Since taking office in July 2007, Harvard President Drew Faust has spearheaded a sweeping expansion of financial aid, opening Harvard’s doors to many more qualified applicants, and has championed increased diversity and inclusivity on campus. She oversaw the re-establishment of ROTC programs, the creation and naming of the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and the launch of the record-setting Harvard Campaign. She promoted innovation in the ways the University pursues teaching, learning, and research across fields and disciplines, and she shepherded the “One Harvard” approach to collaboration and excellence among Schools and programs. Under her tenure, the University expanded its global impact while renovating and reinvigorating its physical spaces at home, with improvements ranging from the Harvard Art Museums to the Smith Campus Center to the residential Houses, along with imagining and beginning major campus additions in Allston.
Faust announced that she will step down as president on June 30, 2018. Here are some memorable moments from the last 10 years.
Drew Faust, dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study and Lincoln Professor of History at Harvard University, is named the 28th president of Harvard University in February 2007. Faust took office in July 2007, becoming the first female president in the University’s history. Photo by Justin Ide President Faust (center) oversees the formation of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS)—the first new Harvard School since 1936. Dean Venkatesh “Venky” Narayanamurti (right), first dean of SEAS, is pictured here with Ashok Misra of the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. In 2015, the School was renamed the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences in recognition of Paulson’s transformative $400 million gift. Photo by Justin Ide Drew Faust is installed as Harvard University president at Tercentenary Theatre in Harvard Yard in October 2007. At the ceremony, she spoke about the community’s “unwavering belief in the purposes and potential of this University and in all it can do to shape how the world will look another half century from now.” Rose Lincoln/Harvard Staff Photographer Calling on Congress to repair the “broken pipeline” through which breakthroughs in the biomedical sciences should flow, President Faust testifies before members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, including Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (foreground), in March 2008. Faust has been a strong advocate for policies and funding that support science and research, arts and humanities, and immigration legislation like the DREAM Act. Jon Chase/Harvard Staff Photographer On a trip to China, President Faust visits with students at the Shanghai No. 3 Girls High School. Faust has visited with a number of secondary schools in the U.S. and abroad to reinforce the importance of higher education. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer Launching Harvard’s Public Service Week and kicking off a partnership with the Greater Boston Food Bank in 2009, President Faust sorts through food with volunteers from the Harvard Planning Office, including Tanya Iatridis (left) and Regina Dres (right). Faust has overseen many new programs and opportunities to pursue public service during her presidency to enable, as she described in a Harvard Crimson editorial, “choosing to do something of great importance: to give your talent, time, and energy to something larger than yourself.” Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer Before throwing out the first pitch at Fenway Park for the Boston Red Sox vs. Baltimore Orioles game in September 2010, President Faust meets Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia in the dugout. Rose Lincoln/Harvard Staff Photographer After a 40-year hiatus, Faust initiates the reinstatement of a Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program on campus, signing an agreement with Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, J.D. ’76, in March 2011. Harvard signed similar agreements to reinstate Army ROTC in 2012 and Air Force ROTC in 2016. Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer Drew Faust greets celebrated Jazz musician Wynton Marsalis at Sanders Theatre in 2011, kicking off a two-year lecture and performance series to illuminate the relationship between American music and the American identity. Early in her presidency, Faust set a course to put the arts—in all forms—at the center of University life, including connections between arts activities and science, technology, humanities, and other fields. Photo by Justin Ide President Faust, a renowned author and historian of the Civil War and American South, delivers the Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities at the Kennedy Center in May 2011, speaking about the legacy of war. Faust is a vocal supporter of the humanities, writing in The New York Times in 2017 that the National Endowment for the Humanities “helps Americans explore and better understand how we came to be the nation, people and world we are. It challenges us to reflect on our identities as citizens and as human beings, to ask profound questions about origins, legacies and meaning, to contemplate where we are going as individuals and as a society and why.” Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer As the class of 2015 moves into Harvard Yard, President Faust speaks with students in the colorful Luxembourg Chairs. The chairs are a key component of Faust’s Common Spaces initiative, which she called “an effort to create new spaces that will draw our increasingly diverse and interdisciplinary community together and enhance the intellectual, social, and cultural life that is at the core of the Harvard experience.” Photo by Justin Ide In December 2007, Faust announced a sweeping expansion of Harvard’s undergraduate financial aid policies, extending greater support to many families at a time of rising college costs. Student aid has risen every year under Faust’s leadership, from $339 million in 2007 to $539 million in 2016. Today, more than half of Harvard College students receive need-based financial aid, with their families paying an average of only $12,000; more than three-quarters of the class of 2016 graduating debt-free. Here, student volunteers Betty Rosen ’12 (from left), Daniel Pellerin ’12, and Nephat Maritim ’15 sort admissions acceptances. Jon Chase/Harvard Staff Photographer Then-MIT Provost Rafael Reif (left), then-MIT President Susan Hockfield, President Faust, MIT Professor Anant Agarwal, and Harvard Provost Alan Garber announce the launch of edX in May 2012. Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer Faculty and staff enjoy an ice cream break in Harvard Yard in summer 2013. President Faust also hosted an ice cream social for members of the community on her first day as president in July 2007. Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer Jane Wang Williams ’13 (left), introduces a food justice program to her young charges Michelle Li and Devante Sealy (front) at the Mission Hill Summer Camp. Williams was a winner of a Presidential Public Service Fellowship, a program established by President Faust in 2011. Rose Lincoln/Harvard Staff Photographer Harvard launches The Harvard Campaign in 2013, seeking to articulate and affirm fundamental values of higher education. A conversation with William H. “Bill” Gates III ’77, LL.D. ’07, and David M. Rubenstein, Harvard Campaign co-chair, takes place as part of the campaign launch inside Sanders Theatre. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer Faust welcomes humanitarian Malala Yousafzai, winner of the 2013 Harvard Foundation Award, to Massachusetts Hall, where they discussed the importance of education for young girls. Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer The Eli and Edythe L. Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, which was endowed with a $400 million gift in 2008, is a biomedical and genomic research facility. Here, Cassandra Elie and Kevin Joseph ready whole-genome samples using sage pippin preparation. The Broad brings together faculty and scientists from across MIT, Harvard, and the Harvard-affiliated hospitals and beyond to tackle ambitious and important challenges in biomedicine. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino and President Faust attend a groundbreaking at Barry’s Corner in December 2013, a major step in realizing the University’s vision for Allston. Harvard’s growth in the city includes the Harvard Innovation Labs, a residential development, and the reimagining of a Science and Engineering Complex that will open by 2020 and serve as the primary home for the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Photo by Michelle Jay President Faust congratulates seniors during the ROTC Commissioning Ceremony for the Class of 2014 in Tercentenary Theatre. At the return of the Air Force ROTC regiment in 2016, Faust thanked members of the Harvard community who have served in the military, noting what she called a “commitment to shared values—service, community, inclusion, and opportunity.” Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer The Harvard Innovation Lab, or i-lab, which opened in 2011, fosters team-based innovation at the University and deepens ties among students, faculty, and the Greater Boston business community. In the years since opening, the i-lab, the Launch Lab, which supports alumni ventures, and the new Pagliuca Harvard Life Lab, have helped 75 companies make it to market. Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer Harvard Corporation Senior Fellow, Bill Lee (from left), President Faust, Gerald Chan, Mrs. T.H. Chan, Ronnie Chan, and Dean Julio Frenk are pictured at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, newly named in recognition of a $350 million gift by the family of the late T.H. Chan in September 2014. Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer President Faust takes questions from the audience at “Your Harvard: Mexico City.” The “Your Harvard” events provide opportunities for alumni, parents, and friends to hear directly from President Faust as she shares a vision for the future of Harvard, including its global reach and impact, and to engage with eminent faculty in cross-disciplinary exploration of ideas and innovations that address challenges facing our society today. Faust has spoken at 14 “Your Harvard” events attended by more than 4,300 alumni in locations around the world, including Berlin, London, Mexico City, and Singapore, as well as Miami, Chicago, and Boston. Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh joins President Faust at the grand opening of the Harvard University Education Portal in February 2015. Located at the crossroads of the North Allston-Brighton neighborhood and Harvard’s campus in Allston, the Ed Portal serves as a place for members of the Allston-Brighton and Harvard communities to come together to participate in programs, share ideas, and learn from one another. Rose Lincoln/Harvard Staff Photographer At Harvard’s biology labs, students from Mott Hall Bridges Academy in Brooklyn, N.Y., learn how zebrafish are used in scientific research to study embryonic development. With Jermont Haines (from left), Tukoya Boone, Aaron Abdulmalik, and Zion Edwards was Bianca Nfonoyim ’15 (background). Tessa Montague, a student from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, also led the tour. President Faust met and spoke with students during their visit to campus in April 2015, encouraging them to pursue a path toward college. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer At Sanders Theatre, Charlie Rose (from left) moderates a climate change panel in 2015 with Joseph Aldy, assistant professor of public policy, Harvard Kennedy School; Christopher Field, co-chair, Working Group II of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; Rebecca Henderson, McArthur University Professor; John Holdren, assistant to the president for science and technology at the White House; Richard Newell, Gendell Professor of Energy and Environmental Economics; Naomi Oreskes, professor of the history of science; and Daniel Schrag, Sturgis Hooper Professor of Geology. As part of a University-wide focus on addressing climate change, Faust set out ambitious greenhouse-gas reduction goals for the institution in 2008, aiming to reduce its emissions, including those associated with prospective campus growth, by 30 percent—relative to its 2006 baseline—by 2016. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer President Faust awards the winners of the President’s Innovation Challenge, RapidSOS, in 2015. The President’s Innovation Challenge presents Harvard students with an opportunity to engage with and work to address issues facing the world in areas such as education, health, energy, and the environment. Since it was established in 2012, the President’s Challenge has awarded $1.94 million to 58 winners who have gone on to raise $97 million to further advance their efforts. Jon Chase/Harvard Staff Photographer A multidisciplinary, collaborative project to investigate climate change, energy security, and sustainable development in China receives the first $3.75 million grant from the new Harvard Global Institute (HGI) in October 2015. The project will be headed by economist Dale Jorgenson (right), atmospheric scientist Michael McElroy (left), and Chris Nielsen. The HGI was launched by President Faust to support research initiatives that deepen Harvard’s international engagement and promote University-wide scholarship to address pressing global challenges. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer During “Making Robotics Fly,” an event at Harvard Stadium that was part of the Boston-wide ideas festival HUBweek in the fall of 2015, John Aleman of the drone company CyPhY leads a demonstration for Krishna Palepu (left), the Ross Graham Walker Professor of Business Administration. The University anticipates deep and broad collaboration in engineering and entrepreneurship from a growing partnership between HBS and SEAS. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer A team photo with President Faust as honorary coach for the Harvard women’s basketball team. The February 2016 game against Columbia ended in a 84-54 win for Harvard. Jon Chase/Harvard Staff Photographer Giving the Zengerle Family Lecture at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in March 2016, President Faust speaks about the role of the humanities and a broad liberal arts education in nurturing and honing language and leadership skills. Faust also gave remarks at Trinity College Dublin in 2010 about the role of universities in a globalizing world and the enduring value of the liberal arts. Photo by John Pellino Unveiling a plaque to honor four enslaved people who lived and worked at Wadsworth House—Titus, Venus, Bilhah, and Juba—U.S. Rep. John Lewis and President Faust are pictured here in April 2016 with the Harvard Kuumba Singers. “The past never dies or disappears” Faust wrote in a Harvard Crimson Op-Ed published in advance of the unveiling. “It continues to shape us in ways we should not try to erase or ignore. In more fully acknowledging our history, Harvard must do its part to undermine the legacies of race and slavery that continue to divide our nation.” Rose Lincoln/Harvard Staff Photographer Jessica Paik (left), a graduate student teacher, engages in a lively discussion with Cambridge Rindge & Latin students visiting the Harvard Art Museums, which reopened after major renovations in 2014 in a state-of-the-art, light-filled building designed by architect Renzo Piano. In line with Harvard’s commitment to sustainability, the museums’ renovation and expansion achieved LEED Gold certification for incorporating a wide range of green building technologies including, energy-efficient LED bulbs and an innovative water conservation system. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer Faust tours construction of the Smith Campus Center slated for completion in 2018. Named for its benefactors, the Richard A. and Susan F. Smith Campus Center will be a vital hub for the community, with flexible indoor gathering, study, and food areas, as well as space for exhibitions, events, and performances. Rose Lincoln/Harvard Staff Photographer Pictured here at the Harvard Art Museums during a Council of Deans meeting in February 2017 are: James E. Ryan (back row from left), Nitin Nohria, Mohsen Mostafavi, Michael D. Smith, Douglas Elmendorf, Francis J. Doyle III, Michelle A. Williams, Xiao-Li Meng, George Q. Daley, and David N. Hempton; Judith D. Singer (front row from left), Rakesh Khurana, Drew Faust, Alan Garber, Martha Minow, and Lizabeth Cohen. John A. Manning, not pictured, was named dean of Harvard Law School in June 2017. Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer Author and journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates is the keynote speaker at “Universities and Slavery: Bound by History,” a daylong conference sponsored by President Faust and hosted by the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. The conference, which took place in March 2017, was part of the University’s ongoing efforts to investigate and understand its historical connections to slavery. Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer President Faust attends the Asia Club Leaders Reception and meets with alumni before the “Your Harvard: Singapore” program in March 2017. Faust has engaged with alumni across the globe throughout her presidency; Harvard has more than 300,000 alumni living in 200 countries. Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer In Vietnam, President Faust visits Ap Bac Secondary School, Tan An Hamlet in Cai Lay Town, Tien Giang Province, and gives out Harvard baseball caps in March 2017. Faust also gave remarks on war and its aftermath at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Social Sciences and Humanities, and met with leaders at the Fulbright University Vietnam. Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer Student Eden Girma, pictured here with James Bryant Conant University Professor and co-chair of the task force on inclusion and belonging Danielle Allen, speaks onstage at “A Celebration of Inclusion and Belonging,” a community-wide workshop and opportunity for reflection with students and scholars convened at Sanders Theatre in the spring 2017. Announcing the task force, President Faust said, “Exposure to difference fosters creativity, challenges settled assumptions, and helps make possible the advancement of knowledge central to our educational mission.” Rose Lincoln/Harvard Staff Photographer At a recent celebration of Harvard artists, Theater, Dance and Media (TDM) students, including Ashley LaLonde ’20 (center) read quotations from noted Harvard alumni. The new TDM concentration received $5 million in seed funding provided by President Faust and was approved unanimously in April 2015 by a vote of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Jon Chase/Harvard Staff Photographer Views of construction of the new Science and Engineering Complex on Western Avenue in Allston. The complex is designed as a state-of-the-art applied sciences facility that will provide laboratories, classrooms, and related teaching and research space. The eight-story (including two below grade) facility will consist of more than 500,000 square feet and feature 70,000 square feet of public green space. The Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) will be the primary occupant of the complex. Jon Chase/Harvard Staff Photographer Dean of Harvard College Rakesh Khurana (from left) and members of the Class of 2017 gather for the Baccalaureate Service in the Memorial Church. President Faust and the Rev. Jonathan Walton, the Plummer Professor of Christian Morals (right), lead the procession. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer At Phi Beta Kappa Exercises for the Class of 2017, Drew Faust (center) cheers on seniors as they line up to enter Sanders Theatre for the 227th Literary Exercises. Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer
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