Overseer Hopeful Nisha Kumar Behringer Calls for Rethink of Harvard’s Public Image

Nisha Kumar Behringer ’91 said she would push Harvard to more forcefully defend its public value — and rethink its relationship with Washington — if elected to the Board of Overseers this spring, as elite universities face mounting political and financial pressure.

Kumar Behringer, one of nine candidates on the Overseers ballot this April, said Harvard must be more proactive about its funding model following President Donald Trump’s sustained attacks on its federal money. She argued the University should do more to communicate the public value of its work while also considering alternative funding sources.

“Harvard can really lead the way in terms of improving the relevance of higher education,” Kumar Behringer said. “Among ourselves, we understand what it is. But I think it has lost popularity across a broader population.”

Harvard, she said, must make clearer that its impact extends far beyond its gates — from scientific research to public health initiatives and Kennedy School policy ideation that affect millions worldwide.

“It’s not just about what we do sitting in the Yard. It’s about what we bring to the world — literally, we do things that save people’s lives,” Kumar Behringer said. “Reigniting that excitement for what we do and why we exist, I think, is really critical.”

Kumar Behringer said that restoring public confidence would also require Harvard to think more creatively about funding. While federal grants have long underwritten much of Harvard’s research enterprise, she said partnerships with corporations — structured carefully to preserve academic independence — could play a larger role.

A graduate of both Harvard College and the Harvard Business School, Kumar Behringer said a seat on the Board of Overseers would mark the culmination of 15 years of active volunteer service to the University. She described the board as the “heartbeat” of Harvard’s mission across its schools.

“To be part of something that is university wide — that is the fundamental of what we do and what we aspire to — is what motivates me,” she said.

As an undergraduate, Kumar Behringer concentrated in government after arriving on campus as a pre-med student. She said her academic interests ultimately pulled her toward political science, becoming an editor of the Harvard International Review. She later attended Harvard Business School and pursued a career in finance, drawn, she said, to the central role of financial leaders in institutional decision-making.

16 years after graduation, she was appointed chief financial officer of AOL, an early and dominant web service. She then spent ten years as chief financial officer at Greenbriar Equity Group, a specialist private equity firm, before leaving in 2021 to chair various audit committees at companies like Birkenstock and RealTruck.

Ayse Yuksel ’91, a classmate and close friend, said Kumar Behringer’s commitment to Harvard dates back to before they arrived on campus. The two met on a flight home from pre-frosh week, when Yuksel was still undecided about enrolling. Kumar Behringer, already committed, spent the flight persuading her to choose Harvard.

“Even then, she was so pro-Harvard,” she said. “It should have been a hint to me that she would be such a Harvard advocate for the rest of her life.”

Yuksel recalled Kumar Behringer as a tireless student and natural leader.

“She was the one who always made me go to the library,” she said.

If elected, Kumar Behringer said another priority would be strengthening what she called “respectful and inclusive dialogue” on campus — an issue that has especially vexed the University since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 atack on Israel.

Though she praised the administration’s recent efforts, Kumar Behringer said she would push for further evidence of progress if elected to the Board.

“We have work to do to prove that it has improved and we are working in the right direction,” Kumar Behringer said. “Because I think people have felt that was there were some alienating situations.”

Asked about criticism that Harvard lacks viewpoint diversity, Kumar Behringer said she could not personally assess classroom dynamics but acknowledged the concern had surfaced frequently in conversations with current students.

“It’s definitely been something that has come up when I talk to current students quite a lot,” Kumar Behringer said.

Currently a member of the HBS Alumni Board and the HBS Board Diversity Network, Kumar Behringer said she has long focused on advancing women and minorities in her professional life and would continue empowering underrepresented voices in her work as an Overseer.

Kumar Behringer said she would give service on the Board of Overseers “her all.”

“If you asked me then, and I think if you’d have asked me every day since I’ve left, ‘Would you want to serve Harvard in this capacity,’ I would say a resounding yes,” Kumar Behringer added.

—Staff writer Elise A. Spenner can be reached at [email protected] or on Signal at elisespenner.82. Follow her on X @EliseSpenner.