Governing Boards

A few people at Harvard are technically more powerful than the president: the six mysterious Fellows of Harvard College.

The president and Fellows make up the Harvard Corporation, which is invested with ultimate control over the University by colonial charter. This board approves appointments and oversees the allotment of millions of dollars in each year's operating budget.

It's a responsibility that the Corporation takes very seriously. So seriously, in fact, that the body is best known for the secrecy permeating all of its activities. The Corporation selects its own members for life-long terms. It publishes no minutes of its meetings and most of its members never speak to the press.

The senior fellow is Robert G. Stone Jr. '45, the chair and CEO of the Kirby Corporation. Legend has it that until recently, Stone had not spoken to an undergraduate since his own days at Harvard. He will chair the committee charged with selecting the next president.

More open, but far less powerful, is the Board of Overseers, the University's secondary governing board. Elected each year by alums to serve six-year terms, the overseers meet to form committees, approve appointments, for committees and discuss issues.

The board tends to attract some of Harvard's more famous graduates. The board's membership over the last few years has included actor John A. Lithgow '67, author Michael Crichton '64, one-time Republican presidential candidate Elizabeth H. Dole and Vice President Al Gore '69.

The Vice Presidents

Overseeing the University's non-academic bureaucracy are Harvard's five vice presidents.