Searches under way for new Harvard provost and Fellows

Searches are under way for new Fellows of Harvard College and for a successor to Steven E. Hyman.

In the wake of the Harvard Corporation’s early December decision to increase its membership from seven—the President, Treasurer, and five Fellows—to 13 (see “The Corporation’s 360-Year Tune-Up,”  January-February, page 43), nominations for candidates to serve on the senior governing board are now being sought. An early-January announcement from President Drew Faust and Senior Fellow Robert D. Reischauer solicited ideas and names from the Harvard community at large; they may be submitted to corporationsearch@harvard.edu or by mail to Corporation Search Committee, Harvard University, Loeb House, 17 Quincy Street, Cambridge 02138; all communications will be held in confidence.

Consistent with the Corporation’s earlier steps to include members of the Board of Overseers in its review of its governance structure and procedures, the search for new Corporation members will include three Overseers: Joshua Boger, Ph.D. ’79, founder and former CEO of Vertex Pharmaceuticals and chair of the Harvard Medical School Board of Fellows; Diana Nelson ’84, director of the Carlson Companies and former co-chair of the Harvard College Fund; and Robert Shapiro ’72, J.D. ’78, a partner at Ropes & Gray, past president of both the Harvard Alumni Association and the Harvard Law School Association. (Shapiro also served on the governance-review committee.)

Faust and Reischauer reiterated their earlier expectation that the Corporation’s expanded membership would be put in place within the next two to three years.

A week later, Faust announced the appointment of a faculty advisory committee to help her search for a successor to Provost Steven E. Hyman. Comments from the wider Harvard community on the provost’s role and nominations of candidates may be sent in confidence to provostsearch@harvard.edu or by letter addressed to her at Massachusetts Hall, Harvard University, Cambridge 02138.

Most popular

The University will compensate families of those whose remains were sold and establish a scholarship to honor anatomical donors.

In 2004, a frenzy spread across Harvard Yard in days. Four billion users later, we are only just catching up.

Harvard Weathers a Year of Turmoil

The federal government has launched unprecedented actions against the University. Here’s a guide.

Explore More From Current Issue

A vibrant illustration of a red car parked, surrounded by cheerful people and historic buildings.

Derek Bok donated his car for a good cause.

Caricature of a young man in front of red doors, wearing a green striped sweater.

In 1954, Gregory Corso moved into Eliot House. How he stayed there is a literary legend.

Decorative wrought iron gate framed by leafy branches, captured in sepia tones.

Former Indiana University president Thomas Ehrlich looks back on curriculum, co-education, and other major trends.