Provost Considered for Top Post

For University Provost Steven E. Hyman, being a presidential candidate is becoming an annual event.

He was considered for the presidency of MIT in 2004, the top job at Boston University in 2005, and was a finalist in the University of Chicago’s presidential search last spring, according to a source close to the provost.

The source was not named so that the individual’s relationship with Hyman may be preserved. The provost has declined to discuss his candidacy on the record.

MIT and BU passed on Hyman, and he withdrew his name from the University of Chicago race due in part to family considerations, the source says. Now, with the disclosure that his name is on the list of candidates for Harvard’s own presidency released to the Board of Overseers earlier this month, Hyman has found himself in the thick of yet another presidential search.

But while Hyman’s resume may cement his status as one of the most qualified candidates, his shot at the presidency is far from assured.

‘THE NUMBER TWO’

Along with presidents of other schools, incumbent provosts are some of the most traditional candidates in presidential searches, according to Richard P. Chait, professor of higher education at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education.

In their role as chief academic officers for universities, provosts tend to be "well known to the community, steeped in the culture of the organization, and have already achieved a high level of respect," Chait says. "If you’re looking for a number one, it’s entirely logical to look at the number two."

For many Harvard observers and faculty members, Hyman typifies those qualities.

"He’s seen the running of the University up close for several years now, so his learning curve would be minimal," says Richard Bradley, who wrote the book "Harvard Rules" and blogs about Harvard on his Web site.

"He knows the institutions very well, [and] the issues," says Judith Ryan, the Weary professor of German and comparative literature. "He knows what’s on people’s minds."

On Hyman’s watch, the provost’s office has more than doubled in size. When he was appointed in 2001, Hyman oversaw five administrators; the office now includes a senior vice provost, three vice provosts, two senior associate provosts, three associate provosts, an assistant provost, and a deputy provost.

Hyman and his staff say this growth is due in large part to new responsibilities—such as the Allston expansion and University-wide diversity and science initiatives—that have fallen under Hyman’s purview.

And while the provost at Harvard is less powerful than provosts at comparable universities, according to Harvard historian Morton Keller, "it’s become more substantive in recent years, because the University has become much more interfaculty and interschool."

SHARING THE LOAD

Hyman’s increasing influence culminated this year under Interim President Derek C. Bok, with the two sharing some of the presidential duties.

This year, Hyman has sat on roughly half of the University’s ad hoc committees reviewing candidates for tenure, with Bok serving on the other half. Hyman had a slightly lighter load under Summers.

The two have also divided their work on search committees exploring possible candidates for positions to be filled by the next president.

Hyman is assisting with the searches for a new dean of Harvard Medical School (HMS) and University Librarian, while Bok has been involved with searches for new deans of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and the Graduate School of Design.

The two administrators even share the same chief of staff.

"We work very closely together," Bok said last week. "Some things he may be better at, sometimes I have more time than he or vice versa, and so we just work it out that way."

"I think that always works better than trying to define some very clear boxes. The world is too messy to be divided up that way," Bok added.

"I think that the division of responsibilities is working just fine," Hyman says of the relationship.

Hyman has also taken over the lion’s share of the president’s alumni development and fundraising duties—a potential boon to his prospects as a candidate.

"Derek has made it clear that he’s not going to do a lot of travel, a lot of fundraising," says Deputy Provost for Administration Eric Buehrens ’75. "But maintaining contact with the university’s major philanthropic supporters and potential supporters is not something we can put on ice for a year, so some of that has fallen to Steve."

Hyman estimates that during the tenure of Lawrence H. Summers, he spent ten percent of his time fundraising. He has done twice as much this year.

"Is he doing exactly what a president used to do," Buehrens says, "or is he keeping lines of communication open? Who knows?"

These added duties have given Hyman more face time with major donors, who often serve as unofficial, but influential, consultants to the search committee. Bradley says that Hyman’s increased presence with alumni might be a valuable advantage in the search.

"I’ve seen him speak in public," Bradley says, "and he’s good at it, and the alumni seem to like him."

A GRIM PRECEDENT

But experts say the very nature of the provostship can undermine presidential ambitions.

"What works against [a provost] in part is that the office involves dealing with autonomous deans, and standing between the deans and the president, and that’s very tricky," says Keller, the Harvard historian.

In the past, these tensions have hurt provosts’ chances at the presidency, according to Keller; indeed, no Harvard provost has ever assumed the top job.

When then-University President James B. Conant ’14 stepped down in 1953, the Harvard Corporation passed over Provost Paul Buck in favor of Nathan M. Pusey ’28.

And while Provost Harvey V. Fineberg ’67 was a serious contender to replace Neil L. Rudenstine when he stepped down in 2001, the Corporation chose Summers, a relative outsider, instead.

(Fineberg may get another chance—his name is also on the list of 30 presidential candidates presented to the Board of Overseers.)

"It certainly hasn’t been a stepping stone," Keller says. "It’s like being mayor of New York."

A SUMMERS MAN?

Hyman’s candidacy might also be tainted by his close connection, perceived or real, to Summers, who appointed him in 2001.

The link first became a problem last spring, when Hyman, along with Bok and Corporation member Nannerl O. Keohane, was considered for the interim presidency. The Crimson reported last June that the fellows of the Corporation thought Hyman was too closely associated with Summers to be a viable interim choice.

Some say that Summers’ legacy may continue to dog Hyman throughout this year’s search.

"He might be hurt by any sense that he was Summers’ man," Bradley says. "Those pictures of him walking with Summers into the no-confidence-vote meeting won’t help him."

But while Hyman supported the president publicly, he often clashed with Summers in private. And in conversations with Corporation members prior to Summers’ resignation, Hyman was forthright about his sometimes-rocky relationship with the president, The Crimson reported last spring.

That effort, along with a willingness to articulate his own vision for the University, seems to have paid off among some of Summers’ critics.

"I think that [Hyman] has made it very clear that he has always been a different person and had different priorities in many respects from those of Summers," says Ryan, who was one of the president’s most ardent critics throughout last year’s tumult. "I don’t think that anyone really feels that he was part of the power behind the throne that then didn’t work out."

"He survived Summers and has come out with his reputation intact," says Bradley, whose book is in large part a scathing critique of Summers’ tenure, "which suggests at the least that he has some political skills—and that’s essential in a Harvard president."

‘UNFINISHED BUSINESS’

If Hyman is not chosen to lead the University, he is unlikely to remain provost, if history is any guide. Neither Fineberg nor Buck stayed on board after being passed over for the top job.

Hyman could potentially take the reins of HMS, where he was a student and faculty member before going on to lead the National Institute of Mental Health. But Hyman says he is not a candidate for the deanship.

In fact, Hyman says he has "unfinished business" that he’d like to see through, including the establishment of a University science and engineering committee, the creation of the first University-wide academic departments, the renovation of the Fogg Art Museum, and "seeing Allston science be vibrant and interdisciplinary."

But he recognizes that his future may be outside his control.

"The new president needs to have a provost who’s completely simpatico," Hyman says. "You know, I understand that."

—Paras D. Bhayani, Claire M. Guehenno, and Javier C. Hernandez contributed to the reporting of this story.
—Staff writer Laurence H. M. Holland can be reached at lholland@fas.harvard.edu.