Former Corporation Member Dies

Andrew Heiskell, a one-time Harvard outsider who became a major force on the University’s both of the most powerful governing boards, died Sunday at his home in Darien, Conn. He was 87.

Heiskell’s first dealings with Harvard, in the 1930s, hardly portended a lasting relationship.

Heiskell, born in Italy and educated in France and Switzerland, requested permission to enter Harvard College as a junior. The school refused and offered him only a year’s academic credit. He turned Harvard down.

Soon after, the future CEO of Time, Inc. applied to Harvard Business School. He was admitted without even an undergraduate degree—but he quit the school after a year.

“Talk about thinking out of the box, that was Andrew Heiskell,” said Charles P. Slichter ’45, who served on the Corporation with Heiskell. “That’s so typical of a guy like that, of a guy who became one of the biggest business leaders, CEO of one of the most important organizations. He didn’t have patience with some sorts of things.”

Heiskell spent 43 years working at Time Inc., beginning as a science editor for Life magazine and serving as chair and CEO from 1960 to 1980.

After his retirement, he began a second career as a civic leader, including a post as chair of the New York City Public Library system during a period of financial crisis in which it was “falling apart,” according to Caroline Oyama, the library’s manager of public relations.

“He’s just had an extraordinary commitment to the library and has been working for many years to do absolutely anything he could to help,” said Oyama.

His goal was for the library to become a “walk-in community,” according to Oyama. He also worked to raise hundreds of millions of dollars to help the cash-strapped library system.

One branch, the Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library, was named for him after he worked to secure funding and a permanent location for the institution that had previously been located in a warehouse.

Heiskell served as president of Harvard’s Board of Overseers, the University’s second-highest governing board.

Former University President Derek C. Bok said the school pursued Heiskell for its Board of Overseers because of his record as both a business leader and a civic leader.

Bok said he and other University officials were surprised when Heiskell agreed to run for Overseer. At a celebration held for the new Overseers shortly after his election, Bok remembered the curiosity Heiskell began to show.

“I remember his pulling me aside and asking me in a genuinely surprised voice, ‘Who are these people?’ I think he was genuinely curious about Harvard; what is this institution, and who are these people, and where are they coming from, and what makes them tick?”

And when Heiskell left the Overseers to join the Corporation—Harvard’s most powerful governing board—the CEO and civic leader played a key role in keeping the Corporation focused on the most important issues, Bok said.

“He improved the way we worked and the job we did largely by never losing sight of the big picture,” said Bok. “I think when he came in, the Corporation was getting far too much into minute details and was getting overwhelmed...he was very helpful in getting us to think afresh, get us focused far more on large, important issues and get away from the minutiae. He really helped us redefine the role of the board.”

Bok said Heiskell’s sardonic sense of humor and strong personality made him enjoyable to work with as a colleague.

“He was a sparkling personality and a natural leader and very influential in his views,” said Slichter. “He was beloved by the other members of the Corporation and a wonderful human being.”

“Andrew Heiskell was one of the two or three members of the governing boards that made the greatest impression on me,” said Bok. “He really was an exceptional person...he had a very special impact on those people who came to work with him over those 20 years.”

—Staff writer Laura L. Krug can be reached at krug@fas.harvard.edu.