IOP Interim Co-Directors Say They Will Not Seek Permanent Director Role

The two interim leaders of Harvard Institute of Politics said they will not seek the permanent directorship, setting up a search for new leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School program.

In a Wednesday interview, interim co-directors Ned C. Price and Beth E. Myers said they view their roles as temporary stewardship until the school selects a permanent director.

“We see ourselves as very temporary custodians,” Price said. “We have the privilege of being here for a number of months, and when the next director comes in, we’ll have the privilege of handing over the reins to that person.”

Myers said she serves in the role part time, while Price serves full time and leads much of the IOP’s day-to-day work — an arrangement that the Kennedy School did not announce at the time of their appointment.

“I’m part time. Ned is full time,” Myers said. “Ned takes the lead in this and he’s doing a fabulous job.”

Price said the Kennedy School intentionally structured the interim positions to emphasize stability rather than competition for the permanent role.

“They were very intentional that they wanted temporary stewards of this institution who could really focus on making sure this place was in the best shape possible for the next director,” he said.

He added that interim leaders seeking permanent positions can sometimes complicate the transition.

“We’ve all been in situations where there’s been a leadership void for different reasons, and someone is brought in on a temporary basis, and it becomes awkward because that person is auditioning and they’re not focused on the job at hand.” Price said. “We’re very focused on the job at hand.”

Price and Myers assumed leadership after former IOP Director Setti D. Warren died suddenly in the fall. Warren had served as interim director before expressing interest in the role permanently and being appointed director in 2023.

Price and Myers are the first co-directors of the IOP in recent memory, though Myers said the arrangement is intended only as a transitional one.

“The institution very clearly wants one director. I think this has worked really well as a transition,” Myers said. “But it’s a leadership position and one person’s vision would work really well.”

The search committee for the next directors includes one Harvard Kennedy School faculty member, several Institute of Politics staff members, and student leaders from the IOP.

Price and Myers — who said they were not involved in the search — declined to name the faculty member.

“The search committee is very inclusive,” Price said. “It’s inclusive of a faculty perspective of school leadership, people who know this place very well and people who come from different sides of the aisle.”

Price said student perspectives have played a central role in the process.

“They were very intentional about ensuring that the student voice is consistently heard throughout this process,” he said.

Students were involved in the search process even before the job description was published, Price added. Kennedy School leadership met with students to hear what they hoped to see in the role and what the school should prioritize in selecting a new director.

Price and Myers said they were unsure of the timeline for selecting a permanent director but were positive about how their joint leadership has functioned since the fall.

“Our personalities and styles really mesh nicely together,” Myers said. “It’s a really great example of how you might come from different backgrounds, different political trajectories, but find really good people.”

Price described the partnership with humor.

“This is an arranged marriage, but it’s a very successful one,” he said.

—Staff writer Sophia E. Alcacer can be reached at [email protected] and Signal at sophiaalcacer.88. Follow her on X at @sophiaalcacer.

—Staff writer Jen L. Phan can be reached at [email protected] and Signal at jenphan.74. Follow her on X at @jenllphan.