President of Harvard University

The President is the chief administrator of Harvard University. Ex officio the chairman of the Harvard Corporation, he is appointed by and is responsible to the other members of that body, who delegate to him the day-to-day running of the university.

History

At Harvard's foundation it was headed by a "master," Nathaniel Eaton. He was soon dismissed, however; and when in 1640 Henry Dunster was brought in he adopted the title "president." The origins of this title have been grounds for a certain amount of speculation; see President (history of the term).

Related Topics:
Nathaniel Eaton - 1640 - Henry Dunster - President (history of the term)

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Harvard was originally founded for the training of Puritan clergy, and even though its mission was soon broadened, nearly all presidents through the end of the 18th century were in holy orders.

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All presidents from Leonard Hoar through Nathan Pusey were graduates of Harvard College (i.e. they were undergraduates at the university). Of the presidents since Pusey, Bok took his undergraduate degree at Stanford, Rudenstine at Princeton, and Summers at MIT; but each earned a graduate degree at Harvard.

Related Topics:
Harvard College - Stanford - Princeton - MIT

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Presidents of Harvard

• Nathaniel Eaton ("master," 1638-1639)
• Henry Dunster (1640-1654)
• Charles Chauncy (1654-1672)
• Leonard Hoar (1672-1675)
• Urian Oakes (acting president, 1675-1680; president, 1680-1681)
• John Rogers (1682-1684)
• Increase Mather (acting president, 1685-1686; rector, 1686-1692; president, 1692-1701)
• John Leverett (1708-1724)
• Benjamin Wadsworth (1725-1737)
• Edward Holyoke (1737-1769)
• Samuel Locke (1770-1773)
• Samuel Langdon (1774-1780)
• Joseph Willard (1781-1804)
• Samuel Webber (1806-1810)
• John Thornton Kirkland (1810-1828)
• Josiah Quincy (1829-1845)
• Edward Everett (1846-1849)
• Jared Sparks (1849-1853)
• James Walker (1853-1860)
• Cornelius Conway Felton (1860-1862)
• Thomas Hill (1862-1868)
• Charles William Eliot (1869-1909)
• Abbott Lawrence Lowell (1909-1933)
• James Bryant Conant (1933-1953)
• Nathan Marsh Pusey (1953-1971)
• Derek Curtis Bok (1971-1991)
• Neil L. Rudenstine (1991-2001)
• Lawrence H. Summers (2001-Present)

(John Winthrop (1714-1779) served as acting president in 1769 and again in 1773; but both times he declined the offer of the full presidency on grounds of old age.)

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