Dear Members of the Harvard Community,
Following today’s announcement, I write with a simple message of gratitude for the opportunity to lead Harvard as your president for the next three years. Serving the University is a great privilege. It is an honor to work with all of you to advance our mission and to strengthen our community.
From the moment I arrived at Harvard as an undergraduate, I have been inspired by the people who make this institution what it is. We believe in the value of knowledge, the power of teaching and research, and the ways that what we do here can benefit society. Those commitments matter today more than ever. Our work now is to focus on them with renewed vigor, rededicating ourselves to academic excellence. That excellence is made possible by the free exchange of ideas, open inquiry, creativity, empathy, and constructive dialogue among people with diverse backgrounds and views. This is a challenging time, one of strong passions and strained bonds among us. But I know that we are capable of finding our way forward together because we share a devotion to learning and because we recognize our pluralism as a source of our strength.
I am excited by the prospect of what we can achieve in these next years and will have more to say about our efforts on many fronts when the fall term begins. Meanwhile, I will do my utmost to ensure that we continue to advance knowledge and drive discovery even as we work to mend the fabric of our community. I hope these summer months have been good ones, and I look forward to seeing many of you on campus before long. Thank you all for what you do, in countless ways, not only to make Harvard better but also to help Harvard better serve the world.
Sincerely,
Alan M. Garber