She also inherited an ambitious campus expansion that had been championed by Summers. Faced with steep investment losses, Faust delayed, then downsized construction in Boston, across the Charles River from the main campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts. A new master plan from 2013 includes innovation labs, residences and a science and engineering complex scheduled to open in 2020.
Campus Controversies
During her tenure, Faust waded into campus controversies In 2011, she brought Navy ROTC back to campus, reestablishing a military training unit that had been banned for decades in a legacy of the Vietnam War.
She is also still dealing with fallout from an effort to force same-sex student clubs to be open to both genders, a move that’s been unpopular with some students, faculty and alumni. Citing a history of gender discrimination and risk of sexual assault, the university in 2016 sought to ban members of Harvard’s elite all-male final clubs as well as all-female groups from holding school leadership roles and gaining endorsements for coveted fellowships.
“Drew is the quintessential principled leader,” said Clayton Spencer, former vice president for policy at Harvard who now heads Bates College in Maine. “She starts with values and decisions follow.”
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.