Fair Harvard – She Leads

April 2006

Dear Members of the Harvard Community,

On behalf of Harvard’s governing boards, I write to invite your advice on the search for a new president of Harvard, in light of Larry Summers’ decision to conclude his tenure as our 27th president at the end of the 2005-06 academic year. We are grateful to President Summers for the vision and energy he has brought to the leadership of the University, and to Derek Bok for his willingness to serve as interim president from July 1 until a new president has taken office. As we embark on the search for a new leader for Harvard, we would value your observations on the major opportunities and challenges facing Harvard in the years ahead and the priorities that a new president should have most in mind in guiding the University. We would also appreciate having your views on the personal and professional qualities most important to seek in a new president, as well as your thoughts on any individuals you believe are deserving of serious consideration. We will, of course, be seeking a person of high intellectual distinction, with proven qualities of leadership, a devotion to excellence in education and research, a capacity to guide a complex institution through a time of significant change, and a dedication to the ideals and values central to a community of learning.

Through this time of transition, it is important that the University sustain momentum in advancing a range of continuing institutional priorities. We are renewing and enhancing the learning experience of our students, especially in the College and also across the schools. We are growing the faculty to build strength in fields of rising academic significance. We are forging new links among Harvard’s faculties – to foster innovation in the sciences, international studies, and other vital endeavors across the disciplines and professions. We are opening Harvard’s doors wider to outstanding students of limited financial means. We are planning carefully and imaginatively for the historic extension of Harvard’s campus into Allston. In these crucial efforts and others, the University’s continuing progress will depend on the energy, creativity, and goodwill of all of us who care about Harvard.

Under the University’s charter, it is the responsibility of the Harvard Corporation to elect a new president, with the counsel and consent of the Board of Overseers. Consistent with past practice, the search committee will comprise the six members of the Corporation other than the president, together with three Overseers. In addition, we are appointing faculty and student advisory groups to inform our deliberations, and planning a series of consultations with various alumni groups. Our intention is to reach out broadly to solicit both general advice and specific nominations.

Your responses to this letter will be a critical element of that process. We hope you will take the time to share your perspectives with us. Please e-mail your thoughts to  psearch at harvard.edu, or address correspondence to the Harvard University Presidential Search Committee, Loeb House, 17 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA 02138. The committee will hold your replies in strict confidence.

We look forward to hearing from you. Many thanks, and all best wishes.