Garber Praises Harvard Legacy of Slavery Initiative at Radcliffe Anniversary

University President Alan M. Garber ’76 praised Harvard Radcliffe Institute Dean Tomiko Brown-Nagin for her leadership on the Harvard & the Legacy of Slavery initiative and his academic freedom working group at a Radcliffe event on Thursday.

The event commemorated the 25th anniversary of the Institute and was attended by multiple current and former top Harvard officials, including Harvard Treasurer Timothy R. Barakett ’87, Secretary to the Harvard Corporation Marc L. Goodheart ’81, and former University presidents Neil L. Rudenstine and Drew Gilpin Faust.

During the panel, Garber acknowledged that chairing the committee on the Legacy of Slavery initiative “was not a cakewalk, shall we say.”

“It was a topic of intense and widespread interest, where people had very, very strong views, not always on the same page,” Garber said.

His remarks came days after a Crimson investigation found that the Legacy of Slavery initiative had been hindered by high staff turnover and internal disagreement about the project’s scope. The Crimson also reported that the initiative had identified 300 people enslaved at Harvard, far higher than the original estimate.

Brown-Nagin chaired the team that produced the 2022 Legacy of Slavery report which revealed Harvard affiliates enslaved more than 70 Black and Indigenous people. Then-Harvard President Lawrence S. Bacow pledged $100 million to implement the group’s work.

“Tomiko brought her historian’s skills and expertise, her sense of how to make sure that everybody was able to make their finest contribution and bring this not-quite-symphony into harmony,” Garber said. “The report is really stunning.”

The Radcliffe dean — who has been in her role since 2018 and was a finalist in the presidential search that ultimately landed on Claudine Gay — also co-chairs the Working Group on Open Inquiry and Constructive Dialogue along with Safra Center for Ethics Director Eric Beerbohm. The working group is one of several faculty groups tasked with recommending solutions to major University issues, alongside groups on institutional neutrality, antisemitism, and anti-Arab bias.

Garber said he expects a report from the working group to be “forthcoming very soon” and that it was a “equally difficult project, and one whose impact will also be felt for many years.”

At the event, Brown-Nagin announced a new three-year initiative on academic freedom and a restoration project to reprocess 600 linear feet of archival materials in the Schlesinger Library.

“This is a deeply challenging time for higher education and the world broadly,” Brown-Nagin said. “Nevertheless, I am confident that Radcliffe’s mission and values will enable the institute to not only meet this moment, but to make important contributions in our collective work to forge the path ahead.”

The event also featured a discussion between Harvard economics professors and Nobel laureates Claudia D. Goldin and Oliver S.D. Hart, who discussed their current projects and the impact that the Radcliffe Institute has had on their work.

Goldin described her time at Radcliffe as “magical” and said her fellowship allowed her to get to know her now-best friend and co-author, Dartmouth economics professor Claudia Olivetti.

Garber, whom Faust recruited back to Harvard to serve as provost during her presidency, said he is especially grateful for the institute.

“I would not be at Harvard if it were not for the Radcliffe Institute,” Garber said. “She plucked me out of obscurity.”

—Staff writer Emma H. Haidar can be reached at emma.haidar@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @HaidarEmma.

—Staff writer Cam E. Kettles can be reached at cam.kettles@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @cam_kettles or on Threads @camkettles.

—Staff writer Saketh Sundar can be reached at saketh.sundar@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @saketh_sundar.