Madame President

Last week's worst-kept secret finally became official today, when Harvard University announced that Drew Gilpin Faust has been selected to assume the presidency of the university this summer. I have absolutely no objection whatsoever to Harvard's selection of a woman to lead the university. What I do hope is that the Harvard Corporation didn't select Faust for the job just because she's a woman. I hope that Harvard could consider both men and women for the job on a completely even basis. Unfortunately, I don't think that was the case.

While Faust's credentials are solid, they don't rise to the extraordinary level I would expect of the person selected to lead the nation's oldest and most prestigious university. Faust has never been the head of an institution of higher learning. Her top post to date has been dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. I still haven't quite figured out exactly what the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study is, but I do know that while it has the same status as Harvard's other graduate schools, it doesn't actually enroll any students. Going from head of a modestly-sized research institute with no students to head of a major American university with 20,000 students is quite the step to make. While her predecessor, Larry Summers, had no academic administration experience, at least he had spent some time heading up a cabinet department in the federal government. Looking at her credentials, I can't quite discern what set her apart from everyone else, except for a certain chromosomal make-up.

Another thing that troubles me is that the ivory tower types in Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences succeeded in getting one of their own appointed to the presidency. Now, there's no threat of somebody with actual real-world experience telling them things they don't want to hear, even if he may actually have a point worth investigating. As much as the FAS doesn't want to admit it, they are a minority in the University. The faculty of Harvard's grad schools -- you know, the parts of Harvard that actually teach people how to survive in the real world instead of how to perpetuate your own existence -- outnumber the FAS and seem to realize there is a world outside of Harvard that the university must recognize to remain relevant.

I wish Faust luck. Her skills and credentials (if not her gender) must have impressed the Harvard Corporation enough to the point where they were willing to extend her the position. Maybe she'll do a fantastic job. But I remain skeptical. She still has work to do to win me over.