abbott Lawrence Lowell.jpg A. Lawrence Lowell 1909193324 years, 1 month and 2 days [34] [35]
23 James Conant 1932.jpg James B. Conant [q] 1933195319 years, 6 months and 22 days [36]
24 Nathan Pusey Boston College 1963 (cropped).JPG Nathan Pusey [r] June 1, 1953June 30, 197118 years and 29 days. [37] [38]
25 Noimage.svg Derek Bok July 1, 1971June 30, 199119 years, 11 months and 29 days [39]
acting Henry Rosovsky [s] 19841984 [40]
19871987 [41] [42]
26 Noimage.svg Neil Rudenstine July 1, 1991June 30, 20019 years, 11 months and 29 days [43] [44]
acting Albert Carnesale [t] November 29, 1994February 1995 [45] [46] [47] [48]
27 Lawrence Summers 2012.jpg Lawrence Summers [u] July 1, 2001June 30, 20064 years, 11 months and 29 days [49] [50] [51] [52] [53] [54] [55] [56] [57]
interim Noimage.svg Derek Bok July 1, 2006June 30, 200711 months and 29 days [58] [8]
28 Women in Economic Decision-making Drew Gilpin Faust (8414040540) (cropped).jpg Drew Gilpin Faust [v] July 1, 2007June 30, 201810 years, 11 months and 29 days [8] [59]
29 Lawrence Bacow in San Francisco pictured 2006.jpg Lawrence Bacow July 1, 2018June 30, 20234 years, 11 months and 29 days [8] [60]
30 Inauguration of Claudine Gay as President of Harvard University (2) (cropped).jpg Claudine Gay [w] July 1, 2023January 2, 20246 months and 1 day [61] [62]
interim Harvard Alumni Day 2025 - Alan Garber 28 (cropped).jpg Alan Garber January 2, 2024August 2, 20247 months [63] [64]
31August 2, 2024present1 year, 3 months and 3 days [65]

Table notes:

  1. ↑ Referred to as "schoolmaster" of Harvard College
    Fired for "embezzlement and beating students"
  2. ↑ Forced to resign for speaking out against and interrupting infant baptisms
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Died in office
  4. ↑ Forced to resign
  5. ↑ Forced to resign for refusing to reside in Cambridge.
  6. ↑ Resigned due to illness
  7. ↑ First lawyer to serve as president.
  8. ↑ At 79, the oldest president.
  9. ↑ Declined presidency on a permanent basis on grounds of old age.
  10. ↑ Resigned after fathering a child out of wedlock.
  11. ↑ Declined presidency again on a permanent basis on grounds of old age
  12. ↑ Students petitioned the Corporation to dismiss him and he resigned.
  13. ↑ Suffered a stroke, was accused of financial mismanagement by the Harvard Corporation, and resigned
  14. ↑ Later became United States Secretary of State and United States Senator.
  15. ↑ At 35, the youngest president. Longest term of office.
  16. ↑ For a portion of 1900-1901 and 1905, Henry Pickering Walcott served as acting president while Eliot was on vacation.
  17. ↑ Retired to become Allied High Commissioner for Occupied Germany and later U.S. ambassador to Germany
  18. ↑ "Pusey called in the Cambridge police to end a student sit-in" in 1969. "Sharply criticized for his handling of the situation, he announced in 1970 that he would retire the following year"
  19. ↑ served as acting president in 1984 and 1987 when Bok traveled and took brief sabbaticals.
  20. ↑ Provost Albert Carnesale served as acting president during Rudenstine's medical leave of absence.
  21. ↑ First Jewish president. Resigned following several clashes with faculty resulting in a no-confidence vote.
  22. ↑ First female president
  23. ↑ First black president. Shortest serving president; resigned following congressional hearings into antisemitism on campus and multiple allegations of plagiarism.

Timeline of Harvard University presidential terms

Alan GarberClaudine GayLawrence BacowDrew Gilpin FaustDerek BokLawrence SummersNeil RudenstineNathan PuseyJames B. ConantA. Lawrence LowellCharles William EliotAndrew Preston PeabodyThomas HillCornelius Conway FeltonJames WalkerJared SparksEliphalet PearsonJosiah Quincy IIIHenry WareJohn Thornton KirklandSamuel WebberEliphalet PearsonJoseph WillardEdward WigglesworthSamuel LangdonJohn WinthropSamuel LockeEdward HolyokeBenjamin Wadsworth (clergyman)John LeverettSamuel WillardIncrease MatherJohn RogersUrian OakesLeonard HoarCharles ChauncyHenry DunsterNathaniel EatonPresident of Harvard University

References

  1. ↑ Central Administration Archived November 23, 2011, at the Wayback Machine Governance of the University, from Office of the Provost
  2. ↑ "Harvard Keeps Alan Garber as President Through Mid-2027". Bloomberg.com. August 2, 2024. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
  3. ↑ Lee, Richard S. (March 10, 2001). "An Empty Chair at Harvard (Op-Ed)". The New York Times. Retrieved October 17, 2007.
  4. ↑ Graff, Garrett M.; Miller, Andrew J. (October 14, 2001). "33 Elmwood". The Harvard Crimson . ISSN   1932-4219. Archived from the original on June 21, 2013. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  5. ↑ "History of the Presidency". Harvard University.
  6. ↑ Graff, Garrett M. (September–October 2002). "John Harvard's Journal: Of Religious Education and Rotten Cabbage". The Harvard Magazine . Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  7. ↑ "Harvard's First President – Et Seq: The Harvard Law School Library Blog". etseq.law.harvard.edu. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 President, Harvard University. "History of the Presidency". Harvard University President. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  9. ↑ Mather, Cotton (1702). Magnalia Christi Americana: or, The ecclesiastical history of New-England, from its first planting in the year 1620. unto the year of Our Lord, 1698. In seven books ... John Adams Library at the Boston Public Library. London: Printed for Thomas Parkhurst, at the Bible and three crowns in Cheapside.
  10. ↑ "Papers of Urian Oakes". Harvard Library . Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  11. ↑ "Harvard College Records Volume 15 Part 1". Colonial Society of Massachusetts . Archived from the original on September 7, 2023. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  12. 1 2 3 "Harvard Presidents Throughout History". The Harvard Gazette . Harvard University. March 15, 2001. ISSN   0364-7692. Archived from the original on September 19, 2020. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  13. ↑ "Biographical Notes on Increase Mather". Colonial Society of Massachusetts . Archived from the original on September 24, 2023. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  14. ↑ "Resolution Relating to Samuel Willard and the College". Colonial Society of Massachusetts . Archived from the original on July 5, 2022. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  15. ↑ "Papers of John Leverett, 1652-1730". Harvard Library . Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  16. ↑ "Papers of John and Hannah Winthrop". HOLLIS for Archival Discovery. 1728–1779. Retrieved December 24, 2024.
  17. ↑ Chase, Theodore (March 1980). "Harvard Student Disorders in 1770" . The New England Quarterly . 61 (1): 30. doi:10.2307/365219. JSTOR   365219.
  18. ↑ "Papers of John and Hannah Winthrop". Harvard University.
  19. ↑ Proctor, Donald J. (December 1977). "John Hancock: New Soundings on an Old Barrel" . The Journal of American History . 64 (3): 663–664. doi:10.2307/1887235. ISSN   0021-8723. JSTOR   1887235.
  20. ↑ Harvard Corporation. "Corporation records volume 3, May 5, 1778-August 31, 1795". Harvard Library . p. 137. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  21. ↑ "Papers of Samuel Webber". Harvard Library . Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  22. ↑ "Papers of Josiah Quincy, 1811-1874". Harvard Library . Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  23. ↑ "Papers of Edward Everett". Harvard Library . Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  24. ↑ "Papers of Jared Sparks, 1820-1861, 1866". Harvard Library . Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  25. ↑ "Papers of James Walker". Harvard Library . Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  26. ↑ "Papers of Cornelius Conway Felton, 1841-1877". Harvard Library . Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  27. ↑ "Papers of Thomas Hill". Harvard Library . Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  28. ↑ "Rev. Thomas Hill Dead". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  29. ↑ "Papers of Charles William Eliot, 1807-1945". Harvard Library . Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  30. ↑ "Charles W Eliot". National Park Service . February 11, 2022. Archived from the original on September 21, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  31. ↑ "Charles William Eliot: A Paradoxical Racial Legacy". Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  32. ↑ "Charles W. Eliot". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  33. ↑ "Dr. Walcott Acting President". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  34. ↑ "Lowell Harvard's Head.; New President of University Takes His Place at Dr. Eliot's Desk" . The New York Times . May 20, 1909. p. 6. ISSN   0362-4331.
  35. ↑ "Lowell's Passing Marks End of Era; Retirement of President of Harvard Comes After Twenty-four Years. His Incumbency Weighed Doubled the Enrolment, Increased Endowment and Expanded Buildings" . The New York Times . June 25, 1933. pp. 1, 8. ISSN   0362-4331.
  36. ↑ "James B. Conant Is Dead at 84; Harvard President for 20 Years" . The New York Times . Associated Press. February 12, 1978. p. 1. ISSN   0362-4331.
  37. ↑ "Nathan Pusey | Harvard President, Philanthropist, Educator". Encyclopædia Britannica. November 10, 2023. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  38. ↑ Fenton, John H. (June 2, 1953). "Harvard Elects Dr. N. M. Pusey, Midwest Educator, as President; Lawrence College Head, 46, Has 3 Degrees From University – Favors Humanities Study Harvard Appoints Iowan President" . The New York Times . p. 1. ISSN   0362-4331.
  39. ↑ Howe, Peter J. (November 10, 1984). "Bok's Past--and Future". The Harvard Crimson . ISSN   1932-4219. Archived from the original on January 3, 2024. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  40. ↑ Abramowitz, Michael J. (September 13, 1984). "While You Were Out". The Harvard Crimson .
  41. ↑ "Henry Rosovsky, former acting University president, FAS dean, dead at 95". Harvard Gazette. November 16, 2022. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  42. ↑ "Henry Rosovsky, Former Harvard FAS Dean, Remembered for Contributions to Undergrad Education and African American Studies". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  43. ↑ Tucker, Maggie S. (September 11, 1991). "Appointments to Make, Appointments to Keep". The Harvard Crimson .
  44. ↑ "Rudenstine leaving presidency in 2001". The Harvard Gazette . May 25, 2000. ISSN   0364-7692. Archived from the original on August 28, 2020. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  45. ↑ Butterfield, Fox (March 7, 1997). "Dismay at Harvard as Provost Decides to Move" . The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  46. ↑ "Rudenstine Takes Leave". The Harvard Crimson . November 29, 1994.
  47. ↑ Bangs, Elizabeth T.; Gammill, Marion B. (November 29, 1994). "Acting President Carnesale Known for Administrative Skill". The Harvard Crimson .
  48. ↑ Rimer, Sara (February 19, 1995). "President Of Harvard Is Ready To Return" . The New York Times .
  49. ↑ YUNews Director of the National Economic Council, Dr. Lawrence H. Summers, is Keynote Speaker at Yeshiva University's Annual Hanukkah Dinner and Convocation on December 13, November 18, 2009
  50. ↑ The Harvard Crimson Harvard's First Jewish President, March 8, 2006
  51. ↑ The Harvard Crimson Did Summers' Faith Affect His Fall?, March 3, 2006
  52. ↑ The Harvard Crimson A Milestone of Faith, October 14, 2001
  53. ↑ "Lawrence Summers". Jewish Virtual Library . Archived from the original on May 31, 2023. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  54. ↑ Finder, Alan; Healy, Patrick D.; Zernike, Kate (February 22, 2006). "President of Harvard Resigns, Ending Stormy 5-Year Tenure" . The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  55. ↑ "Summers Resigns: Shortest Term Since Civil War; Bok Will Be Interim Chief". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  56. ↑ Golden, Daniel; Stecklow, Steve (February 22, 2006). "Facing War With His Faculty, Harvard's Summers Resigns". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  57. ↑ Fogg, Piper (February 17, 2006). "Harvard President to Face Second Vote of No Confidence Amid Renewed Calls for His Resignation". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  58. ↑ "Derek Bok". ethics.harvard.edu. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  59. ↑ "First Female Harvard President Discusses Priorities and Goals". PBS. February 12, 2007. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
  60. ↑ Hartocollis, Anemona (February 11, 2018). "Harvard Chooses Lawrence Bacow as Its Next President" . The New York Times . Retrieved February 13, 2018.
  61. ↑ "Harvard names Claudine Gay 30th president". The Harvard Gazette . Harvard University. December 15, 2022. ISSN   0364-7692. Archived from the original on December 15, 2022. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  62. ↑ "Harvard President resigns after antisemitism hearing and plagiarism probe". Axios.com . Axios. January 2, 2024.
  63. ↑ Mangan, Dan (January 2, 2024). "Harvard University President Claudine Gay resigns amid plagiarism claims". CNBC. Archived from the original on January 2, 2024. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  64. ↑ "Harvard President Claudine Gay steps down". The Harvard Gazette . Harvard University. ISSN   0364-7692. Archived from the original on January 2, 2024. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  65. ↑ "Alan Garber '76 to Serve as Harvard's 31st President Until June 2027". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved August 2, 2024.
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