A month into the search for Harvard’s 30th leader, the school’s presidential search committee made its first public move Thursday, revealing the membership of faculty and staff advisory panels that will provide input during the selection process.
Fifteen faculty members and 17 staff members will advise the search committee, which began looking for Harvard’s 30th president in July, shortly after Lawrence S. Bacow said he would step down next summer. The committee consists of 12 members of the Harvard Corporation, the University’s highest governing board, and three members of the less influential Board of Overseers.
Harvard Kennedy School Professor Archon Fung, who directs the school’s Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, will chair the 15-member faculty committee, which includes professors from 10 Harvard schools. Harvard’s newly appointed executive vice president, Meredith L. Weenick ’90, will chair the 17-member staff committee.
A third advisory group made up of students from across the University will be appointed at a later date, the search committee said on Thursday.
Every Harvard graduate school is represented on the faculty advisory body, except for the School of Dental Medicine—according to recent presidential research. Four schools — the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Public Health and the Harvard Kennedy School — have more than one faculty member on the committee.
The staff committee is based on the University Administrative Council, which consists of high-ranking administrators from all Harvard schools and its central administration.
The presidential search committee will consult with the two advisory groups as it compiles — and then releases — a list of candidates. The committees are intended to serve as formal channels through which Harvard professors and staff can influence research.
Four members of the staff advisory committee — Weenick, School of Business Executive Dean for Administration Angela Q. Crispi, School of Education Executive Dean for Administration Jack Jennings and Radcliffe Executive Dean Nisha Mongia — served on the same advisory panel during the search for Bacow .
Bacow was originally a member of the search committee for Harvard’s 29th president, but he secretly left the panel so he could be considered for the job himself. Members of the faculty advisory group reportedly defended Bacow last time.
So far, the search for Harvard’s 30th president is mirroring many aspects of several past presidential searches. The advisory groups were appointed at roughly the same point in the last presidential search — 36 days after it began, compared to 48 days after the current search began. However, both groups of newly appointed faculty and staff are larger than in the past.
Consistent with past research, the search committee has also asked Harvard members to submit advice and nominations to the committee.
— Staff writer Cara J. Chang can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @CaraChang20.
— Staff writer Isabella B. Cho can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @izbcho.
