Corporation Chair Stone Steps Down

Robert G. Stone Jr. ’45, the chair and senior fellow of the Harvard Corporation, announced his retirement over winter break, effective at the end of the academic year.

The Harvard Corporation is the chief governing board of Harvard and is composed of seven members, including the president of the University.

Stone has served on the Corporation since 1975, and has been its senior fellow since 1995.

With Stone’s retirement, James R. “Jamie” Houghton ’58, the next-most senior member of the Corporation, will become its new senior fellow.

During his time on the Corporation, Stone has served as chair of Harvard’s Joint Committee on Inspection and of the Corporation Committee on Shareholder Responsibility. He has also served on the board of directors of the Harvard Management Company.

As senior fellow, Stone chaired the search committee which selected Lawrence H. Summers as the University’s 27th president last year. He also co-chaired the $2.6 billion capital campaign which ended in 1999.

Current and former Corporation members and Harvard administrators praised Stone’s tenure, pointing to his devotion to the University.

“He’s been a marvelous senior fellow,” said Conrad K. Harper, a Corporation fellow. “He has this extraordinary capacity to remember everyone and at the same time to give concern to all the important issues.”

“He has been completely selfless and always committed to [the] support of the institution, to preserving it and making it the best in the world,” wrote Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis ’68 in an e-mail. “Every one of us here, both faculty and students, owes him a tremendous debt of gratitude for the good condition in which he is leading the University.”

Charles P. Slichter ’45, a former Corporation fellow, said Stone has been a “remarkable servant of Harvard.”

“I stand in awe of all the contributions he has made,” Slichter said.

In fact, former University President Neil L. Rudenstine said Stone is “already a legendary Harvard leader.”

“For me personally, he was—as Senior Fellow of the Corporation—a constant source of advice, support and friendship, for which I shall always be grateful,” Rudenstine said.

The search for Stone’s replacement is expected to begin soon, according to a University press release. As it is wont to do, the Corporation is keeping quiet about the search process. Harper declined to comment on the search.

And Slichter would only say that “It’s challenging to pick a successor to Bob Stone.”

Judith R. Hope, a former Corporation fellow, said it was important for prospective fellows to have a broad perspective and be willing to dedicate five or six days per month pro bono to the University.

Hope also suggested that due to their age, Corporation members D. Ronald Daniel and Hanna H. Gray are likely to retire soon—a consideration the Corporation needs to keep in mind as it picks its new member for years to come.

In a press release, Stone said being on the Corporation was “one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.”

“I’m especially grateful to Derek Bok, Neil Rudenstine and Larry Summers, whose leadership qualities across the decades have made Harvard an institution I have long been proud to consider my home away from home,” Stone said.

Stone graduated in 1947, after taking time off to serve in the army. While an undergraduate, he was the captain of the heavyweight crew team that set a world record for 2000 meters.

He studied economics, going on to a long career in business.

Stone has served as an executive in the shipping and energy industries—he was president and chair of States Marines Lines, and chair of the Kirby Corporation. He has also served as a trustee for many institutions.

Stone will continue in his present role as chair of the Committee on University Resources.

—Staff writer M. Ari Behar can be reached at mbehar@fas.harvard.edu.