Harvard President Larry Bacow reflects on his first year at helm

GAZETTE: Why?

BACOW: Because I think that there are many people who are all too willing to label others without being willing to stop, listen, and truly engage. When I say truly engage, I mean having an exchange of ideas instead of simply suggesting, “You haven’t listened to me unless you’ve agreed with me.”

GAZETTE: Shifting gears, I wonder if you could talk a bit about your commitment to public service and how you feel Harvard can help advance that work.

BACOW: As I like to say, for those of us who are fortunate and privileged to study here or work here, I think we bear a special responsibility to use the gifts that we’ve been given to try to make the world a better place. Nobody thinks that this is a perfect world. I have never met anybody who thinks that way. So we need good people who are willing to engage and to commit themselves to making it better. Anybody who comes to an institution like this bears a special responsibility to try to do that. Now, some students and alumni are going to commit to careers in public service, and we should applaud them and support them. Others will do other things, but I don’t think that takes them off the hook.

There are still opportunities for them to contribute. Everybody who graduates from Harvard should be an active, engaged, effective citizen. And by that I mean: Do more than just vote. That’s the bare minimum of what they should be doing. But we need people who are going to get involved. We need people who are willing to roll up their sleeves and say, “Our public schools in my district can be better. My neighborhood can be better.” Well, if you think that’s the case, how do you make it better? What can you do to make it so? We need people to engage on behalf of public education. We need to engage in all sorts of different dimensions.

GAZETTE: You spoke earlier about embracing the history of Harvard. Now it’s Commencement season, and I’m wondering about your previous experience with one of Harvard’s most revered traditions.

BACOW: I have been to the last seven commencements as a Corporation member, plus the two where I graduated.

GAZETTE: But this year you will be taking part as Harvard’s president. Is there anything in particular you are looking forward to? Sitting in the impressive Holyoke Chair?

BACOW: Which I sat in briefly during my inauguration — it’s not that bad. It’s not as uncomfortable as people think. I don’t think any Harvard president has been irreparably harmed by sitting in that chair during Commencement, and I doubt I will be either. The truth is I am a Commencement junkie. I love Commencement.

GAZETTE: What do you love about it?

BACOW: I love seeing not just students but also their families. In many cases these families have worked really, really hard and sacrificed so their children can come here, and it’s a fulfillment of a life dream to see their children graduate from college. For many of them, it’s one of the proudest days of their lives, and it should be. And if you do what we do, how can you not love Commencement? I love the enthusiasm of the different Harvard Houses; I love the enthusiasm of the different Schools as the president recognizes them; I love the way in which the deans embrace that enthusiasm, and in some cases play with it. I often say Commencement is always a beautiful day — sometimes we just happen to have nice weather.

GAZETTE: You were here as a student. But now as president are there any places on campus that you have recently discovered or that had been unknown to you, or that you particularly like?

BACOW: One of the challenges of being president is many people come to your office for meetings, and I have to work to get out. But I’ve become very fond of the Harvard Art Museums, and especially the Wertheim Gallery. My mother’s maiden name was Wertheim, and I actually did some genealogical research to see if there was any possibility that we were related. But the answer, unfortunately, was no. I love the views on the 10th floor of the Smith Campus Center. I try to drop in periodically to Annenberg Hall, just to have a meal with our first-year students. That’s fun. I have been trying to get around to the Houses, and I still have quite a few to go. There are many wonderful spaces in the Houses that I am still discovering.

GAZETTE: I think you were scheduled to cook for your predecessor, President [Drew] Faust, in honor of her stepping down and you taking on the role. How did that go?

BACOW: I did cook for her. That was on my first day as president, July 1. I made grilled salmon with a special rub with brown sugar, chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper. You should ask her how it was.

GAZETTE: You mentioned reading Harvard histories. What are you reading now?

BACOW: I have not been doing much recreational reading recently because this is the season where I read a lot of tenure cases. But the next book waiting to be opened is Skip Gates’ new look at Reconstruction. I have been reading wildly enthusiastic reviews. That’s the next, but I probably won’t get started until Commencement.

GAZETTE: What about TV? Is there anything you’ve been watching? Are you a “Game of Thrones” fan?

BACOW: No, I’ve never watched it. About the only TV that I watch these days is the news, and if I have time I turn on the Celtics or the Bruins or the Red Sox.

GAZETTE: Are you running?

BACOW: I am running, not as much as I did previously. I am starting to enjoy runs around the Charles River. When we lived in Coolidge Corner, I would run around the river from Harvard on down toward Boston. Just the other day I decided to go upriver toward Watertown Square and back. But this job is not good for my running.

GAZETTE: What about getting involved with a juggling or a ham radio club, since those are interests of yours? I think Harvard has both.

BACOW: I know Harvard has a ham radio club, though I haven’t been over there yet. I see where the antenna is, so it looks like it’s somewhere close to Adams House. I haven’t done much juggling in a long time. I used to entertain my kids and their friends when they would come over and the weather was bad.

GAZETTE: How many things can you juggle at once?

BACOW: Only three. But I can juggle with someone — it’s probably 20 years since I’ve done that. I do not want to represent myself as an expert juggler, but I can keep three things in the air at once.

GAZETTE: That’s a good skill for this job.

BACOW: In this job, some days it feels like I am juggling a beach ball, a bowling ball, and a chain saw. Then there is the stamina. I used to tell people there’s a reason I run marathons, that it’s actually very good training for being a university president, and not just because it’s helping your physical stamina. Running a marathon also makes you mentally tough. In many ways, the training is less a physical act and more a mental one.

GAZETTE: When Commencement is over, what are you summer plans?

BACOW: I am going to try to spend some time sailing off the coast of Maine, some time with our kids and grandchildren, some time getting some good reading in, and some time reflecting on my first year here, which has just flown by.

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length.