President and Fellows of Harvard College Information

The President and Fellows of Harvard College (also called the Harvard Corporation) is the smaller of Harvard Universitys two governing boards, the other being its Board of Overseers.

In 1650, at the request of Harvard President Henry Dunster, the Great and General Court of Massachusetts issued the bodys charter, making it now the oldest corporation in the Americas; the subsequent Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts confirmed that, despite the change in government, the corporation would continue to "have, hold, use, exercise and enjoy" its property and legal privileges. Although the institution it governs has grown into Harvard University (of which Harvard College is one of several components), the corporations formal title remains the President and Fellows of Harvard College.

The corporation was probably originally intended to be a body of the schools resident instructors, similar to the fellows of an Oxbridge college. However, it early fell into the now-familiar American model of a governing board—an outside body whose members are not involved in the institutions daily life, which meets periodically to consult with the day-to-day head, the president (whom it appoints). The Corporation is self-perpetuating, appointing new members to fill its own vacancies as they arise.

For most of its history, the Corporation was consisted of six fellows in addition to the president. But after the abortive presidency of Lawrence Summers and a large endowment decline in 2008–2009, a year-long governance review was conducted. In December 2010, it announced that the Corporations "composition, structure, and practices" would be greatly altered: the number of fellows would increase from seven to 13, with prescribed terms of service, and several new committees would endeavor to improve the groups integration with the activities of the University as a whole, especially its long-term planning.

There are currently thirteen members of the Corporation. Their names, positions, and degrees that each received from a school of Harvard University are also shown below.

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