{"id":2222725,"date":"2024-04-16T19:06:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-16T23:06:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/harvard-taps-longtime-dei-advocate-to-help-pick-universitys-next-president\/"},"modified":"2024-04-16T19:09:21","modified_gmt":"2024-04-16T23:09:21","slug":"harvard-taps-longtime-dei-advocate-to-help-pick-universitys-next-president","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/harvard-taps-longtime-dei-advocate-to-help-pick-universitys-next-president\/","title":{"rendered":"Harvard enlists seasoned DEI advocate to assist in selecting the university&#8217;s next president"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fharvard-taps-longtime-dei-advocate-to-help-pick-universitys-next-president%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2222725&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Harvard appoints Vivian Hunt, a former \u2063McKinsey consultant critical of meritocracy, as president\u2064 of the Board of Overseers. Hunt \u2063will be instrumental in selecting Harvard&#8217;s next president, playing a key role\u2064 amid declining donations\u200d and applications, and debates on diversity and inclusion in higher education.\u200d Critics question her leadership, highlighting concerns over DEI initiatives and her research \u200bon\u200c diversity in business.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<h2>Vivian Hunt, an ex-McKinsey consultant who has argued meritocracy \u2018isn\u2019t good enough,\u2019 will serve as president of the Harvard Board of Overseers<\/h2>\n<figure><figcaption> \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\tVivian Hunt (John Phillips\/Getty Images)\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Harvard University on Monday tapped an ex-McKinsey consultant who has criticized meritocracy and published controversial research on the benefits of diversity in business to help select the university\u2019s next president.<\/p>\n<p>Vivian Hunt, who in 2015 co-authored McKinsey\u2019s influential paper, &#8220;Why diversity matters,&#8221; has been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecrimson.com\/article\/2024\/4\/16\/vivian-hunt-harvard-overseers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">appointed<\/a> to lead the Harvard Board of Overseers, the head of which has historically sat on Harvard\u2019s presidential search committees along with all 12 members of the Harvard Corporation, the university\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/myanmars-ousted-pro-democracy-leader-suu-kyi-faces-new-charge\/\" title=\"Myanmar\u2019s Ousted Pro-Democracy Leader Suu Kyi Faces New Charge\">top governing body<\/a>, according to the <em>Harvard Crimson<\/em>. The overseers can also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/02\/02\/us\/harvard-board-overseers-zuckerberg-ackman.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">veto<\/a> presidential appointments with a majority vote.<\/p>\n<p>The system means that Hunt\u2014who has argued that meritocracy &#8220;isn\u2019t good enough&#8221; and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mckinsey.com\/capabilities\/strategy-and-corporate-finance\/our-insights\/corporate-diversity-if-you-dont-measure-it-it-wont-get-done\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">urged companies<\/a> to adopt explicit diversity targets\u2014will likely play a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/idaho-congressman-looks-to-spend-33-billion-to-remove-dams-to-save-salmon-population\/\" title=\"Idaho Congressman Looks To Spend  Billion To Remove Dams To Save Salmon Population\">major role<\/a> in picking former Harvard president Claudine Gay\u2019s successor. Her appointment comes amid <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecrimson.com\/article\/2024\/4\/2\/garber-private-fundraising-struggles\/#:~:text=The%20decline%20comes%20as%20some,transition%20for%20the%20Harvard%20community.%E2%80%9D\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">plummeting donations<\/a> and a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/03\/29\/us\/harvard-applications-admissions.html#:~:text=Overall%2C%20Harvard%20received%2054%2C008%20undergraduate,percent%2C%20to%2046%2C087%20from%2047%2C384.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">major drop in applications<\/a> to the Ivy League school, which has been at the center of a debate about diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in higher education.<\/p>\n<p>Critics of those programs say Hunt\u2019s selection is a red flag as Harvard gears up to find a permanent replacement for Gay\u2014a major champion of DEI\u2014who resigned in January amid allegations of plagiarism.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Vivian Hunt leading the search for the next president of Harvard perfectly encapsulates the rot in higher education and corporate America,&#8221; said Will Hild, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/just-in-floyd-county-georgia-terminates-election-director-after-statewide-audit-discovers-uncounted-votes\/\" title=\"JUST IN: Floyd County, Georgia Terminates Election Director After Statewide Audit Discovers Uncounted Votes\">executive director<\/a> of Consumers\u2019 Research, a nonprofit that has led a campaign against ESG initiatives, including diversity programs, in the business world. &#8220;If Harvard was serious about rebuilding their floundering reputation, Hunt would be the last person chosen to lead this search.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Hunt has been a driving force behind the proliferation of DEI initiatives. Her 2015 paper has been cited by countless companies and institutions, including the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/bidens-pentagon-used-debunked-mckinsey-studies-to-justify-dei-in-the-military\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pentagon<\/a>, to justify their diversity programs, even as more recent research has challenged her findings.<\/p>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/econjwatch.org\/File+download\/1296\/GreenHandMar2024.pdf?mimetype=pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">study<\/a> in <em>Econ Journal Watch<\/em> this March found that diversity has no effect on company returns and that Hunt\u2019s results don\u2019t replicate. The findings were a major rebuke of Hunt, now the CEO of Optum Health, who has spent nearly a decade making the business case for diversity\u2014and against meritocracy.<\/p>\n<p>She has <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TPostMillennial\/status\/1775523928167071856\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">argued<\/a> that a &#8220;meritocratic&#8221; policy of &#8220;treating people evenly isn\u2019t good enough&#8221; because it &#8220;allows the bias that is in our systems \u2026 to perpetuate.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;You have to proactively stand for an antiracism environment,&#8221; she said in a 2020 interview, &#8220;to positively include people who have been historically excluded.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Harvard did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n<p>Hunt\u2019s appointment is likely to raise questions about whether Harvard has learned any lessons from Gay, the university\u2019s first black president, who was hired through one of the shortest presidential searches in Harvard history\u2014one that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecrimson.com\/article\/2024\/2\/23\/corporation-not-review-claudine-gay-scholarship\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">did not include<\/a> a review of her scholarly record. Gay stepped down after accusations of plagiarism compounded the fallout from her disastrous congressional testimony in December, when she equivocated about whether calls for the genocide of Jews violate Harvard\u2019s code of conduct.<\/p>\n<p>Her downfall fueled the perception that she had been hired because, as Sen. J.D. Vance (R., Ohio) put it, &#8220;she checked a box.&#8221; The decision to elevate Hunt could portend more box-checking as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nashville-covenant-school-files-motion-to-protect-sensitive-information-in-shooters-manifesto\/\" title=\"Nashville school seeks to safeguard sensitive data in shooter's manifesto.\">school seeks<\/a> to manage a large and growing group of alumni unhappy with their alma mater\u2019s priorities, including those around DEI.\t<\/p>\n<p>In a write-in campaign to join the Board of Overseers, which advises the Harvard Corporation and has a veto over its members, former Facebook executive Sam Lessin said that &#8220;academic excellence&#8221; should be the university\u2019s &#8220;only goal.&#8221; The message resonated: Though Lessin didn\u2019t make it onto the ballot for board elections, he did secure <a href=\"https:\/\/www.samforoverseer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2,901 nominations from alumni<\/a>\u2014the most in the history of Overseers write-in campaigns.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The Overseers are a critical check and balance on making sure that we have the right leadership across the board,&#8221; Lessin told the <em>Harvard Crimson<\/em> in an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecrimson.com\/article\/2024\/1\/6\/lessin-board-of-overseers-campaign\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">interview<\/a>. &#8220;They haven\u2019t taken that role seriously enough in modern times.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Harvard appoints Vivian Hunt, former McKinsey consultant critical of meritocracy, as president of Board of Overseers. Hunt, known for advocating diversity in business, will aid in choosing Harvard&#8217;s next leader<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":184,"featured_media":2222726,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/the-business-of-fashion-presents-voices-2021-day-2_736x515.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2222725","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/the-business-of-fashion-presents-voices-2021-day-2_736x515.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2222725","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/184"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2222725"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2222725\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2222726"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2222725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2222725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2222725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}