The Right President? Too Early to Know

In the past few weeks, we, as Harvard College representatives to the Presidential Search, have fielded many questions about whether Drew Faust is the “right choice” for the Harvard presidency. In response, we first admit that we do not—and indeed cannot—possibly know the answer until Faust has had the chance to reveal her priorities through action. Second, we believe that this question is the wrong one to ask. The right question to ask is whether or not Drew Gilpin Faust will take the right steps to improve the undergraduate experience, a question that we can only evaluate in the light of the following considerations:

Will Faust keep students involved in processes and decisions that affect the heart of the undergraduate experience? The process that brought Faust to the presidency was unique in its inclusion of students; we hope this student involvement will be a precedent she continues to support. Students are the heart of any educational institution, and while it is administrators who must run day-to-day operations, often the most qualified advisers on a given issue, regardless of its import, are those whom the decision will affect most closely. Decisions at every level should include more than nominal student input—be it for a small decision like how best to manage the temporary Malkin Athletic Center (MAC) closure, or a larger-scale decision, as in the development of Allston.

To secure such input, Faust should institutionalize the voice of students through the appointment of an official, standing student advisory board. Such a body, comprised of diverse leaders from the student community would enable Faust to hear the voice of students on a regular basis and would increase the communication and understanding between the administration and students. Whether or not she chooses to appoint an official student advisory board for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) Dean Search may signal the type of leader she will be for undergraduates. We truly hope that she will take bold steps in this regard.

Will Faust take a stand for the independence and autonomy of the College within the FAS? As they rush between sports practices, sections, and Annenberg dinners, most students do not consider how the institutional structure of the College and the FAS affects their daily lives. This structure, however, significantly impact student life, as the College’s position within FAS gives it relatively less control over its own initiatives and budget. For example, the Harvard College Fund, to which many Harvard College graduates contribute annually with the hope to improving undergraduate life, is actually controlled by the Dean of FAS and often fails to be disbursed in a way that affects undergraduates in any direct way. We hope that serious adjustments can be made in the structural relations of FAS and the College such that the College can set its own priorities and have more freedom to improve undergraduate life. Funds donated in the name of undergraduates should actually reach them.

For example, former President Lawrence H. Summers recognized these structural obstacles to improving the undergraduate experience using traditional means—and so he chose to fund the Cambridge Queen’s Head Pub and Lamont Café with his own discretionary fund. While we hope Faust will continue to take bold steps such as these in helping undergraduates, we hope that a more long-term, structural change can be made to lessen the need for temporary allocations of the discretionary budget.

Will Drew Faust serve as a president with an unending passion for undergraduate education and a dedication to improving the quality of student experience at the College? Above all, what undergraduate students most want from Faust is an advocate and a pioneer. We want a president who understands the value of an undergraduate education and who will implement the new General Education with an eye to what will best serve students. We want a president who believes that faculty responsibilities extend beyond the realm of a research lab and into the realm of teaching and advising. We want a president who sees college not simply as an academic experience, and embraces and prioritizes its extracurricular and social values.

At present, we do not yet know whether Drew Gilpin Faust is that president. But, we know that she stands at the brink of an unprecedented opportunity to be that president. Based on our initial interactions with her, we remain optimistic about her vision. But it is too early for us to pass judgment on the actual impact she will have upon the student experience. We certainly hope that she is the best president for Harvard. From an undergraduate perspective, we hope even more strongly that she makes Harvard a better place for its students.


Whitney S. F. Baxter ’07 is an economics concentrator in Pforzheimer House. Katherine A. Beck ’07 is a social studies concentrator in Eliot House. Vivek G. Ramaswamy ’07 is a biology concentrator in Kirkland House. All served as the Harvard College representatives for the Student Advisory Group in the Harvard Presidentidal Search.