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Harvard University has named Alan Garber as its 31st president, officials announced Friday.
Garber had been serving as interim president since January, taking over from former president Claudine Gay, who resigned abruptly amid a swirling plagiarism contretemps that came shortly after missteps in a widely criticized congressional hearing on antisemitism on college campuses.
But the move to the presidency could be temporary despite Harvard removing Garber’s interim tag. Garber will serve as president through the end of the 2026–27 academic year, with the university set to begin a search for his successor in spring or summer of 2026, according to the announcement.
“We believe this plan will give Alan and his leadership team the opportunity to sustain and build momentum on a range of priorities and initiatives. It will also provide an ample interval for those of us on the Corporation to reflect, in consultation with others, on how best to approach the future presidential search, including how to ensure robust input from across Harvard and beyond,” Penny Pritzker, the head of the Harvard Corporation, wrote in a message to campus.
Garber, who become provost in 2011, took Harvard’s top job in an interim capacity at a challenging time for universities across the nation as they navigated sprawling student protests against the Israel-Hamas war. Among their demands, demonstrators urged university leaders to call for a ceasefire and cut financial ties to weapons manufacturers. Garber, however, announced in May that Harvard will largely refrain from making political statements.
“I am excited by the prospect of what we can achieve in these next years and will have more to say about our efforts on many fronts when the fall term begins. Meanwhile, I will do my utmost to ensure that we continue to advance knowledge and drive discovery even as we work to mend the fabric of our community,” Garber, a 1976 Harvard graduate, wrote in a message to campus.
