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Alan Garber, the interim president of Harvard University in the wake of Claudine Gay’s resignation, was born in a Jewish family. He has been a longtime provost and a professor of economics, healthcare policy, and public policy at Harvard for over 12 years.
Garber took over Gay’s position on Tuesday after weeks of continuous backlash over her inauspicious House testimony concerning on-campus antisemitism. Gay was also accused of plagiarism in her academic publications.
While the university searches for a new president, The Harvard Corporation confirmed that Garber will temporarily replace Claudine Gay. The anticipated duration of the search for a new leader and Garber serving as the interim is not yet clear. In an email to its affiliates, the Corporation wrote:
“We are fortunate to have someone of Alan’s broad and deep experience, incisive judgment, collaborative style, and extraordinary institutional knowledge to carry forward key priorities and to guide the university through this interim period.”
As students will return to the campus by the end of January, Garber has to take it upon himself to mend the divisions between students fueled by the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Harvard's interim president Alan Garber has a prior connection to the school
Alan Garber, by birth, is a Jew. Born in 1955, he grew up in Illinois' Rock Island and his connection to Harvard goes long back. He studied economics at the college and graduated in 1976 summa cum laude. Garber further pursued his Master's and PhD in Economics from Harvard. Simultaneously, he was pursuing a medical degree at Stanford.
After remaining at Harvard as a clinical fellow until 1986, he joined Stanford as an assistant professor. He served there for 25 years and led the university’s Center for Primary Care and Outcomes Research and Center for Health Policy.
He joined the Harvard faculty in 2011 and has since been involved in the campus Jewish clubs, including Harvard Hillel and Harvard Chabad.
During the search for the Harvard president in 2017, Garber was likely an internal candidate. However, Lawrence S. Bacow was ultimately selected. When the search for the next president was ongoing, in which Claudine Gay was selected, Alan Garber told the school newspaper he was happy to serve as the provost.
Garber condemned the use of “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” — the pro-Palestine slogan voiced by many during the recent protests. However, he addressed Harvard Hillel over a Shabbat dinner in October and emphasized the importance of free speech.
Alan Garber previously expressed his regret over the school’s initial statement on the Israel-Hamas conflict that divided the campus. He told Harvard Crimson:
“Our goal is to ensure that our community is safe, secure, and feels well supported — and that first statement did not succeed in that regard.”
Garber described the antisemitism crisis on campus as the most “serious” issue he has faced since joining the school. He said it was more serious than the COVID-19 pandemic. Garber added the Israel-Palestine conflict immediately divided the community which is not the usual case with the other crisis they face.
After being appointed as the interim on Tuesday, Alan Garber told The Crimson he had admiration and deep respect for Claudine Gay. He is hopeful that his tenure will help heal the university he cherishes and strengthen it.
