When Faust goes to Washington, she brings a carefully crafted strategy, a bevy of data, and stories about the good work being carried out in Cambridge, all tied neatly together with a dose of charm.

Heenan said that universities must determine “how to best deploy their president as an asset toward their advocacy agenda,” evoking the language of battle and apparently emphasizing what is at stake for Harvard in Washington.

This means employing Faust’s clout and political capital selectively to make headway with important lawmakers.

“I am more likely to get direct access to the principals and to be able make the case for higher education to people in the Senate and House of Representatives,” Faust said of her choice to travel to D.C. in certain instances, rather than send other University affiliates.

Harvard uses a two-pronged strategy, filling Faust’s itinerary with both lawmakers and journalists in the capital.

Faust has met with political bigwigs including President Obama, Vice President Biden, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, as well as journalists and other Washington insiders. During her trips to the capital her schedule also includes op-ed columnists, think-tanks, editorial boards, and other opinion makers.

This past year, Faust participated in a reporter roundtable, a type of off-the-record schmoozing used to give journalists insight into the challenges facing a university in a candid forum.

“I think this is a somewhat unique approach at Harvard to reach both lawmakers and those who seek to influence them,” Heenan said.

Though Faust’s team said that she attempts to make connections across the political spectrum, her efforts this year have been weighted toward Democrats, who by and large tend to be in favor of funding for Universities. Out of at least 17 meetings with politicians or government leaders in Washington this year, only 4 were with Republicans.

However, with the Republicans having recently taken over the House, University administrators are quick to emphasize that an effective lobbying strategy has to cross the political divide and reach out to GOP lawmakers.

“It would be a very dangerous thing if science became a partisan issue,” Heenan said.

When meeting with members of Congress, Faust comes armed with facts and figures about the cutting-edge cancer research conducted in Harvard laboratories. She also touts the student body’s diversity and the number of students who currently graduate without debt.

But as much as politics is about coming armed with the right data and a good argument, it also requires a bit of wit and charisma. Faust has found herself in unfamiliar territory on Capitol Hill, but it appears that she has embraced the role of winning over lawmakers with gusto.

Harvard and other elite universities are often criticized by conservative Washington politicians for being out of touch with the country’s mainstream. Therefore when lobbying Congress, Faust has had to grapple with what is perceived as a peculiarly Harvardian brand of elitism.

“I think universities are right now very much misunderstood,” University Provost Steven E. Hyman said. “A place like Harvard is mistakenly caricatured as an elitist bastion of peculiar beliefs.”