Anand to step down as vice provost for Advances in Learning, named dean of NYU Stern

Bharat Anand, vice provost for Advances in Learning and Henry R. Byers Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, is departing Harvard on July 31 to become dean of NYU’s Stern School of Business, following an announcement earlier this spring.

Anand has led the Office of the Vice Provost for Advances in Learning (VPAL) since October 2018, a period of rapid evolution in online learning and enormous change in higher education overall.

“I want to thank Bharat for his terrific contributions to academic innovation and pedagogical excellence across Harvard,” said University Provost John F. Manning. “During a time of transition, his efforts and expertise have greatly moved forward the University’s strategic priorities around both online learning and residential teaching.”  

Anand’s tenure with VPAL has been marked by innovation and adaptation. Early on, he led a comprehensive review of Harvard’s online learning activities and charted a strategy rooted in pedagogical creativity, program innovation, and long-term sustainability—all centered on what he termed “engagement at scale.” This included streamlining HarvardX’s MOOC operations while expanding its course catalog, launching a new Harvard Online portfolio, forging new content partnerships, introducing shorter-form courses, and more closely integrating VPAL’s online and residential teaching activities. From 2018–2024, VPAL saw sustained innovation, launching nearly 50 new MOOCs and 13 new courses, quadrupling revenues, and reaching 30M+ learners worldwide.

When the COVID-19 pandemic began, Anand led Harvard’s transition to remote teaching and learning. Within 36 hours, he and his VPAL team launched the widely cited Teach Remotely hub, which became a resource for universities nationwide. Anand recognized early that the crisis could drive innovation. He convened academic leaders across Harvard to address shared challenges, supported Schools in refining remote teaching strategies, and led faculty surveys to optimize instruction. In 2022, he convened and cochaired Harvard’s Future of Teaching and Learning Task Force, which distilled key lessons and outlined a long-term pedagogical vision and roadmap for Harvard.

As a board member of edX, Anand helped shape its strategic direction and played a key role in launching the Axim Collaborative, a nonprofit funded through the 2021 sale of the edX platform, that aims to expand access to high-quality education worldwide. He also helped shape the Axim-funded VPAL-UNCF partnership to develop HBCUv, a digital learning platform for HBCUs.

Post-COVID, Anand has led major initiatives on three fronts. First, he oversawthe launch of Harvard’s new Learning Experience Platform (LXP), a groundbreaking modular system supporting digital and residential learning across diverse teaching styles and formats, adopted by seven Harvard Schools thus far. Second, he chaired a presidential working group on Enabling Difficult Conversations, participated in and organized University-wide conversations aimed at fostering a culture of dialogue on campus, and laid the groundwork for subsequent task forces. Third, he has led Harvard’s Generative AI Working Group on teaching and learning, surfacing emerging practices, creating a Faculty Voices series, and helping convene Harvard-wide conversations and conferences on this topic. Across all of these, Anand has been an influential voice shaping Harvard’s approach and strategies.

Even prior to VPAL, Anand led innovative efforts to engage learners on campus and globally. An expert in digital and corporate strategy, he created HBS’ first executive program focused on digital strategies for media companies. In 2014, he helped create and launch HBS Online, serving as its first faculty chair and Senior Associate Dean. His research on strategy and digital transformation has earned wide acclaim and influenced organizations worldwide. A renowned educator, he is a two-time recipient of both the HBS Faculty Award for Teaching Excellence and the Greenhill Award for outstanding contributions to the School, cultivating strategic thinking in the next generation of learners and contributing to pedagogical leadership.

Reflecting on his time at VPAL, Anand shared: “Everything we have done, we have done together. I’ve benefited from working with a remarkably dedicated and talented group of colleagues at VPAL and across Harvard. I‘m grateful for the unflinching support of Harvard’s leaders for our efforts—and for me personally—to advance the quality of our teaching and broaden access. Harvard offers an unparalleled canvas for innovation; I’m deeply grateful for everything this institution has given me, and for what it aspires to be.”