This month, Harvard University welcomed its second cohort of presidential fellows from historically Black colleges and universities to participate in the Seminar for New Presidents. The presidential fellows represent the next generation of HBCU legacy leaders and comprise 10 of the 55 participants of the Seminar. They join as participants in Clark Atlanta University’s HBCU Executive Leadership Institute, a program supported by the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Harvard & the Legacy of Slavery Initiative.The Seminar provides a vital skill-building opportunity for new presidents who can face challenges related to faculty tenure, free speech on campuses, economic stability, student mental health, and more.“Learning environments like the seminar are critical for new presidents,” said founder of the Seminar for New Presidents Judith Block McLaughlin, senior lecturer emerita of the Harvard Graduate School of Education. “New presidents today don’t have the luxury of a long entry runway. From the very outset of their presidency, they must make major financial, governance, personnel, and policy issues, with their decisions being scrutinized and challenged as never before.”
