Lawrence S. Bacow

Derek Bok

Drew Gilpin Faust

Neil L. Rudenstine

Lawrence H. Summers

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A few weeks ago, I delivered my last Baccalaureate Address. Many of the members of the Harvard College Class of 2023 were, not surprisingly, anxious about their futures. To reassure them, I shared my own observation that most of our careers are the product of both fortuitous accidents and unexpected opportunities. They are only understandable in retrospect. On the day you retire, you can finally say, “That was my career, and it all makes sense.” 

Well, today is the day I retire. Looking back over the course of my career, I now understand the unpredictable events that gave me the opportunity to lead this extraordinary institution. Many of these events occurred long ago, but it is easy to remember those that happened more recently, as well as the people who played a part in inspiring and motivating me. At every turn, someone saw in me what I did not see in myself; someone helped me understand places like this in ways that I had not understood them before; someone taught me that no one gets anywhere of consequence alone. And, perhaps most importantly, I came to appreciate that leadership is a team sport.

If you are reading this message, please know that you are one of the many individuals I consider my teammates. Through your hard work and dedication to our mission, you continue to help Harvard be the best it can be. Because of your ambitions and accomplishments, you help to ensure th����ר��’s role in the world is always earned and never assumed. Together, we navigated both challenges and opportunities. And, through it all, you gave me confidence that we would successfully find our way through our most difficult times.

Thank you for making these last five years the most interesting and satisfying of my career. I will always be grateful for the twists and turns that gave me the opportunity to be your president. I will carry fond memories of our time together for the rest of my life. May you be as fortunate as I have been to experience fortuitous accidents that will take you places that you never could have imagined. 

All the best,
Larry

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Sincerely,

Larry Bacow
President

Claudine Gay
Edgerley Family Dean, Faculty of Arts and Sciences

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I am pleased to announce that the Honorable Loretta Lynch, AB ’81, JD ’84, will return to our campus in October to deliver the 2023 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Lecture.

The granddaughter of a sharecropper and pastor who fought against the evils of Jim Crow, Ms. Lynch has committed herself, throughout a long and distinguished career, to social and racial justice. During her tenure as the 83rd U.S. attorney general, she advanced democracy, equal justice, and the rule of law. She fought against discriminatory new obstacles to the hard-earned right to vote; she vigorously prosecuted hate crimes that targeted people, in her words, “because of what they look like, where they worship or whom they love”; and she investigated police brutality and challenged unconstitutional law enforcement practices in places throughout the country so that we might edge nearer to the ideal of a nation of laws, of a nation of equal justice under law. In these and countless other ways, Ms. Lynch has spent her storied career working toward “creating a society that respects the rights and affirms the dignity of all people, regardless of color or creed, gender or ethnicity.”

I am extremely proud that Loretta Lynch is a Harvard alumna. She is a courageous individual whose work offers inspiration as well as hope. May she remind us today—and later this year—of the power of persistence in the uneven path toward justice.

All the best,

Larry

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Season’s Greetings from the Bacows

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In light of earlier today, I write to express my thanks to Michelle Williams for her extraordinary service as dean of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

An internationally recognized epidemiologist and award-winning educator, known for her influential studies of maternal and child health around the world, Michelle has served the School in leadership roles for over a decade, first as chair of the Department of Epidemiology and most recently as dean. In these roles, Michelle has embraced our collective imperative to understand and confront public health challenges worldwide and to serve the public health through the transformative impact of education, research, and discovery. A champion of collaboration, she has strengthened connections and programs with other Harvard schools as she has explored new and creative avenues for, as she memorably put it, “purposeful action,” including the launch of the Apple Women’s Health Study.

Under Michelle’s leadership during the historic public health crisis posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, faculty proved themselves to be an invaluable resource to governments and the public at large. Drawing from that experience, Michelle has used her convening power to pull together experts across different sectors, including from finance, health, and industry, to tackle vital questions. How can business and public health leaders best move forward cooperatively to face pandemics? How can we build capacity and coalitions now and in the future? What possibilities lie ahead for humanity with the help of the Harvard Chan School?

Provost Garber and I will soon launch a search for the next dean, and we will have more to say about that process in the time ahead. For now, we hope you will join us in thanking Michelle for her service to the University, especially throughout the pandemic, and in wishing her well as she returns to the faculty to continue her research, teaching, and mentoring.

All the best,

Larry

P.S. If you have thoughts on the opportunities and challenges facing the Harvard Chan School, or on the deanship, you may share them in confidence at sphdeansearch@harvard.edu.

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In a few hours, the Supreme Court will begin to hear oral arguments in our admissions case. Throughout my presidency, I have had opportunities to state the facts of the matter. I write now to share some personal reflections. 

Whatever promise we hold as individuals—for ourselves and for our world—is not predicated on narrowly structured measures of academic distinction. When Harvard assembles a class of undergraduates, it matters that they come from different social, economic, geographical, racial, and ethnic backgrounds. It matters that they come to our campus with varied academic interests and skill sets. Research and lived experience teach us that each student’s learning experience is enriched by encountering classmates who grew up in different circumstances. 

Harvard is not alone in believing that we are more than our test scores and that our unique perspectives bring a wealth of educational benefits to a high-quality educational enterprise. The legal battle we have waged, which reaches its apex today, is as important to other colleges and universities, and to society, as it is to us. Educators and scholars, civil rights organizers, historians, and education advocates stand with us. Leaders in business and technology stand with us. Former military officers and the heads of the nation’s service academies stand with us. Their voices—ringing out in amicus briefs—are part of a chorus that has risen across our campus and throughout our country in defense of forty years of legal precedent, as well as the history of the 14th Amendment.

Today, individuals of great skill will argue in favor of our cause inside the highest court in the land. This includes our colleagues from the University of North Carolina and the solicitor general of the United States. To all those who have worked hard to prepare us for today, thank you. To all those who have amplified and defended our argument on campus and elsewhere, thank you. We now await the final decision of the court with earnest anticipation. Whatever it is, we will honor the law while also remaining true to our values. May we continue to support and appreciate one another, as well as the institution we create together. 

Sincerely,
Larry

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In light of his announcement earlier today, I write to express my thanks to David Hempton for his outstanding service as dean of Harvard Divinity School.

A year ago next week, I joined David at Swartz Hall on a perfect fall day for a long-anticipated ribbon cutting. As we moved together through newly renovated spaces, I was struck by how much the building reminded me of David himself: inviting and open, authentic and dignified, dynamic and engaging. Throughout a decade of leadership, he has realized those same qualities more fully across the Divinity School—in the faculty and students you attract, in the research and scholarship you pursue, and in the initiatives and programs you launch. With inspiring conviction, he has expanded and elevated ambitions and perspectives, ever faithful to the ideal of a just world, a world at peace.

This talent is not to your sole benefit. At Academic Council, David is often the last to speak on an issue, and, when he does, everyone listens attentively because he is as gifted a teacher among his peers as he is in any classroom. With careful counsel, he guides others to see things differently, to consider new ways of approaching challenges and seeking resolution. These moments of wisdom have made him indispensable to his fellow deans—and to me. Fortunately, there is some road left to run with him, and we will cherish every step.

Provost Garber and I will soon launch a search for your next dean, and we will have more to say about that process in the time ahead. For now, we hope you will join us in thanking David for his service and in wishing him well as he begins to contemplate a well-deserved turn to a new book and a waiting family.

All the best,

Larry

P.S. If you have thoughts on the opportunities and challenges facing the School, or on the deanship, you may share them in confidence at divinitysearch@harvard.edu.

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I am pleased to announce that Dr. Freeman A. Hrabowski III will deliver our inaugural Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Lecture on Wednesday, October 12. The event, which will be held in Sanders Theatre and streamed live online, begins at 6:00 p.m. Tickets can be reserved .

When I announced the lecture series earlier this year, I shared my hope that it would create a new way for Harvard to participate in a critical and ongoing national conversation about racial justice, equity, and opportunity. No voice in American higher education has been more persistent and prominent in that discussion than that of Dr. Hrabowski. His advocacy for inclusive excellence over thirty years as president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County—best demonstrated through the phenomenal success of the Meyerhoff Scholars Program—continues to inspire extraordinary progress. Earlier this year, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) announced the Freeman Hrabowski Scholars Program, a $1.5 billion effort to support early career faculty who are deeply committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Dr. Hrabowski is a leader among leaders. Twelve years ago, he was awarded an honorary degree from Harvard. Now, we have another opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate his outstanding legacy of service. I hope you will join me in welcoming him back to campus next month. 

All the best,
Larry

P.S. To learn more about the lecture series—and to nominate a speaker for 2023—please see here.

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