Yale management professor: ‘Harvard’s board is guilty of 5 key failures. Here’s how to avoid repeating them’

(Credit: Mel Musto - Bloomberg - Getty Images)

The leadership change at Harvard should not be greeted with joy as it is not only a sad moment for the individuals and institutions involved but also feeds populist skepticism over higher education’s credibility. At 387 years old, Harvard University is the nation’s oldest higher educational institution and long an unsurpassed global beacon of knowledge and intellectual greatness in all disciplines–but it should go back to school when it comes to governance.

I previously served on the National Commission on University Governance Reform of the Association of Government Boards of Colleges and Universities, as well as chaired the Blue Ribbon Commission on CEO Succession of the National Association of Corporate Directors, and I believe Harvard’s governance crisis is a cautionary tale for other overly insulated boards which avoid accountability.