Keeping Fences White

President Lowell once remarked that if Harvard makes more mistakes than some other universities, it also accomplishes more because it attempts more of what is new and different. But the course of constant change along which Harvard has moved during the past three centuries has not been free of obstacles. Here, more than in most places, there is always one hard core or another to oppose the slightest twist of emphasis on the part of the Administration. This is not extraordinary; each individual is convinced that his method of saving the world and the University from itself is the best. To change anything, an innovator must convince all divergent groups that they will benefit in the long run from what is new, that no fence, no matter how dazzling, will stay white if the owner leaves it alone.

This afternoon, Nathan Pusey will be officially installed as Harvard's twenty-fourth president. Like his predecessors, he has his own ideas about what changes the University needs, and like them, he will find that his innovations will require all of his wisdom, perseverance, and humor. We wish him success and happiness in the many years ahead of him and Harvard.