As the search continues to fill Harvard's presidency, the Boston Globe and the Harvard Crimson, Harvard's student daily, reported a list of 30 possible contenders yesterday.
Tufts' current president, Lawrence Bacow, appeared on the reported list, which also includes University of Pennsylvania president Amy Gutmann, Brown University president Ruth Simmons, and Princeton's president Shirley Tilghman.
The Crimson originally broke the story on Sunday, after the university's overseers meeting.
According to yesterday's Globe article, only 13 of the names on the list have been verified with independent unnamed sources on the Board.
Harvard may be looking, but President Bacow is showing no signs of making a move down Mass. Avenue.
"President Bacow has repeatedly said he is happy at Tufts," Tufts Director of Public Relations Kim Thurler told the Daily. "He came here with the expectation that this would be his last position and that's still his expectation."
Bacow could not be reached for comment by presstime.
In March, Bacow told the Daily in an e-mail that he expects to stay on here at Tufts. "I am very happy at Tufts and have no desire to leave," he wrote. Nevertheless, Bacow has been repeatedly mentioned in connection with the Harvard post.
Harvard is expected to name a replacement for Lawrence Summers early next year, according to the Globe. Harvard's Presidential Search Committee actively looking for the new president, but before any candidate can be announced, the Board of Overseers must approve.
Summers left in July after controversial comments about the math and science aptitude of women and multiple conflicts with the Harvard faculty.
Interim president Derek Bok, who led Harvard for 30 years starting in the '70s, has been filling Summers' shoes. - James Bologna
