Faust’s Labyrinth

For all the ink that has been spilled over Drew G. Faust’s election as President of Harvard University four months ago, the tenor of her presidency remains largely a mystery. It is clear that she is a woman accustomed to being in a man’s world: first as a historian of the antebellum South, then as an administrator, and now as a woman in a 367-year succession of 27 men. And her scholarship, charm, judgment, fundraising ability, administrative skill, and vision were all abundantly on display during her six years as dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study.

Yet Massachusetts Hall is a far cry from Fay House. The challenges Faust faces as president—from laying the groundwork for a campus in Allston to uniting a balkanized university to implementing an uninspiring new curriculum—are of an entirely different nature and order of magnitude from anything she has previously faced. How she handles those challenges, how she defines her own role, and what she prioritizes will shape Harvard for years to come.

Harvard is at a crossroads. After years of stagnancy, former University President Lawrence H. Summers laid out an audacious and inspiring vision for the future only to be ousted by a Faculty averse to change and offended by his brusque management style. For the past year, interim President Derek C. Bok has smoothed over choppy waters, building a foundation on which it will be possible to reengage an ambitious agenda. Faust would be wise to do so and not shy away from badly-needed reform for fear of offending her many constituencies.

Perhaps Faust’s biggest challenge will be bringing the University together into a unified whole. Harvard has long operated under a decentralized system, with each faculty and school retaining broad autonomy. The result has been an institution dominated by individual fiefdoms and parochial interests and that is averse to interdisciplinary endeavor. Faust must break down these entrenched barriers—a move that will likely anger many. Luckily, Faust has a solid model to build on with the nascent Harvard Stem Cell institute and the recent creation of the first inter-faculty department.

Faust must also deal with a recalcitrant and old-fashioned Faculty of Arts and Sciences. To say that the Faculty is currently in a difficult position would be an understatement—it faces a budget deficit and must implement a new general education curriculum that has largely fizzled. Faust’s leadership is also needed to reinvent pedagogy at Harvard, as the Faculty has been unmotivated by a landmark report on Harvard’s teaching deficiencies and refuses to require teaching evaluations for all courses.

The Faculty has also resisted investing in the undergraduate experience. Student life—which was reinvigorated under Summers thanks to a philosophy that responded to and spent money on student satisfaction—proved to be interim Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R. Knowles’ blind spot. We hope that Faust recognizes the importance of the undergraduate experience and continues Summers’ tradition of investing in Harvard College—from promoting social events to shoring up the College’s hit-or-miss advising system. To do so, we hope she takes the time to listen to and connect with students.

Faust is also the ultimate arbiter of tenure. As President Charles W. Eliot, Class of 1853, said, “It is in discharging this duty that the president holds the future of the University in his hands.” We hope Faust takes an active role in tenure decisions, putting a greater premium on teaching ability and finding scholars in underrepresented areas. We also hope that Faust commits to giving junior faculty—who have traditionally been sent away before they return to get tenure—a better shot at promotion from within. After all, it makes little sense to appoint professors who have already done their best work.

On top of all of this, Faust has the opportunity to completely reimagine Harvard’s physical campus in designing its new campus in Allston. She must lead a capital campaign to ensure Harvard’s continued financial security amid a period of furious expansion. She must assemble and supervise a team of administrators and deans who will share in her vision. And she must protect academic freedom in the face of political hurricanes while continuing to push for excellence in all fields, in both teaching and research. Externally, she has a responsibility use her bully pulpit and moral authority—both as president of Harvard and as one of the most prominent women in America—to the fullest extent.

At the same time, Faust must use a light touch. If Summers’ resignation showed anything, it is that a University cannot be governed by fiat. Despite the office’s prestige, the president of Harvard has extremely limited means with which to reform the University and combat its staggering institutional inertia. Everyone must feel invested in the institution’s common goals, and nobody can feel talked down to. Faust must thus walk a tightrope, listening to all parties intently and building consensus so that things get done while not becoming so bogged down in meetings and ego-stroking that nothing gets done at all.

Although Faust has maintained a low profile in the past few months, her first steps have been in the right direction. Most visibly, she kept Provost Steven E. Hyman in place. Hyman is one of the longest-serving members of the central administration and will bring needed institutional memory and science expertise with him. He has also played a critical role in expanding interdisciplinary science research and conducting academic planning in Allston. It would have been easy to dismiss him because of his connection to Summers, yet Faust made the wiser choice. Faust has also established a reputation as being personable—especially with key donors—and has gracefully coped with the job’s steep learning curve.

Plummer Professor of Christian Morals Peter J. Gomes, Harvard’s unofficial historian, has said that Harvard presidents may not be “Mr. Right,” but they are often “Mr. Right Now.” Right now Harvard needs reform conducted with a firm, but gentle touch. To that end, we hope that Faust is able to shed the labels she has been given—“the woman president,” “the anti-Summers,” “the Radcliffe dean”—and establish a presence and presidency fully her own. In that endeavor, we wish her the best of luck.