President and Fellows of Harvard College

Last updated

The Harvard College seal Harvard College Seal.png
The Harvard College seal

The President and Fellows of Harvard College, also called the Harvard Corporation or just the Corporation, is the smaller and more powerful of Harvard University's two governing boards. It refers to itself as the oldest corporation in the Western Hemisphere. [1] At full capacity, as of 2024, the corporation consists of twelve fellows as well as the president of Harvard University, for a total of thirteen members. [2]

Contents

Together with the Board of Overseers, the two boards exercise institutional roles that, at most other colleges and universities, are more commonly consolidated into a single board of trustees. [3]

Although the institution it governs has grown into a university of which Harvard College is one component, the corporation's name remains "The President and Fellows of Harvard College". [4]

Structure

The Harvard Corporation is a 501(c)(3) and the owner of all of Harvard University's assets and real property. [5]

As a governing board, the Corporation traditionally functioned as an outside body whose members were not involved in the institution's daily life, meeting instead periodically to consult with the day-to-day head, the President of Harvard University, whom it appoints, and who also serves as a member. The Corporation is self-perpetuating, appointing new members to fill its own vacancies as they arise.

For most of its history, the Corporation consisted of six fellows in addition to the president. But after the presidency of Lawrence Summers from 2001 to 2006, and a large endowment decline after the Great Recession in 2008–2009, a year-long governance review was conducted. In December 2010, it announced that the Corporation's "composition, structure, and practices" would be altered: the number of fellows would increase from six to twelve, with prescribed terms of service, and several new committees would endeavor to improve the group's integration with the activities of the University as a whole, especially its long-term planning. [6]

History

Harvard presidents Josiah Quincy, Edward Everett, Jared Sparks, James Walker, and Cornelius Conway Felton each served as members of the Harvard Corporation at various times. FiveHarvardPresidents.jpg
Harvard presidents Josiah Quincy, Edward Everett, Jared Sparks, James Walker, and Cornelius Conway Felton each served as members of the Harvard Corporation at various times.

17th century

Starting in 1636, the affairs and funds of Harvard College were managed by a committee of the Great and General Court of Massachusetts. In 1650, at the request of Harvard's first President Henry Dunster, the Great and General Court of Massachusetts issued the body a charter. [7]

The Charter of 1650 established the Harvard Corporation board which consisted of seven members: a President, five Fellows, and a Treasurer. The Corporation had the authority to manage the College's finances, real estate, and donations, act as a legal entity in courts of law, select officers and servants, and create orders and bylaws for the College, with the approval of the Board of Overseers. [8]

The founding members of the Harvard Corporation were respectively: Henry Dunster as President, Samuel Mather, Samuel Danforth, Jonathan Mitchell, Comfort Starr and Samuel Eaton as the five Fellows and Thomas Danforth as the Treasurer. [9] These men had, in perpetual succession, the duties of managing the College.

18th century

The 1780 Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts reaffirmed that, despite the change in government due to the American Revolution, the corporation would continue to "have, hold, use, exercise and enjoy" its property and legal privileges. [10] However it further noted that "nothing herein shall be construed to prevent the legislature of this commonwealth from making such alterations in the government of the said university." [11]

19th century

In 1805, the election of Henry Ware as Hollis Professor of Divinity placed the Corporation, then politically Federalist and religiously Unitarian, at odds with Massachusetts politics that was increasingly Democratic-Republican and still Trinitarian.[ clarification needed ] [12]

21st century

In December 2023, the Corporation came under scrutiny by the House of Representatives. After a House Committee hearing on antisemitism, House members called for the presidents of Harvard and two other universities to resign. [13] [14] The following month, in January 2024, the House Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over university tax status and endowments, probed the tax status of Harvard and three other universities, over allegations of inadequate responses to antisemitism. [15] [16]

On May 22, 2024, one day before the annual Harvard Commencement ceremony, the corporation refused to give diplomas to thirteen seniors of Harvard College involved in pro-Palestinian protests, overruling a vote of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences that included the students on the list of graduating students. [17] [18] [19] [20]

Current membership

As of May 2024, there are currently thirteen members of the Corporation, including the University president, who sets the agenda but does not vote. [21] [22]

NameHarvard Degree(s)Year appointedOccupation
Alan Garber AB 1976, AM 1977, PhD 19882024 [23] interim President of Harvard University
Timothy R. Barakett, TreasurerAB 1987, MBA 19932019 [24] former CEO of Atticus Capital
Kenneth Chenault JD 19762014 [25] former CEO of American Express
Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar AB 19932019 [24] President of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and former Justice of the Supreme Court of California
Paul Finnegan AB 1975, MBA 19822012-2024 [26] [27] co-CEO of Madison Dearborn Partners
Carolyn Martin None2018 [28] President Emerita of Amherst College
Karen Mills AB 1975, MBA 19772014 [25] former Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration
Diana L. NelsonAB 19852018 [29] chair of Carlson Holdings
Penny Pritzker, Senior FellowAB 19812018 [28] former United States Secretary of Commerce
Tracy P. PalandjianAB 1993, MBA 19972022 [30] co-founder and CEO of Social Finance
Shirley M. Tilghman LLD 2004 (Honorary)2016 [31] former president of Princeton University
Ted Wells JD 1976, MBA 19762013 [32] partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
Kenneth C. Frazier JD 19782024 [33] former CEO of Merck & Co.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Harvard (clergyman)</span> English clergyman and philanthropist (1607–1638)

John Harvard (1607–1638) was an English dissenting minister in colonial New England whose deathbed bequest to the "schoale or colledge" founded two years earlier by the Massachusetts Bay Colony was so gratefully received that it was consequently ordered "that the Colledge agreed upon formerly to be built at Cambridge shalbee called Harvard Colledge." John Harvard was born in Southwark, England. A graduate of Emmanuel College of the University of Cambridge, he emigrated to New England in 1637. Harvard University considers him the most honored of its founders—those whose efforts and contributions in its early days "ensure[d] its permanence"—and a statue in his honor is a prominent feature of Harvard Yard.

<i>The Harvard Crimson</i> Harvard College undergraduate daily newspaper

The Harvard Crimson is the student newspaper of Harvard University and was founded in 1873. Run entirely by Harvard College undergraduates, it served for many years as the only daily newspaper in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Henry Dunster was an Anglo-American Puritan clergyman and the first president of Harvard College. Brackney says Dunster was "an important precursor" of the Baptist denomination in America, especially regarding infant baptism, soul freedom, religious liberty, congregational governance, and a radical biblicism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">President of Harvard University</span> Head of Harvard University

The president of Harvard University is the chief administrator of Harvard University and the ex officio president of the Harvard Corporation. Each is appointed by and is responsible to the other members of that body, who delegate to the president the day-to-day running of the university.

The Harvard Board of Overseers is an advisory board of alumni at Harvard University. Unlike the Harvard Corporation, the Board of Overseers is not a fiduciary governing board, but instead "has the power of consent to certain actions of the Corporation." Formed in 1642, the Board of Overseers predates the Corporation's 1650 incorporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dunster House</span> Residential house of Harvard College

Dunster House is one of twelve undergraduate residential houses at Harvard University. Built in 1930, it is one of the first two dormitories at Harvard University constructed under President Abbott Lawrence Lowell's House Plan and one of the seven Houses given to Harvard by Edward Harkness. In the early days, room rents varied based on the floor and the size of the room. Dunster was unique among Harvard dormitories for its sixth-story walk-up ; these rooms were originally rented by poorer students, such as Norman Mailer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences</span> Largest of the twelve faculties that constitute Harvard University

The Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) is the largest of the ten faculties that constitute Harvard University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lawrence Bacow</span> President of Harvard University

Lawrence Seldon Bacow is an American economist and retired university administrator. Bacow served as the 12th president of Tufts University from 2001 to 2011 and as the 29th president of Harvard University from 2018 to 2023. Before that, he was the Hauser leader-in-residence at the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard Kennedy School.

Harvard College has several types of social clubs. These are split between gender-inclusive clubs recognized by the college, and unrecognized single-gender clubs which were subject to College sanctions in the past. The Hasty Pudding Club holds claim as the oldest collegiate social club in America, tracing its roots back to 1770. The next oldest institutions, dating to 1791, are the traditionally all-male final clubs. Fraternities were prominent in the late 19th century as well, until their initial expulsions and then eventual resurrection off Harvard's campus in the 1990s. From 1991 onwards, all-female final clubs as well as sororities began to appear. Between 1984 and 2018, no social organizations were recognized by the school due to the clubs' refusal to become gender-inclusive.

Paul James Finnegan is a Chicago-based investor and philanthropist. In 1992, he co-founded Madison Dearborn Partners and currently serves as the firm's co-CEO. From 2014 to 2023, served as the Treasurer of the Harvard Corporation and the Chair of the Harvard Management Company.

The Trustees of Princeton University is a 40-member board responsible for managing Princeton University's $37.6 Billion endowment (2021), real estate, instructional programs, and admission. The Trustees include at least 13 members elected by alumni classes, and the Governor of New Jersey and the President of the university as ex officio members.

William F. Lee is an American intellectual property and commercial litigation trial attorney. As co-managing partner of WilmerHale, Lee was the first Asian-American to lead a major American law firm. He is also a Senior Fellow of the Harvard Corporation, the governing board of Harvard University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harvard University</span> Private university in Massachusetts, US

Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Its influence, wealth, and rankings have made it one of the most prestigious universities in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quincy House (Harvard College)</span> Residential House of Harvard College

Quincy House is one of twelve undergraduate residential Houses at Harvard University, located on Plympton Street between Harvard Yard and the Charles River. The second largest of the twelve undergraduate houses, Quincy House was named after Josiah Quincy III (1772–1864), president of Harvard from 1829 to 1845. Quincy House's official counterpart at Yale University is Branford College.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Derek Penslar</span> Canadian historian

Derek Jonathan Penslar, is an American-Canadian comparative historian with interests in the relationship between modern Israel and diaspora Jewish societies, global nationalist movements, European colonialism, and post-colonial states.

<i>Statue of John Harvard</i> Statue at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.

John Harvard is a sculpture in bronze by Daniel Chester French in Harvard Yard, Cambridge, Massachu­setts, honoring clergyman John Harvard (1607–1638), whose deathbed bequest to the "schoale or Colledge" recently undertaken by the Massachu­setts Bay Colony was so gratefully received that it was consequently ordered "that the Colledge agreed upon formerly to bee built at Cambridg shalbee called Harvard Colledge."  There being nothing to indicate what John Harvard had looked like, French used a Harvard student collaterally descended from an early Harvard president as inspiration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Garber</span> American physician (born 1955)

Alan Michael Garber is an American physician, health economist, and academic administrator. He is currently Harvard University's interim president. He served as Provost of Harvard from 2011 until March 14, 2024, when John F. Manning took on the position on an interim basis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Students for Justice in Palestine</span> Pro-Palestinian BDS activism organization

Students for Justice in Palestine is a pro-Palestinian college student activism organization in the United States, Canada and New Zealand. It has campaigned for boycott and divestment against corporations that deal with Israel and organized events about Israel's human rights violations. In 2011, The New York Times reported that "S.J.P., founded in 2001 at the University of California, Berkeley, has become the leading pro-Palestinian voice on campus."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claudine Gay</span> American political scientist and university administrator (born 1970)

Claudine Gay is an American political scientist and academic administrator who is the Wilbur A. Cowett Professor of Government and of African and African-American Studies at Harvard. Gay's research addresses American political behavior, including voter turnout and politics of race and identity.

References

  1. ↑ "Harvard Corporation". www.harvard.edu. Harvard University. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Amid Crisis, Harvard Corporation Seat Goes 6 Months Unfilled". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  3. ↑ "Leadership and Governance". Harvard University. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  4. ↑ Chait, Richard P.; Daniel, D. Ronald; Lorsch, Jay W.; Rosovsky, Henry (May–June 2006). "Governing Harvard: A Harvard Magazine Roundtable". Harvard Magazine.
  5. ↑ Andrea Suozzo; Alec Glassford; Ash Ngu; Brandon Roberts (May 9, 2013). "President And Fellows Of Harvard College - Nonprofit Explorer". ProPublica. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  6. ↑ "Governance Review Culminates in Changes to Harvard Corporation". Harvard Gazette. Harvard University. December 6, 2010. Retrieved December 6, 2010.
  7. ↑ Whitehead, John S. (1971). The Separation of College and State: The Transformation of Columbia, Dartmouth, Harvard, and Yale from Quasi-Public to Private Institutions, 1776–1876 (Thesis).[ page needed ]
  8. ↑ "Collection: Charters and legislative acts relating to the governance of Harvard | HOLLIS for".
  9. ↑ "Research Guides: Harvard Presidential Insignia: Harvard Charter of 1650".
  10. ↑ "Chapter V". Massachusetts Constitution.
  11. ↑ "Massachusetts Constitution". malegislature.gov. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  12. ↑ Whitehead, John S. (1973). The Separation of College and State: Columbia, Dartmouth, Harvard, and Yale, 1776-1876. Yale University Press. ISBN   978-0-300-01606-2.
  13. ↑ Desk, JACKSON WALKER (December 20, 2023). "Congress expanding Harvard probe to include plagiarism allegations against president". WPMI. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  14. ↑ Moody, Josh. "Who Failed Whom at Harvard?". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  15. ↑ Lorin, Janet (January 10, 2024). "Harvard, MIT Tax Status Probed by Congress Over Antisemitism". Bloomberg News .
  16. ↑ "House Panel Probes Harvard, UPenn, Cornell, MIT Tax Exemption". news.bloombergtax.com. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  17. ↑ "Harvard Corporation Rules Thirteen Students Cannot Graduate". Harvard Magazine. May 22, 2024. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  18. ↑ "Harvard Corporation won't give diplomas to 13 students, despite faculty vote". WBUR. May 22, 2024. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  19. ↑ "Harvard University's governing board pulls degrees for 13 pro-Palestinian student protestors". Boston 25 News. May 23, 2024. Retrieved May 27, 2024.
  20. ↑ Hilary Burns (May 22, 2024). "Harvard's governing board overrules faculty, bars 13 students who participated in pro-Palestinian encampment from receiving degrees". The Boston Globe. Retrieved May 27, 2024.
  21. ↑ Dixon, Brandon J.; Parker, Claire E. (June 27, 2017). "The Harvard Corporation, Explained". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  22. ↑ "Harvard Corporation". Harvard University. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  23. ↑ University, Harvard; william (January 2, 2024). "Statement from the Harvard Corporation: President Gay". Harvard University. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  24. 1 2 "Two elected to Harvard Corporation". Harvard Gazette. Harvard University. February 11, 2019. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  25. 1 2 "Kenneth Chenault and Karen Gordon Mills to join Harvard Corporation". Harvard Gazette. Harvard University. February 10, 2014. Retrieved June 15, 2015.
  26. ↑ "Finnegan elected to Corporation". Harvard Gazette. Harvard University. May 23, 2012. Retrieved June 15, 2015.
  27. ↑ "Kenneth Frazier, Joseph Bae to Join Harvard Corporation Ahead of Presidential Search". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  28. 1 2 "Harvard Corporation elects two new members". Harvard Gazette. Harvard University. May 23, 2018. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  29. ↑ "New Corporation member named". Harvard Gazette. Harvard University. February 10, 2020. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  30. ↑ "Tracy Palandjian elected to Harvard Corporation". Harvard Gazette. Harvard University. April 4, 2022. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
  31. ↑ "Tilghman named to Harvard Corporation". Harvard Gazette. December 7, 2015. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  32. ↑ "Mathews and Wells elected to Harvard Corporation". Harvard Gazette. Harvard University. September 23, 2012. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  33. ↑ "Kenneth Frazier, Joseph Bae to Join Harvard Corporation Ahead of Presidential Search". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.