As Dean Long’s Departure Looms, Harvard President Garber To Appoint Interim HGSE Dean

Interim Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76 said in an interview on Monday that he intends to announce an interim dean to lead the Harvard Graduate School of Education before a formal search process is launched.

“We expect to announce the appointment of an interim dean in the not too distant future,” Garber said.

Outgoing HGSE Dean Bridget Terry Long announced in January that she intended to step down from the role at the end of the academic year. Though the spring semester is nearly over, Garber indicated during the interview that the University has not formally begun searching for Long’s permanent successor.

“I expect that we will announce a search process soon,” he said.

Harvard Graduate Council Representative and HGSE master’s student Marc Claude said he has not yet been informed of a specific timeline or search process.

“I’m confident in the fact that there’s going to be some transparency and some inclusion in the way they will deal with the committee,” Claude added.

While the HGSE dean search process is just beginning, Garber has shown an early willingness to make major administrative appointments as interim dean.

In September 2023, outgoing Harvard Kennedy School Dean Douglas W. Elmendorf announced he would step down as dean at the end of the 2023-2024 academic year. Seven months later, Garber offered the Kennedy School deanship to Jeremy M. Weinstein, a professor of political science at Stanford University.

Still, the delayed HGSE search timeline raises the likelihood that an interim dean will lead the school for the entirety of the fall semester, if not for the entire 2024-2025 academic year. Garber is also expected to name a faculty advisory committee to help select the next dean.

HGSE Academic Dean Martin West, a leading candidate to become interim dean, predicted in a February interview that the leadership turnover following former Harvard President Claudine Gay’s resignation would require HGSE to appoint an interim dean.

“Given the fact that we have an interim leader at the presidential level, we expect that the search process may take some time, and it is likely that we will have interim leadership as the search unfolds,” West said.

—Staff writer Emma H. Haidar contributed reporting.

—Staff writer Cam E. Kettles contributed reporting.

—Staff writer Katie B. Tian can be reached at katie.tian@thecrimson.com.