For the past 11 years, Harvard University has been overseen by a female president. Drew Gilpin Faust was the first female president of the institution and is only the fifth woman to become president of an Ivy League school. But recently, the 28th president of Harvard University decided she is stepping down in June of 2018.
Harvard announced that Lawrence Bacow, former Tufts president and MIT faculty, will take her place. This decision was a calculated one, said chairman of the search William Lee. Lee explained that in a time where higher education institutions are being challenged, Harvard needs a steady hand and strong leadership. Harvard requires strategic thinking and discipline to combat doubt placed on education and university research.
While this terminology could be offensive to the woman whose position Bacow is filling, it seems like Harvard truly thought Bacow is the best person for the job. He is very qualified to work at the university and his past positions are clearly comparable. It remains a shame that Harvard chose a middle-aged white man after instating the first female president, but perhaps his experience makes him the best fit.
Recently, colleges and universities have come under fire from the Trump administration. Institutions with high endowments, like Harvard and other elite schools, have been under more pressure than most. Due to the new excise tax passed by Congress last year, Harvard has to adhere to a 1.4 percent tax on the investment returns of university endowment. Staff from Harvard claim that this new tax could result in the university losing an unprecedented amount of $43 million annually. This could potentially hurt the opportunity for research and decrease financial aid opportunities for students.
Bacow is a qualified choice for university president in face of these issues. While the chairman’s tone doesn’t make it seem like the university is overly ecstatic with their choice, Bacow is certainly a safe option. He isn’t being brought in to make an influential change to Harvard, but to keep the university on track. Considering the difficulties and opposition universities are facing from the Trump administration, Bacow is an ideal fit to put up a united front. He has many years of experience in the field of education and even The New York Times refers to him as more of an administrator than a scholar. He is someone who can maneuver through the currently difficult situation and the years to come.
It is no secret that Harvard has faced allegations of discrimination toward Asian-Americans and affirmative action policies in the past few years. While this opportunity could’ve resulted in the school’s first minority president, it didn’t. Bacow’s father is an immigrant and his mother a Holocaust survivor, but he still fits into the profile of the typical university president. He’s the agreeable choice, the safe choice. That’s not to say that the university was specifically looking for a white president. Their conversation didn’t necessarily revolve around race, but perhaps it lacked discussion of the issue. In many cases, the conversation is fundamentally missing it.
In the end, the goal of hiring a new president is to choose the best person for the job, not to make a statement. Bacow was chosen to provide steady leadership through the struggle thrust upon the university by the current presidential administration. Picking a president who is best for Harvard is much more important than picking someone who would look good. It comes with little surprise that Bacow was chosen since he is a Harvard alum and was naturally on the school’s radar. Hopefully, he can provide the leadership style that Harvard is apparently craving.
