Pritzker sees an institution meeting the moment

As senior fellow of the Harvard Corporation, Penny Pritzker ’81 has been deeply engaged in supporting and advising President Alan Garber during a tumultuous period for the University. The adversity Harvard has faced in recent years is “unprecedented,” she said, and has tested the University to “stand by the guiding principles of our community.”

In this edited interview, Pritzker, a private sector leader and public servant, reflects on events of recent months, the progress Harvard is making, the University’s financial position, the work of the Corporation, and the experience of becoming a Harvard student once again.

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This has clearly been a difficult year for the University. I guess the obvious starting point is what’s on your mind as you think about Harvard at this moment?

Look, I am a realist and we can’t sugarcoat what has been a period of severe challenge for Harvard and for higher education. Our approach to the situation under President Garber’s leadership and as a Corporation has been to ground ourselves in Harvard’s values. That has led us to do three things simultaneously, and they aren’t mutually exclusive.

First, we’ve articulated and regrounded ourselves in our core research and teaching mission. From new research on AI and quantum science to potentially life-saving advances in the study of Alzheimer’s, cancer, and gene editing, the research mission continues to demonstrate the power of universities to contribute to the national interest and to making countless lives better. And, of course, we remain focused on helping students grow into citizen-leaders who will make a positive impact in the world.

Second, we are working hard and with a lot of humility to address the legitimate challenges on our campus. We’ve taken important steps to tackle discrimination and bias, building on the exceptional work of the task forces on antisemitism and anti-Israeli bias and on anti-Muslim, anti-Arab, and anti-Palestinian bias. As an institution we’ve made good progress on the implementation of the recommendations of those task forces, and that work must continue.

We have introduced Harvard’s institutional voice policy, and we are making real progress on reaffirming a culture of constructive dialogue and open inquiry. We are all aware of the problem — reports of students and faculty feeling unable to speak out in class, to express what they may feel is a minority view. The work led by Tomiko Brown-Nagin, Eric Beerbohm, and the Open Inquiry Working Group is helping us craft real solutions to a problem that is not unique to Harvard, but is shared across higher education. In every School at Harvard there are meaningful efforts to address these issues, working to build skills that will ensure graduates can be open to changing their minds and can hear their assumptions challenged.

Finally, we are seeking to address a wide range of unprecedented threats to our core principles, loss of research funding, challenges for international students, and the dozens of investigations and inquiries into various aspects of our work.

In every instance, my number one focus and that of the Corporation is to provide advice and make decisions that support Harvard’s fundamental mission of excellence in teaching, learning, and research. This has been the touchstone in every single conversation among the Corporation about the crisis: How do we advance the mission and stand by the guiding principles of our community? We have tried to ask hard questions and act with humility and curiosity in answering them.

You mentioned constructive dialogue as a key area of focus. You took the course that first-years take on this issue. Tell us about that.

I did! I took the same online module that all first-year students take when they get to Harvard. This was a custom module developed for the College by the Constructive Dialogue Institute. The module is a powerful tool that has already had an impact on our incoming students. It challenges us to approach dialogue with empathy and understanding, to ask ourselves, “What are the values underlying this view that I disagree with?” “How can I approach disagreements with curiosity rather than defensiveness?” — to let go of winning and to find what is shared. I loved the program and have shared it with a lot of people beyond Harvard. These are skills not just lacking at universities; they are being lost across our society.

On the broader issue of dialogue and speech, the feedback we’re receiving from students and faculty is anecdotal but already very positive.

Another area of concern has been the financial headwinds facing the University. Harvard’s financial report came out earlier this month. How do you think about our financial standing?

There is good news and bad news. Our supporters leaned in and made this a strong year for fundraising and our endowment performed well, but cuts to federal research funding and our efforts to fill that gap led to a deficit. Before we talk further about our finances, I want to say thank you to those who have and are supporting the University. It is important that folks know how deeply grateful we are for their trust and their generosity.

As for our finances, it is sobering and more important than ever to bring a multiyear perspective to the situation. We have to assume the model for federal-university partnership will not return to where it has been. There are measures in the administration’s budget and policies that would drastically shrink federal support for scientific research and would seek to direct funds away from institutions like Harvard. In addition, Congress passed a significant increase in the endowment tax that targets Harvard and a handful of other similar institutions. Plus, of course, there continues to be legal uncertainty — investigations and appeals that could directly target our funding.

Unfortunately, this has meant painful decisions like layoffs and a hiring freeze. People have lost their jobs, and that weighs heavily on me and on all of us. We are making these decisions always in service to our core mission of teaching, learning, and research. Through all of this, I have been profoundly grateful for everything our community is doing to rally around the University and keep it moving forward.

The Corporation itself has seen important changes over the past year. Can you talk about some of those?

I should start by noting that the idea of reflection and renewal are constants among the Corporation. We always ask ourselves some key questions: How can we best serve the institution not just for the present but also for the long term? Do we have the right blend of experience and expertise? Where can we best engage with the wider community? I would point to a few changes in that context.

First, we have some new members of the Corporation — Joe Bae, Ken Frazier, Rick Lifton, Kannon Shanmugam — all of whom make unique and vital contributions to our deliberations, in part through embracing how the Corporation works: as a collegial, apolitical, consensus-focused group that brings disparate points of view and is not reluctant to express them. They also love Harvard deeply. As a group we are focused on discharging our duties as fiduciaries, but also as individuals, and as a body, we are deeply devoted to the purpose and progress of Harvard.

Second, we have undertaken a serious review of how we approach the presidential search process. Led by a small committee that includes members of the Corporation as well as alumni with deep commitment to the University, we are looking at how we can ensure the most thoughtful, thorough, and effective search at the appropriate time. This is a core role for the Fellows and one we are committed to getting right.

The third area I want to highlight is one that the Corporation takes very seriously: We have recommitted to being more intentionally engaged with members of the Harvard community. For example, we meet regularly with the deans of the Schools, participate in faculty town halls and meetings with faculty groups on a range of issues, engage with students to better understand their experience, and also meet with alumni and supporters of the University to hear their ideas and concerns. We’ve really sought to increase the volume and depth of engagement over the last couple of years. I know that it enhances our deliberations as a Corporation, and we will continue that work.

As you pursue this engagement strategy, what are some of the key things you are hearing?

We’re hearing a lot of support for President Garber and how he has led the University during an extraordinarily challenging time. He’s been very clear and proactive in conveying the principles that we stand for and in foregrounding the vital importance and work of research universities. He’s a person of deep integrity and impact — introducing much-needed reforms to strengthen our community, tackling bias in all its forms, and creating a culture of constructive dialogue. So there’s a great deal of appreciation for his purpose-driven leadership. Not everyone agrees with every step we are taking as a university, but there’s a widespread belief, I think, that Alan and the entire leadership team have the best interests of Harvard in mind as they make decisions.

Also, we hear a wide range of perspectives on the challenges the University is facing and the course we should be pursuing on behalf of Harvard and higher education. We welcome those perspectives. Whether those concerns are about our finances or research funding or outstanding legal matters, the input always comes from a place of goodwill for Harvard. People in our community and frankly others with no direct relationship to the University are dedicated to the ideal of what Harvard and higher education can do for our country and the world. That gives me hope.

It might be natural, at a moment like this, to focus just on the challenges, but positive things have been happening on campus. What’s been most exciting to you and the Corporation?

As I mentioned earlier, there are so many great things happening at Harvard. Our researchers making groundbreaking progress in diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s, and other diseases are an inspiration, especially at a moment when scientific research is under duress.

Across the University there is exciting, innovative work underway. The new Public Culture Project at the FAS will bring the critical thinking of the humanities to some of the biggest questions of our time, such as the evolution of AI and the moral principles underpinning economic life. At the Graduate School of Education, a team of researchers is undertaking a nine-state effort to assess, measure, and share what actually drives student outcomes. And the American Service Fellowship at the Kennedy School will provide full scholarships for public servants and military veterans to enroll for a fully funded master’s degree. These are just a few examples and there are many more across all of our Schools.

I also recently toured Allston, where I saw the new A.R.T., the new Rubenstein Treehouse, and the emerging Enterprise Research Campus. What’s happening across that growing section of campus is game-changing for the University and the Greater Boston region. The bottom line is that there are many significant and impactful things happening at Harvard, and we should not lose sight of that fact.

We’re in the mid-semester period. What is your message to the community?

I know that there is a lot of swirl and noise around Harvard and higher education. We have taken seriously the criticisms we’re hearing while defending the principles that underpin this great institution. I certainly don’t minimize the challenges we face.

But I want to shine a light on the powerful things happening on campus and the people making them happen: our students, who are an inspiration to me and all of us on the Corporation; the faculty and researchers who are advancing knowledge and making a difference in people’s lives; and the staff who come to work every day to enable our mission.

Harvard is not perfect, nor do we ever claim to be. This community gives so much to so many, including me. I came here at 18 at a very difficult time in my life and when I needed that support and love the most. Harvard changed my life and it does that for so many people. Our strength is in how we evolve to push new frontiers and to meet the moment we find ourselves in. I’m confident that this institution and its people will rise to the occasion together.