Goodheart to step down as University secretary in May

Marc Goodheart announced on Tuesday that he plans to conclude his service as vice president and secretary of the University following Commencement ceremonies in May.

Believed to be the longest-serving secretary of the governing boards in recent Harvard history, Goodheart has held the role since 1998, serving as chief administrative officer for both the Harvard Corporation and the University’s Board of Overseers. A member of senior staff in the president’s office since late 1991, Goodheart will continue to serve as a senior adviser to President Alan M. Garber and other University leaders after stepping away from his Loeb House position next spring. He is expected to assume a wide range of duties drawing on his extensive experience in areas relating to institutional policies, presidential priorities, and planning of major University events.

“I came to Harvard as a student in 1977, and I’ve considered myself a Harvard student ever since — perpetually learning about an institution whose ecosystem is as dynamic, whose people are as talented, and whose mission is as essential as any I know,” wrote Goodheart ’81, J.D. ’85, in a message to Harvard colleagues. “What has kept me here longer than I’d ever imagined is not simply the allure of the University’s mission, not simply the devotion and resilience of the people devoted to advancing it, not simply the University’s inexhaustible capacity to serve up novel and intriguing issues, but the recognition that there is always, inevitably, a gap between Harvard’s ambitious ideals and their fulfillment. It has been and remains a privilege to work with dedicated colleagues on ever-evolving efforts to understand and narrow that gap.

“I look forward to a productive final academic year supporting the work of Harvard’s boards,” he added, “helping assure a smooth transition, and planning ways to serve constructively in the time beyond.”

Garber praised Goodheart for his commitment to Harvard and its mission. “Everyone who knows Marc recognizes that he always puts the interests of the institution first, seeking to preserve those aspects of Harvard that are its heart and its soul while exploring new avenues for excellence and growth. Where there have been gaps between where we are and where we want to be, he has endeavored to narrow them in his customarily unassuming fashion, enriching deliberations with his matchless understanding of history and precedent. From helping to reform our governance structures to guiding efforts to make our community more inclusive — and countless contributions in between — Marc has made the University better.”

Goodheart, who was executive editor of the Harvard Law Review while a student at Harvard Law School, served as the original associate attorney in Harvard’s Office of the General Counsel in 1986-87 before going into private practice. He returned to Harvard in December 1991, dividing time between the OGC and the Office of the President, becoming assistant to the president on a full-time basis in 1992. He became secretary of the University in 1998, while remaining a member of president’s senior staff. Over nearly 33 years, he has served with Presidents Neil Rudenstine, Larry Summers, Derek Bok (during his interim year), Drew Faust, Larry Bacow, Claudine Gay, and Garber. He has also supported five senior fellows of the Corporation, 27 presidents of the Board of Overseers, and more than 175 members of the governing boards in all.

Harvard introduced some of the most consequential governance reforms in its history in 2010-11 while Goodheart served as secretary, including a rough doubling of the size of the Corporation and the launch of an array of new committees essential to the Corporation’s fiduciary role.

Joking that “I have reached a time in life when hardly a day goes by when my mail at home doesn’t include at least one advertisement for a Medicare plan,” Goodheart said he is looking forward “to days ahead when I can continue doing what I can to help [Harvard] navigate an exceptionally challenging time,” while also “looking forward to days ahead with more time to be the family member and friend I pride myself on trying to be.”

Penny Pritzker, senior fellow of the Harvard Corporation, thanked Goodheart for his service to the governing boards.

“Marc Goodheart’s integrity, selflessness, and deep devotion to Harvard and its enduring values are at the heart of all that he does on behalf of the institution and have made him an essential adviser to me, four other senior fellows, and scores of members of the governing boards over the years,” said Pritzker. “Throughout his 26 years of service as secretary — in times of challenge and of opportunity — he has supported the governing boards as a wise and trusted steward of the University’s mission, and I am delighted he will continue to support Harvard as a member of the Mass Hall team in the coming years.”

Vivian Hunt, president of the Board of Overseers, also praised Goodheart.

“With a steady and skillful hand, Marc Goodheart has helped all of us on the governing boards better serve an institution that we and he love,” she said. “His commitment over almost three decades as secretary demonstrates an extraordinary dedication to Harvard and we thank him sincerely for his service to the University and to the governing boards.”

​Goodheart is a magna cum laude graduate of both the College — where he concentrated in physics, served as president of The Harvard Independent, and hosted a jazz show on WHRB — and the Law School. Early in his career, he worked briefly for both The Miami Herald and The American Lawyer, was a law clerk for Judge Stephen Breyer at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, and spent four years at the Boston law firm Hill & Barlow.

A search for a new secretary will begin soon.