From the Harvard Crimson: The Harvard Kennedy School is weighing a visiting faculty program to expand intellectual diversity on campus as administrators explore new ways to address criticism that Harvard’s faculty leans overwhelmingly liberal. The proposal, discussed with top-dollar donors at a Dean’s Council meeting last October, would bring scholars to HKS for yearlong fellowships with the goal of retaining some as permanent faculty, according to Mark R. Wittcoff, a member of the Council’s Leadership Circle.
The idea has also surfaced in recommendations from a task force convened by HKS Dean Jeremy M. Weinstein to reimagine the school’s leadership and academic priorities. Though not yet formalized, the initiative would align the Kennedy School with a broader University-wide push to expand “viewpoint diversity” among faculty. Over the past year, Harvard administrators have explored raising funds for new endowed professorships — which can cost roughly $10 million each — aimed at increasing ideological representation across schools and departments.
At the October meeting, Weinstein told donors the Kennedy School was working to build a more balanced professoriate, Wittcoff said. Weinstein raised the issue unprompted, according to Wittcoff, framing it as part of an effort to respond to public perceptions about the school. “He said, ‘We’re still being mischaracterized or misperceived as a liberal institution, we’re trying hard to get a more balanced faculty, and we’re doing it,’” Wittcoff said...
Full story at https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2026/4/22/visiting-faculty-viewpoint-diversity/.
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