But there was a sense that no president could go it alone any more.

“The consensus was that Harvard was too big of a place for the President to be able to do everything himself,” says Joel C. Monell, dean of administration at the graduate school of education.

Observers say Rudenstine created the provost position with his experience at Princeton in mind. Rudenstine had been provost to then-Princeton President William Bowen and he played the type of inwardly focused role that more unified Princeton allowed.

“The difference is that there is a natural number-two person at Harvard—the dean of FAS,” says Dale W. Jorgenson, Abbe professor of economics. “It took a little while for the provost to be defined in this context,” he says.

Efforts to define the role of the provost were further frustrated by the circumstances surrounding each provost’s appointment.

The first provost Jerry R. Green was appointed by a still “wet behind the ears” Rudenstine. Green lasted only three years as provost.

After Green’s resignation a harried Rudenstine, right at the start of an all-consuming capital campaign, rushed to make an appointment, choosing Al Carnesale in 1994. Only a few months into office, Carnesale was thrust into the position of acting president when Rudenstine took a leave of absence.