Harvard Board of Overseers, Alumni Association Candidates Announced

Harvard announced the slate of candidates in contention for positions on its Board of Overseers — the University’s second highest governing board — and elected directorships in the Harvard Alumni Association Thursday.

The Board of Overseers’ responsibilities include advising top Harvard administrators, providing input on decisions about the direction of the University, and approving certain actions by the University’s highest governing body, the Harvard Corporation. Members of the board serve six-year terms.

The nominees — all Harvard alumni — come from a variety of professional fields and live in the United States or Europe. This year’s nine overseer nominees include founder and CEO of nonprofit Girls Who Code Reshma M. Saujani, partner for McKinsey & Company Vivian Y. Hunt ’89, president and CEO of the Education Trust John B. King ’96, director of the Iowa Department of Education Ryan M. Wise, private equity executive Scott C. Collins ’87, chief medical officer for the San Francisco Health Network Alice H. Chen, director of the MIT Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research Tyler E. Jacks ’83, biotechnology executive Danguole J. Altman ’81, and visual artist Janet S. Echelman ’87.

Though the Harvard Alumni Association usually nominates eight candidates, this year saw nine nominations to reflect current overseer James E. Hildreth's ’79 early resignation due to professional obligations. In addition to Hildreth, the six candidates elected will replace outgoing members Susan L. Carney ’73, Christopher B. Field ’75, Deanna Lee ’84, Sanjay H. Patel ’83, and Gwill E. York ’79.

Hildreth is not the first overseer to step down early. Former overseer Kathryn “Kat” A. Taylor ’80 resigned from her post in May, just one day before her term ended, in protest of what she called Harvard’s “failure” to “adopt ethical commitments” when investing its endowment.

Elected directors of the Harvard Alumni Association will serve as representatives of the general alumni community. The nominees include real estate investor George C. Alex ’81, manager for Ford Smart Mobility Bryan C. Barnhill II ’08, Attorney General of The Navajo Nation Ethel B. Branch ’01, partner at Hogan Lovells Salomé Cisnal de Ugarte, partner at Thompson & Knight LLP Adrienne E. Dominguez ’90, assistant director at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Michael J. Gaw ’90, social entrepreneur Christina Lewis ’02, consultant Zandile H. Moyo ’00, and Harvard Business School lecturer Derek C.M. van Bever.

All Harvard degree holders — except those Harvard Corporation members and those in University governance positions — are eligible to vote in the election via mail-in ballot. Additional candidates can also be nominated through a petition process.

University administrators will mail ballots to eligible voters by April 1, and alumni must complete and return their ballots by May 21.

—Staff writer Alexandra A. Chaidez can be reached at alexandra.chaidez@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @a_achaidez.