Mass. Hall Misses September Target for Harvard Law School Dean Search Launch

Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76 has yet to announce an advisory committee to help select the next dean of the Harvard Law School, passing his own September deadline for providing an update on the status of the search process.

In August, Garber permanently appointed longtime HLS Dean John F. Manning ’82 as the University’s next provost, creating a vacancy at the helm of the Law School for the first time since 2017.

Manning had previously taken a leave of absence from HLS in March to serve as provost in an interim capacity.

In an August email announcing Manning’s appointment, Garber wrote: “I look forward to commencing a search for a permanent dean in September, and I will be in touch soon with more details.”

The calendar has since been extended to October, but Law School affiliates are still waiting on those details.

University spokesperson Jason A. Newton wrote in a statement that “early-stage planning to organize the search and outreach process has been underway.”

“We anticipate an update for the HLS community in the coming weeks,” he added.

The delay in formally launching a search has not stopped Law School affiliates from discussing candidates for the role.

A number of HLS professors expressed support for internal candidates such as interim Dean John C. P. Goldberg, Deputy Dean I. Glenn Cohen, and Vice Dean David B. Wilkins ’77.

The Black Law School Association also endorsed Wilkins and controversial former Winthrop House faculty deans Ronald S. Sullivan Jr. and Stephanie R. Robinson in an open letter last week.

As they await developments from Massachusetts Hall, Law School affiliates can look back on the University’s two recent dean searches as indicators for the coming months.

After Harvard Kennedy School Dean Douglas W. Elmendorf announced his resignation from the school on Sept. 7, 2023, former Harvard President Claudine Gay announced the formation of her faculty advisory committee by Oct. 20.

For the HLS dean search to have followed the same six-week timeline, Garber would have needed to announce the faculty advisory committee last week. Now, he is punting into October.

Garber is also currently helming a dean search at the Harvard Graduate School of Education after former HGSE Dean Bridget Terry Long announced she would step down in January.

The HGSE process also has not progressed as swiftly as Gay’s approach to HKS, with Garber naming an interim dean and 13-member search faculty advisory committee more than three months after Long announced her resignation.

—Staff writer S. Mac Healey can be reached at mac.healey@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @MacHealey.

—Staff writer Saketh Sundar can be reached at saketh.sundar@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @saketh_sundar.