“Some things are hot and some things are not...This level of scrutiny limits cases of turfness,” he said.
Bloom initiated HSPH’s own adoption of guidelines for new centers last year, which reduced the number of centers from 16 to six over the past year.
HSPH’s policies served as a model for the guidelines adopted by the University, according to Hyman.
“He really in many ways brought this issue to the table,” he said.
The reduction in centers at HSPH under the school’s new policy has not negatively impacted research.
“There has been no blood shed or revolution and it has lead to a clarity of priorities,” Bloom said.
And Bloom said that the lesson is one that others schools can benefit from.
“There is a seduction to centers because they are so topical...but they were taking funds for the core interests of the school,” Bloom said. “And that makes it harder to support our mission as a University.”
—Staff writer Jessica E. Vascellaro can be reached at vascell@fas.harvard.edu.