Harvard Education and Radcliffe dean searches

Harvard seeks new leaders for the Graduate School of Education and Radcliffe Institute.

Massachusetts Hall

Photograph by Muns/Wikipedia

Although she will depart Massachusetts Hall next June 30, President Drew Faust remains very much the University’s leader, and so she has announced searches for new deans of the Graduate School of Education (filling the vacancy that will occur when James E. Ryan leaves to become president of the University of Virginia) and the Radcliffe Institute (where Lizabeth Cohen is stepping down at the end of the academic year).

In a note to the education school community, Faust announced the membership of a multi-school advisory committee for the search, reporting to her and Provost Alan Garber:

  • Christopher Avery, Larsen professor of public policy and management
  • Tomiko Brown-Nagin, Paul professor of constitutional law and professor of history
  • David Deming, professor of education and economics  and professor of education and public policy
  • Roberto Gonzales, professor of education
  • Monica Higgins, McCartney professor of education leadership
  • Nancy Hill, Bigelow professor of education
  • Andrew Ho, professor of education
  • Deborah Jewell-Sherman, Anrig professor of practice in educational leadership
  • Herman “Dutch” Leonard, Baker professor of public management and Snider Family professor of business administration
  • Nonie Lesaux, Thompson professor of education and society
  • Charles Nelson, professor of pediatrics, professor of psychology, professor of education, and professor in the department of social and behavioral sciences
  • Mandy Savitz-Romer, senior lecturer on education 
  • Mario Small, Grafstein Family professor of sociology
  • Michael Tushman, Lawrence MBA Class of 1942 professor of business administration (HBS) 

Comments on the search may be e-mailed in confidence to the president at gsesearch@harvard.edu; by letter to Massachusetts Hall, Cambridge, MA 02138; or directed to Leah Rosovsky, vice president for strategy and programs, who is staffing the search.

In a note to the Radcliffe community, Faust and Garber announced the following members of the advisory committee for that search:

  • Joanna Aizenberg, Berylson professor of materials science and professor of chemistry & chemical biology 
  • Lisa Berkman, Cabot professor of public policy and of epidemiology
  • Ann Blair, Pforzheimer University Professor 
  • Allan Brandt, Kass professor of the history of medicine and professor of the history of science
  • Frank Dobbin, professor of sociology
  • Amy Edmondson, Novartis professor of leadership and management
  • Annette Gordon-Reed, Warren professor of American legal history and professor of history 
  • Meira Levinson, professor of education
  • Yukio Lippit, professor of history of art and architecture
  • Claire Messud, senior lecturer in the department of English
  • Khalil Gibran Muhammad, professor of history, race, and public policy and Murray professor at the Radcliffe Institute
  • Carol Oja, Mason professor of music
  • Dimitar Sasselov, Phillips professor of astronomy

Comments can be sent in confidence to Faust and Garber by email to radcliffedeansearch@harvard.edu; by letter to Massachusetts Hall, Cambridge, MA 02138; or directed to Lars Madsen, the president’s chief of staff, who is supporting the search. 

Read more articles by John S. Rosenberg

You might also like

At Harvard Talk, Retired Supreme Court Justice Breyer Defends Shadow Docket

The current law professor also spoke about affirmative action, partisanship, and the limits of “bright-line rules.”

Boston Board Approves Harvard’s Enterprise Research Campus Framework

City planners adopt principles to guide future development of the commercial innovation district in Allston.

Harvard Alumni Honored for University Service

The 2026 Harvard Medal recipients will be honored on June 5.

Most popular

250 Years Ago, Harvard Was Home to a Revolution

A look at the sights, sounds, and characters that put the University on the frontlines of history

Harvard Graduate Student Workers Strike

Union demands higher pay, protections for non-citizen members, and changes to the harassment complaint process.

Government Seeks to Move Funding Case to Contracts Court

In a new appellate brief, the Trump administration shifts its argument for rescinding Harvard’s grants.

Explore More From Current Issue

A woman in glasses gestures while speaking to two attentive listeners at a table.

How to Cook with Wild Plants

From wild greens spanakopita to rose petal panna cotta, forager and chef Ellen Zachos makes one-of-a-kind meals.

A glowing orange sun with a star and a trailing gas cloud in space.

A Harvard Astrophysicist Explains the Bizarre Behavior of a Supergiant Star

The dimming and rapid rotation of Betelgeuse may be caused by a hidden companion.

Colorful illustrated map of Colonial Cambridge and the Harvard College campus featuring buildings of the campus, houses, Cambridge Common, and the Charles River

250 Years Ago, Harvard Was Home to a Revolution

A look at the sights, sounds, and characters that put the University on the frontlines of history