How To Pick a President

Rudenstine's last day is June 30, 2001. Which means they have a year to pick. The University search engine is not officially mobilized, the committee still unformed, the search process is as yet undefined.

But using the procedure of past searches as a guide, the committee will likely include the entire Harvard Corporation, the six fellows who are both the University's highest governing body and its owners. Senior Fellow Robert G. Stone '45 will chair the group. The Corporation will pick its candidate and then ask the Board of Overseers for its consent.

"There are, in history, some times when they didn't like the choice and it took some trying for the consent to be given," says Charles P. Slichter '45, a former member of the Corporation who chaired the last presidential search. "The problem is for the Overseers to feel that they are sufficiently knowledgeable about the nominees and process to give consent."

As part of an effort to make sure this link exists, the committee will likely include several members of the Overseers, Harvard's second highest governing body.

Rudenstine has said he will not be involved. The committee is unlikely to break with tradition to include faculty members, students or alumni, and will likely be kept small in an effort to avoid publicity.

The search committee will not use an academic headhunting firm, those familiar with the process say. They don't need one. Using the Harvard network, they can reach around the globe.

Over the next year, this select group will canvass the Harvard community and groups of higher education experts, composing lists and scratching off names. In the last search, the group sent out 200,000 letters to faculty, staff, alumni and students, soliciting suggestions.