The presidency has been vacant since the resignation of Lawrence Summers on June 30, 2006. The end of Summers' five-year run led to an extensive presidential search, and ultimately concluded with the selection of Faust. Her position will be effective on July 1, and the prospect of her tenure is viewed optimistically by many. James Houghton, chair of the presidential search committee for the Harvard Corporation, stated "This is a great day, and a historic day, for Harvard. Drew Faust is an inspiring and accomplished leader, a superb scholar, a dedicated teacher and a wonderful human being. She combines a powerful, broad-ranging intellect with a demonstrated capacity for strong leadership and a talent for stimulating people to do their best work, both individually and together. She knows Harvard and higher education, and her interests extend to the whole of the University, across the arts and sciences and the professional domains."
Another member of the search committee, Susan Graham, described Faust as "a historian with her eyes on the future." Graham also added that "[she had] come to know [Faust] as someone who cares deeply about enhancing the educational experience of our students and creating a sense of intellectual excitement that will continue to draw great people and great ideas to Harvard."
Faust grew up in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, and went to Concord Academy in Massachusetts. From there, she attended Bryn Mawr College, from where she graduated magna cum laude with a degree in history in 1968. Faust then received her master's degree in 1971 and doctoral degree in 1975 from the University of Pennsylvania. Following her graduation, she took a job at U. Penn, and held various positions on the faculty for the next 25 years before moving to Radcliffe.
Over the years, she has served on numerous boards and societies, ranging from American Historical Association (vice president 1992-1996) to the National Humanities Center (trustee). All the while, she has played active roles in the institutions in which she has been employed. At UPenn, she served on committees dealing with issues ranging from human resources to intercollegiate athletics, and was a member of their presidential search committee in 1993-1994.
After learning of Harvard's decision, Faust was quoted as saying, "I am a historian. I've spent a lot of time thinking about the past, and about how it shapes the future. No university in the country, perhaps the world, has as remarkable a past as Harvard's. And our shared enterprise is to make Harvard's future even more remarkable than its past. That will mean recognizing and building on what we already do well. It will also mean recognizing what we don't do as well as we should, and not being content until we find ways to do better."
In the opinion of past and current interim Harvard president Derek Bok, Faust is well suited to this task. "Drew Faust is clearly one of the brightest stars in Harvard's firmament, as a dean, a scholar, a teacher and a leading citizen of the University," he said. "Harvard will be the fortunate beneficiary of her wisdom, her experience, her eloquence and her exceptional talent for academic leadership." Faust should provide strong leadership to Harvard, and can only add to the University's standards of excellence.