Palfrey’s efforts are a small example of the interdisciplinary collaboration Faust has encouraged in pursuit of her “One University” mission.

“She wants the University to be a whole greater than the sum of its parts,” Palfrey says.

Earlier this month, Faust appointed Harvard School of Public Health Professor Sue J. Goldie to head the new Harvard Institute for Global Health, a University-wide institute that Faust hopes will spearhead a discipline that she has called a top priority.

“There is a great appetite for more joint activities,” says School of Public Health Dean Julio Frenk. “And global health is an enormous vehicle for that.”

Economics professor David M. Cutler ’87 reiterates the importance of tackling the problem from various disciplines.

“Global health spans it all,” says Cutler, who serves on HIGH’s executive committee. Without the collaboration of faculty across schools, “it’s kind of like seeing the world only through one color—you just miss a ton of it.”

FUNDING THE FUTURE

Faust is not one to express a great deal of emotion when speaking about the University’s priorities, other than excitement for the possibilities of academic inquiry.

But mention access to education for the University’s students, and Faust is clearly disappointed—saddened, even.

She has presided over the largest expansion in financial aid in the history of higher education, but Harvard’s graduate students by and large lack access to the generous financial aid packages that undergraduates receive.

“We have a lot more work to do for our graduate and professional students,” she says, with a note of melancholy in her voice.

As the University gears up for the next capital campaign, Faust has suggested that financial aid will be a focus of its concerted fundraising efforts. (The University’s last capital campaign, which ended in 1999, raised $3.3 billion in today’s dollars.)

The upcoming fundraising drive will provide Faust with a tangible opportunity—and a duty—to articulate a vision for the University and to revive the initiatives that have fallen victim to financial pressures.

But that campaign may be years away.

“What counts is what you do when you have the flexibility to do it,” Business School Professor and former University Provost Jerry R. Green says. “You know, every president has their own style.”

“I think she’s going to find the right role for herself,” Green adds.

—Staff writer Elias J. Groll can be reached at egroll@fas.harvard.edu.

—Staff writer Noah S. Rayman can be reached at nrayman@fas.harvard.edu.