Talk:President of Harvard University

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Untitled[edit]

I removed the list of Harvard presidents from Harvard University people and set up this article. I have also added a table at the end of the articles on the various presidents, which links to this article and lists their respective predecessors and successors in the office. Since many presidents don't have articles, I also added several stubs. Perhaps someone else might be interested in finishing this job. [unsigned]

Among my many changes (including restoring the Nathaniel Eaton and John Winthrop (1714-1779) references, which had somehow dropped out), I removed three paragraphs. One was obviated by my new President and Fellows of Harvard College article; here are the other two:

Although the president's duties are largely administrative, all Harvard presidents so far have been credentialed academics, and all have held degrees from Harvard. Derek C. Bok (1971-1991) was the first president not to have graduated from Harvard College (the university's undergraduate institution), but he and his successors have all received degrees from Harvard's graduate schools. The list of presidents includes some who have made significant intellectual contributions as academics (usually before attaining the presidency), as well as some whose careers were largely devoted to educational administration. The current president, Lawrence H. Summers (2001- ), who has done original work in economics, falls into the former category. His predecessor, Neil L. Rudenstine (1991-2001), falls into the latter. A few of Harvard's presidents, including the current incumbent, have had political careers outside academia.
Perhaps the most influential of all Harvard presidents was chemist James B. Conant (1933-1953). Conant was instrumental in transforming Harvard, until then widely perceived as a 'finishing school' for members of the New England upper class, into a world-class research university. He introduced aptitude tests into the undergraduate admissions system so that students would be chosen for their intellectual promise and merit, rather than their social connections. Many American colleges followed Conant's lead, and this campaign led eventually to the creation of the SAT. Conant also did much to move general undergraduate education away from its traditional emphasis on the classics, and towards a more scientific and modern subject matter. He also played an important role as a science advisor to the U.S. government.

As you can see, I've salvaged crucial bits of each; I think the article is tighter this way. [I also happen to disagree with elements of each paragraph: in the first, I think the distinction made between Summers and Rudenstine is unfair, since Summers' recent Treasury post is more administrative than academic while Rudenstine's background as a student of Renaissance poetry shouldn't be ignored. In the second, I think there's no doubt that Eliot deserves mention more than Conant... but ultimately, neither one should be overly dwelt-on here. Rather, if somebody has the time, he/she could refactor some of this Conant info into the James B. Conant article.] Doops 09:14, 27 Jun 2004 (UTC)

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Photo of Nathaniel Eaton[edit]

There's been some discussion on whether to include the same photo for Nathaniel Eaton that is used on their own page. The file in question is File:Nathaniel Eaton, Olympus ads.jpg and there has been some confusion as to whether it is actually of Eaton or of founder John Harvard.

The description of the photo states "This Olympus Cigar label was found in an old box of cigar labels that dated from the 1920s – most of the companies having gone out of business. Subsequently I informed the personnel of Harvard College years ago of the existence of this label, and the fact that the artist had clearly misinterpreted his instructions to paint an image of the founder of Harvard College: John Harvard – in fact, mistakenly painting a portrait of the first schoolmaster of Harvard: Nathaniel Eaton; which it can easily be seen was far older than John Harvard would have been who died in 1638 at the age of 29. Nathaniel Eaton, on the other hand, lived to be at least 64 years old having died in 1674 (also notice the sitter's collar to be the same as that worn by Oliver Cromwell in 1657)"

I'm in favor of including the photo on this list, but am open to further discussion. SammySpartan (talk) 17:28, 9 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Hi @SammySpartan - Thanks for responding on my question on this. In general, I am fine with "reconstructed" images. For example, I take no issue with all the depictions of 'John Harvard' even though there is not contemporary photos of him.
But, what we have here, as far as I can tell, is a a note from a Wikipedia editor circa 2005, that because the guy in the picture has "grey hair" he must not be John Harvard and instead sort of makes the leap that it is Eaton. The Olympus Cigar Company never said it was Eaton. Harvard never said it was Eaton. Just a Wikipedia user from 2005 claiming it was Eaton. (If I'm incorrect and we have a cite from Harvard or the Olympus cigar company or some RS let me know.)
So I think we need a better RS than just the word of a Wikipedia editor from a cigar box he/she saw. Jjazz76 (talk) 21:56, 10 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]
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