Have you ever written a “crazy person letter” to a politician, a newspaper, or someone else, advocating for something that you know is right–all the while knowing that you will be ignored?
I recently sent a crazy person email to Harvard University. Harvard’s current president, Drew Faust, is scheduled to retire on June 30, 2018, and the university is searching for its new president. All alumni were contacted and asked to provide input. Only 1,500 out of 300,000+ living alumni responded, which surprised me, given the Type A reputation of many grads.
Here is the content of my email:
Dear Harvard University Presidential Search Committee:
Thank you for the opportunity to provide input on the search for a new Harvard president.
The day before William F. Lee’s email arrived in my inbox, The Chronicle of Higher Education published an article based on Pew Center research that said 58 percent of Republicans have a negative perception of higher education, up from 32 percent in 2010. That is a problem.
As America’s oldest and arguably best respected (if sometimes grudgingly) university, Harvard is uniquely positioned among America’s many institutes of higher learning. By extension, the president of Harvard University is uniquely positioned to speak on behalf of the value of higher education, for both individuals and the nation.
The next president of Harvard should be a scholar but also a communicator, someone who can speak effectively not only at a Modern Language Association Conference, but also in front of Congress, to a Rotary Club in Kansas, or a church in Mississippi.
Yes, Harvard has internal issues that must be addressed, and those issues are important. But given the state of our nation, the primary concern of the next Harvard president should be external issues, specifically the role of higher education in creating a more perfect union.
Considering Harvard’s roots as a school for clergymen, perhaps it makes sense to reflect on Mark 16:15, in which Jesus said, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”
Now is not the time to retreat to a cloister, or an ivory tower. It is time to engage the world.
Sincerely,
Christopher L. Cosper
Assistant Professor
Ferris State University
MDes 2012
Crazy stuff, right? Not exactly. The first of three emerging themes discussed by the search committee chair reads as follows:
First, “how different the context and landscape are from 11 years ago,” during the search that identified Faust. Higher education, he said, “is in a different place.” It has come under attack in some parts of the society, as has the validity of intellectual curiosity. Accordingly, a new president will have to be able “to articulate the case for higher education, articulate the case for research, articulate the case for fact-based intellectual inquiry.” That responsibility has always come with the Harvard presidency, he noted, but now more than ever.
I’m not crazy. Or, apparently, original.
For the full article on the presidential search: https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2017/11/harvard-corporation-bill-lee-perspectives