Harvard Corporation Forms Committee to Replace Presidential Search Subcommittee

Harvard Corporation Senior Fellow Penny S. Pritzker ’81 announced the establishment of a formal presidential search process committee that will recommend reforms to the 2026 search process during a Monday interview with The Crimson.

The formation of the new committee represents a major step forward in the University’s two-year path toward its next presidential search, which comes as part of an extensive effort to convince Harvard affiliates that the board has sincerely considered widespread criticisms.

Pritzker previously announced that she had convened an informal subcommittee of the Harvard Corporation, the University’s highest governing body, to begin a review of the presidential search process.

“That was a rather informal process and so we have now formally formed a committee,” Pritzker said. “We’ve expanded the committee and we call this the presidential search process committee.”

The official presidential search process committee will consist of three members of the Harvard Corporation, one current member of the Harvard Board of Overseers — the University’s second-highest governing body, and two active alumni.

When the University’s highest governing body punted on a new presidential search for two years by permanently appointing Alan M. Garber ’76, it came with a promise to consider reforms to its search process.

Now, the board must prove it can regain the confidence of Harvard affiliates before spring 2026, when it is set to begin the next search.

Bradley M. Bloom ’75, Sylvia M. Burwell ’87, a member of the Board of Overseers, and Patti B. Saris ’73 will join Carolyn A. “Biddy” Martin, Diana L. Nelson ’84, and Kenneth C. Frazier — the three original members of the Corporation’s subcommittee — on the presidential search process committee.

Though the three new committee members come from outside the Corporation’s insular ranks, they are all alumni with heavy involvement with Harvard’s governance.

Pritzker first announced the effort to review the search process during a town hall in April between the Corporation and members of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

“They’re going to be informing the Corporation about their recommendations about how we go forward with the next search,” Pritzker said. “That will include who might be on the search committee, how we engage with various stakeholders, do we use a search firm — many, many different criteria.”

The committee will solicit feedback about the next presidential search process from affiliates, as well as measure Harvard’s processes against other peer institutions. Pritzker said she hopes the new committee will produce recommendations by the end of the academic year, which she expects to later share with Harvard affiliates.

“The good news is that the committee has a lot of time to do this work,” Pritzker said.

The Corporation will then convene a search committee in spring of 2026 to select Garber’s successor before he steps down in June 2027.

In response to criticism about the Corporation’s lack of transparency, Pritzker said she thought that the board “has been doing a really good job” of asking itself how to respect the “need for confidentiality” while also being “more open.”

More than 49 percent of respondents to The Crimson’s annual Faculty of Arts and Sciences survey last spring said they were not confident that the Corporation could pick a president that could “steer Harvard out of its current period of turmoil.” Of the survey’s respondents, 79.75 percent desired increased transparency from the Corporation.

“This is our way of saying, ‘Look, we’re looking at different activities, and we want to be more transparent about what we’re doing,” Pritzker added, referring to her interview with The Crimson.

Pritzker also granted a similar interview to Harvard Magazine on Monday.

In her interview with The Crimson, Pritzker touted the Corporation’s recent meetings with University affiliates, including faculty members, alumni and “outside stakeholders.”

In the past week, Pritzker said she has attended a global advisory committee meeting, Harvard-Yale events, and met with the co-chairs of the presidential task forces to address antisemitism and Islamophobia.

“This is a really important effort so that the Corporation members and the fellows can really have the pulse of the community, and that the community knows that we’re not just engaging, but that we’re listening intently,” Pritzker said.

“We’re listening, we’re learning, and we’re taking action to make progress, and believe we’re on the right track,” she added.

—Staff writer Emma H. Haidar can be reached at emma.haidar@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @HaidarEmma.

—Staff writer Cam E. Kettles can be reached at cam.kettles@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @cam_kettles.