Eleven Successful Years

In his 11 distinguished years as Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS), Jeremy R. Knowles rescued FAS from an imposing budgetary deficit and was afterwards able to pursue a myriad of initiatives to strengthen Harvard’s academic presence.

Knowles’ early years were most notable for his impressive job of balancing the budget, which was running more than $12 million in debt when he became dean in 1991. Creative administrative cuts to the roughly $750 million FAS budget reestablished its solvency and allowed Knowles to spend more money on pressing priorities.

One of those priorities was the creation of more space for Faculty. To this end, one of Knowles’ most enduring accomplishments was the opening of the Barker Center for the Humanities, which for the first time united different humanities faculty under the same roof. Knowles was also the impetus behind the renovations of Memorial Hall and Boylston Hall, and the creation of Loker Commons. A distinguished scientist himself, Knowles spearheaded a $200 million effort to increase and update Harvard’s laboratory space. These were all important moves toward increasing and effectively utilizing Faculty space.

Knowles successfully doubled the number of senior women Faculty and increased the total number of senior Faculty from 395 to 442. In addition, he created the Educational Policy Committee in 1992—an important step towards reassessing and improving the undergraduate curriculum.

The expansion of the Freshman Seminar Program particularly had a direct impact on undergraduates. By expanding this program, Knowles made progress in the ongoing effort to increase undergraduate interaction with senior Faculty.

Knowles was a champion of expanding financial aid for graduate students, and total undergraduate aid doubled to reach an impressive $63 million under his tenure.

Knowles leaves big shoes to fill. In choosing the next dean of the Faculty, President Lawrence H. Summers should find someone who can capitalize on the progress Knowles has made over the last 11 years. First, the new dean must find additional office space for Faculty, so that the University can expand the size of the Faculty. But Faculty are not the only ones who require more space; students still need a new undergraduate House and a student center.

Second, Summers should find a successor who will use the financial flexibility Knowles provided to continue ongoing academic initiatives and pursue new priorities that will benefit undergraduate education. Summers has already said that he intends to place great emphasis on undergraduates, and his next dean of the Faculty should share this priority. To this end, reforming Harvard’s sub-par advising system must be one of the new dean’s prime objectives.

Third, the next dean must be able to deal with the complicated problem of grade inflation in a way that satisfies both students and Faculty. This is an issue that needs to be addressed swiftly and with the utmost care. Standards must be clarified across departments and within individual classes in order to ensure a fair grading system. Convincing professors to take a personal, active interest in the grades their students receive will not be easy, but it is essential to reversing the upward spiral of Harvard’s grades.

Knowles, to all those who know him, is a friendly man with a touching Old World style. His expertise as a dean will be greatly missed, but we are heartened that he will return to teaching. FAS is in far better position than he found it, and Knowles’ achievements have left the door open for even more expansion and improvement.