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At least two candidates — Dean of Undergraduate Education Amanda Claybaugh and Harvard Kennedy School professor David J. Deming — have interviewed to be the next Harvard College dean, according to three people familiar with the matter.
Each of the two candidates was interviewed by members of a 10-person faculty committee tapped to advise Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean Hopi E. Hoekstra in her search for the next College dean. The committee was formed after outgoing College Dean Rakesh Khurana announced in August that he would step down at the end of the academic year.
The Crimson was not able to determine whether other candidates were interviewed. A Faculty of Arts and Sciences spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Claybaugh and Deming did not respond to requests for comment.
In the search that selected Khurana, which concluded in 2014, interviews with the advisory committee came in the final stages of the process — but before then-FAS Dean Michael D. Smith named his chosen candidate for review by members of Harvard’s governing boards. Candidates were interviewed at least twice.
Hoekstra has provided no public updates on the search since she and the committee solicited input from Harvard affiliates last fall, though an announcement is expected very soon, according to one person familiar with the search.
Both candidates bring both familiarity with administrative positions and experience working with undergraduates.
Claybaugh, an English professor, has taught at Harvard since 2010. As dean of undergraduate education, a role in which she oversees the undergraduate curriculum at Harvard, Claybaugh has positioned herself as a staunch proponent of academic rigor.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, she helped the College implement temporary changes in Harvard’s grading policy to deal with the unprecedented circumstances.
In her current position, Claybaugh also serves in the Dean’s Cabinet, which meets regularly to advise Khurana as he leads the College.
As an English professor, Claybaugh taught courses including the popular Humanities 10, has served as chair of the Committee on Degrees in History and Literature, and helped forward History and Literature’s ethnic studies track.
Deming, who serves as Kirkland House faculty dean in addition to his appointment at HKS, was an internal finalist in last spring’s HKS dean search. He stepped down from the dean search advisory committee to become a candidate but was passed over for the position, which went to Jeremy M. Weinstein — then a Stanford professor — instead.
From 2021 to 2024, Deming was the academic dean of HKS. He also holds a faculty appointment at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, but he does not hold a post in the FAS.
Deming researches higher education, economic inequality, and the labor market, and Harvard cited his research on standardized test scores’ ability to predict college performance in its decision to end test-optional admissions.
—Staff writer Dhruv T. Patel can be reached at dhruv.patel@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @dhruvtkpatel.
—Staff writer Samuel A. Church can be reached at samuel.church@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @samuelachurch.
—Staff writer Cam N. Srivastava can be reached at cam.srivastava@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @camsrivastava.
