Nathan M. Pusey ’28 was a traditionalist who led Harvard to reap the benefits of the peace and prosperity of the 1950s. But traditionalism gave way to paternalistic inflexibility as his administration ended amidst the violent climax of student protest in the turbulent 1960s.

During his tenure Pusey spearheaded the University’s first major fundraising campaign, led major modern campus construction initiatives and solidified Harvard’s commitment to meritocratic admissions and appointments.

A strong opponent of McCarthyism, Pusey is credited with upholding Harvard’s dedication to academic freedom in the face of blacklists and allegations of treason.

But Pusey’s last years as president were characterized by the political turmoil and student activism of the 1960s, a fact that friends and observers call unfortunate.

He is most often remembered for his controversial decision in 1969 to use police to evict occupying students from University Hall. Less than two years later, Pusey had stepped down and University President Derek C. Bok had assumed the seat of power.

Pusey arrived at Harvard in 1953 at a moment observers describe as ideal for his set of talents. Succeeding James B. Conant ’14, Pusey’s goal would be to solidify many of the gains that the Conant had accomplished.

Upon arrival, one of Pusey’s first priorities was to put the University’s recently expanded programs and research activities on a more solid financial base.

At the time, Pusey’s solution was the most ambitious and successful fundraising effort in the history of higher education.

Pusey aimed to raise over $82 million for the University’s various schools.

“Pusey comes off as a cautious man but he was not cautious when it came to the campaign,” Harvard historian John T. Bethell says. “He went for a number that was seen as absolutely ridiculous.”

Where Conant had been the public figure, weighing in on national policy debate and ultimately taking time off from Harvard to work on the Manhattan project, Pusey used the bully pulpit to press for the campaign. Pusey roamed the country pitching “the case for Harvard,” even making a national television appearance.

The campaign surpassed expectations, and under Pusey, Harvard’s endowment surged from $304 million to more than $1 billion. According Bok, Pusey set the standard for other universities’ financial planning for years to come.

At Harvard, all of the schools benefited, but, owing largely to Pusey’s background as a devout Episcopalian, the Divinity School won big—increased funding propelled it to new heights.

With a professional career spent nearly entirely at small liberal arts colleges, undergraduates and teaching were among Pusey’s prime concerns. But according to former Dean of the Faculty Henry Rosovsky, the greatest progress came in assuring Harvard’s place as one of the premier research universities. “Harvard moved forward more as a research university under Pusey than under any other president,” Rosovsky says.

Under Pusey, the University endowed more professorships than under any previous president. It increased financial aid and realized its goal of a regionally diverse university, secured by scholarships like the one that had brought Pusey himself to Harvard in 1924.