Out of curiosity, I wanted to know how did Harvard University President Claudine Gay compare to previous presidents of Harvard when it comes to publication of books? Writing a book demands focus, discipline, perseverance, thirst for knowledge, and intelligence. Book authorship is like a membership card to the faculty lounge. My college roommate, Professor Steve Skiena, has published six books on computer science. Even moi, a nobody, has published a book, Letters in Black and White: A New Correspondence on Race in America (2023).
What would I discover as I researched the book publication rates of Harvard Presidents since the year 1654? How does President Gay compare to her predecessors?
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The following is a scorecard for the book publication rate of Harvard Presidents, past and present:
Claudine Gay 0 (2023 - ?)
Lawrence S. Bacow 3 (2018 - 2023)
Drew Gilpin Faust 8 (2007 - 2018)
Derek Bok 24 (2006 - 2007 & 1971 - 1991)
Lawrence H. Summers 12 (2001 - 2006)
Neil L. Rudenstine 9 (1991 - 2001)
Nathan Marsh Pusey 7 (1953 - 1971)
James Bryant Conant 37 (1933 - 1953)
Abbott Lawrence Lowell 13 (1909 - 1933)
Charles William Elliot 5 (1869 - 1909)
Thomas Hill 1 (1862 - 1868)
Cornelius Conway Felton 9 (1860 - 1862)
James Walker 9 (1853 - 1860)
Jared Sparks 51 (1848 - 1853)
Edward Everett 12 (1846 - 1849)
Josiah Quincy 6 (1829 - 1845)
John Thornton Kirkland 13 (1810 - 1828)
Samuel Webber 2 (1806 - 1810)
Joseph Willard 3 (1781 - 1804)
Samuel Langdon 3 (1774 - 1780)
Samuel Locke 0 (1770 - 1773)
Conclusion: One has to travel back in time to the year 1773 to find another Harvard President who has published zero books. President Gay is in a select club. A toast to Samuel Locke and Claudine Gay!
This is an interesting and sad situation. I just read in National Review that NAACP president Derrick Johnson recently claimed that attacks against Gay “are nothing more than political theatrics advancing a White supremacist agenda.”
This is such a flimsy excuse for poor behavior, and it’s getting old.
There is no "White supremacist agenda." People expect competence in college presidents, particularly presidents of Harvard University. One day, I will write an essay about five black college presidents who earned the respect and pride of Americans. As you say, it is getting old.
Do better Derrick Johnson.