A Provost for Faust

The news that Provost Steven E. Hyman will remain in his current post when President-elect Drew G. Faust takes over is good for Faust and—most importantly—good for Harvard. We only hope that Mass. Hall is not just a pit stop on Hyman’s path to another university’s president’s office.

Despite the interim year overseen by President Derek C. Bok, a rough transition come July is almost inevitable—Harvard will have a new president and four new deans. Having served as provost since 2001, Hyman will be one of the longest-tenured top administrators at Harvard and will provide valuable institutional memory and experience to aid Faust.

Hyman’s continuing presence is particularly important given the expansion of the provost office’s role during his tenure. Under interim President Bok, Hyman began to share some of Bok’s presidential responsibilities, including chairing many ad hoc tenure committees and fundraising duties. Since 2001, the Office of the Provost has doubled in size—not for the sake of increased bureaucracy, but because the roles and abilities of the office increased so significantly under Hyman’s leadership. And although Hyman was appointed by former-President Lawrence H. Summers, he has maintained a good rapport with faculty members and is respected across the University.

Hyman will also give Faust a trusted top adviser in the key area of science. It is no secret that the Presidential Search Committee sought out scientists and that expansion in the sciences is at the top of the Corporation’s agenda. Although Faust is known to be particularly science-savvy for a historian, Hyman’s presence in Mass. Hall will be a great boon to Faust’s early tenure.

Hyman’s expertise on efforts to expand interdisciplinary science initiatives will also be valuable for Faust. From his appointment to lead the newly-created Mind, Brain, and Behavior program at Harvard in 1994 to his close involvement with the University Planning Committee on Science and Engineering and his vocal support of the creation of University-wide departments today, Hyman personifies academic collaboration and progress at Harvard. Interdisciplinarity is an issue that Faust will need to address immediately, and the presence of an adviser who has thought deeply about how to improve interdisciplinary research and who understands the politics involved in breaking down departmental barriers will be an invaluable resource.

Hyman will likely prove most valuable, however, for his experience with the Allston expansion. Allston is a complex topic on which informed decisions will have to be made immediately, and having Hyman around will greatly ease Faust’s learning curve.

Hyman is particularly critical because of his central role in academic planning for Allston. Although much of the public focus in Allston planning has been on placing buildings and negotiating with the community, Allston presents a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle in terms of determining what schools, departments, and labs will move across the river. Such planning demands an adroit politician with an acute sense of the needs of individual researchers. Hyman has stepped into this role with ease, and given the wealth of experience he has accumulated over the last half-decade, his loss would be devastating for Harvard’s expansion.

With his leadership ability, seniority, and expertise on crucial academic issues, it is no surprise that Hyman’s name was on the short list for Harvard’s presidency. If history proves to be any indication, Hyman will likely be sought by other top universities for top-level jobs. But despite his relative anonymity, Hyman’s presence in the Yard and in Allston has had and will continue to have a profound and unique impact on Harvard. To that end, we hope Hyman’s decision to stay is not a temporary one.