Obama could be the next PRESIDENT (of Harvard University): Barack is among list of names touted to replace disgraced Claudine Gay after anti-Semitism and plagiarism scandal
Barack Obama wouldn't be the first ex-POTUS to take charge of an elite collegeHarvard said that the search 'will include broad engagement and consultation'
Barack Obama has been touted as a contender for the next president of Harvard after the resignation by Claudine Gay due to an anti-Semitism and plagiarism scandal.
The former president, who graduated from Harvard Law School in 1991, may be a candidate for the position – and he wouldn’t be the first ex-POTUS to take charge of an elite college.
Alan M. Garber is currently the interim president of Harvard, but the institution is understood to still be weighing up its options for a permanent replacement for Gay.
Harvard University – who has not named any candidates yet – said the search for a new leader ‘will include broad engagement and consultation with the Harvard community in the time ahead.’
Discussions over who should take over Gay have swirled on social media, with names such as Deval Patrick, Danielle Allen, and Barack Obama’s popping up, according to the Boston Globe.
Barack Obama at Harvard Law School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1990
Harvard University – who has not named any candidates yet – said the search for a new leader ‘will include broad engagement and consultation with the Harvard community in the time ahead.’ Pictured: Claudine Gay, former Harvard president
Robert Putnam, professor emeritus of public policy at Harvard, told the Globe: ‘There ought to be somebody who has a track record.
‘We’re not going to be guessing whether they’re going to be good or not; we know they’re good.
He said it would be ‘highly desirable that the person be either a person of color, or a woman, or even better, both.’
Putnam, who knows Barack, told the Globe that he doubts Obama would take the job of Harvard President.
Larry Ladd, senior consultant with the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges, told the Globe: ‘It will be harder to build a pool of women and people of color for that role given what happened to Claudine Gay.
‘The president of Harvard is a symbol as much as anything else. It’s a very symbolic role.’
The idea of one of the Obamas – either Barack or Michelle – taking over Gay has swirled on social media since the news of her resignation earlier this month.
Obama graduated from Columbia University as a political science major, and then went on to enroll at Harvard Law School in 1988. He was the first black president of the Harvard Law Review.
Barack Obama was also allegedly lobbying to keep Gay in her position, despite the pressure she was facing after the disastrous congressional hearing on Harvard’s antisemitism and her plagiarism accusations.
Obama graduated from Columbia University as a political science major, and then went on to enroll at Harvard Law School in 1988. He was the first black president of the Harvard Law Review
Barack and Michelle on their wedding day in 1992, in Chicago, Illinois
Barack Obama poses in the office of The Harvard Law Review in 1990
One person wrote on social media: ‘Michelle Obama should be the next president of Harvard University. Obama graduated from Princeton and Harvard Law School. She is the best person to serve as Harvard president.’
Another added: ‘I’d like to nominate President Obama as the new President of Harvard. He’d be perfect.’
The former president’s representatives have been contacted for comment.
Obama would not be the first former president to lead an academic institution.
A total of nine former US presidents were chancellors, presidents, and rectors at some of the country’s most elite colleges before and after their POTUS position.
George Washington, the first US president, became the Chancellor of the College of William and Mary following his tenure.
Thomas Jefferson was made the rector of the University of Virginia in 1819, making him one of the founding members of the prestigious school.
Former president James Madison was also given the position of rector at UVA, following Jefferson’s lead.
John Tyler, the tenth president of the United States, took a leaf out of George Washington’s book and became the chancellor of the College of William and Mary.
He was the school’s chancellor from 1859 until his death in 1862.
Former president Millard Fillmore founded and became the chancellor of the University at Buffalo—SUNY in 1846.
James Buchanan was made the President of the Board of Trustees at Franklin and Marshall College – a position he served in until 1865.
James Garfield was also the President of Hiram College until the Civil War.
Woodrow Wilson, the 28th US President, became the President of Princeton University before he won the election in 1912.
Dwight Eisenhower was the President of Columbia University in New York City from 1948 to 1953, before becoming the 34th President of the US.