Exit Gray, Enter Keohane

Corporation member Hanna Holborn Gray, Ph.D. '57, will step down from the President and Fellows of Harvard College...

Hanna Holborn GrayNannerl O. Keohane
Courtesy of Hanna Holborn GrayCourtesy of Duke University

Corporation member Hanna Holborn Gray, Ph.D. '57, will step down from the President and Fellows of Harvard College (as the University's executive governing board is formally known) at the end of the academic year. Of that work, begun in 1997, and her six previous years on the Board of Overseers, Gray said, "I very much appreciate the range and quality of postdoctoral education afforded by service on Harvard's governing boards." An historian who was provost and then acting president of Yale, Gray was president of the University of Chicago from 1978 to 1993. She also chairs the board of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, is a regent of the Smithsonian Institution, and chaired the board of trustees of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. During her recent Harvard service, she played a leading role in the search that resulted in the selection of Lawrence H. Summers to succeed Neil L. Rudenstine as president. In the announcement of her pending retirement from her Harvard post, Summers cited Gray as "a strong and consistent voice for core academic values and high academic standards, while affirming the central importance of excellent liberal arts education within our leading universities." Gray's successor, announced on December 5, will be Nannerl O. Keohane, LL.D. '93, past president of Duke and Wellesley. Keohane is a political scientist, as is her husband, Robert O. Keohane, Ph.D. '66, former Stansfield professor of international peace. 

Most popular

What Trump Means for John Roberts’s Legacy

Executive power is on the docket at the Supreme Court.

Pablo Picasso Exhibit Opens at Harvard Art Museums

Harvard Art Museums exhibit on depictions of combat and revolution

This Harvard Scientist Is Changing the Future of Genetic Diseases

David Liu has pioneered breakthroughs in gene editing, creating new therapies that may lead to cures.

Explore More From Current Issue

Aisha Muharrar with shoulder-length hair, wearing a green blazer and white shirt.

Parks and Rec Comedy Writer Aisha Muharrar Gets Serious about Grief

With Loved One, the Harvard grad and Lampoon veteran makes her debut as a novelist.

A diverse group of adults and children holding hands, standing on varying levels against a light blue background.

Why America’s Strategy For Reducing Racial Inequality Failed

Harvard professor Christina Cross debunks the myth of the two-parent Black family.

Two small cast iron pans with berry-topped desserts, dusted with powdered sugar, alongside lemon slices.

Shopping for New England-made gifts this Holiday Season

Ways to support regional artists, designers, and manufacturers