Diversity for the Corporation

University President Lawrence H. Summers made a huge mistake. Okay, he’s made a few. But this time his comments have called attention to an insidious problem—the lack of diversity in “high-powered positions.”

Contrary to popular belief, the fundamental issue highlighted by Summers’ comments is not about women, but rather white men. Disparities and discrimination are problems that are associated with a white male power structure—the old boys network dominating academia, business, medicine, journalism, and virtually all areas of American society. If Summers is truly sincere in his concerns about diversity, he should implement a plan to transform this “club” into one that is genuinely inclusive.

As the former Secretary of the Treasury and current president of the most prestigious university in the world, Summers is capable of doing more than creating two task forces to advance women at Harvard. Given the reservoir of talent in the Harvard community, the challenge of inclusion is minimal. It would be a much stronger statement to the world about the imperatives of higher education and business if he advocated for a female or a minority for the soon-to-be vacated position of president of the Harvard Management Company (HMC)—the group that controls the University’s $22.6 billion endowment.

The HMC was founded in 1974 to manage the endowment, pension assets, working capital, and deferred giving accounts of the University. The size of the endowment alone represents a substantial amount of influence in public policy and social responsibility. In January 2005, Jack R. Meyer announced his plans to resign as president of HMC, indicating that there will be a vacancy in one of the most powerful positions at Harvard. As members of the Harvard community, it is our responsibility to pay attention to who is selecting Meyer’s successor. James F. Rothenberg, treasurer of the University and chairman of the HMC board, is head of the steering committee to replace him that consists of seven men (including President Summers) and one woman. It is unclear how many members of this incredibly influential group are minorities.

The perspective of women and minorities is crucial to the fairness and overall effectiveness of the financial governing boards of the University, and it is deleterious to Harvard for that view to be overlooked. Students, alumni, faculty, and University employees should all have a role in the selection of Meyer’s replacement and constitute a community forum to examine the HMC.

While examining possible candidates for the new president, it is important to recognize the role of fund managers as well. Presently, 55 percent of the endowment is invested by HMC and external money managers invest 45 percent. As the steering committee and President Summers consider their options, perhaps they can include more women and people of color as fund managers for Harvard as well. In addition to promoting diversity, members of these groups offer unique and important backgrounds that can be valuable in making investment decisions.

While Summers suggested during the now famous National Bureau of Economic Research conference in January that discrimination has become a less significant factor in modern times, the exclusive selection of members from the tight-knit all-white, all-male group for top financial positions demonstrates otherwise. It is difficult for qualified women and minorities to obtain high-powered positions in part because private equity—the field in which the Harvard Management Company president and board members are likely to come from—is a notoriously insular field (which usually does not include minorities or women). Hopefully recent events have since forced Summers to recognize that race and gender still play large roles in the way society is shaped.

Summers needs to exhibit leadership on diversity by empowering well-qualified women and people of color. Harvard alumni such as Carla Harris ’84 (who was the second black woman to become managing director at Morgan Stanley) and Pamela Thomas Graham ’85, who was recently named chairman of CNBC, should be considered for the HMC or fund manager positions. Former chairman of Harvard Business School’s MBA program James Cash and assistant HBS professor of finance Luis M. Viceria would also make good candidates. Placing one of these individuals in a position of power will help foster an environment that is more welcoming to women and minorities at each level of this University. Furthermore, these candidates would serve as stellar examples for the Harvard community and beyond by creating an avenue for access to the old boys club. The HMC board of directors and the steering committee need to be transparent about their selection process. If qualified contenders such as these are not being considered, it is Summers’ responsibility to provide an explanation.

Ultimately, Summers should embrace both ethnic and gender diversity as his personal goal. Although he has expressed a commitment to advance females at Harvard via the formation of the task forces, these initiatives are insufficient because they do not address racial or ethnic disparities. There is more work to be done. By including ethnic diversity in the goals of the task forces and by advocating for increased female and minority participation in HMC, President Summers will send a valuable message to the world about the importance of building a qualified and representative community. If Summers wants to instill confidence in female and minority students and faculty, significant investment in diversity is the first step.

Monica M. Clark ’06 is a Crimson Senior News Editor. She is a history and literature concentrator in Currier House.