Indian-American Rakesh Khurana named dean of Harvard College

Khurana began graduate studies at Harvard in 1993, earning his Ph.D in 1998

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Indian-American professor Rakesh Khurana has been named the new dean of Harvard College, the undergraduate college at Harvard University. He will take over in his new position on July 1, 2014.

Khurana is presently the Marvin Bower Professor of Leadership Development at Harvard Business School (HBS), professor of sociology in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS), and co-master of Cabot House.

He succeeds Evelynn M. Hammonds, the Barbara Gutmann Rosenkrantz Professor of the History of Science and professor of African and African American Studies, who stepped down last June after completing her five-year term.

Donald Pfister, the Asa Gray Professor of Systematic Botany, will continue to serve as interim dean until July 1, when Khurana assumes the role. Khurana earned his Ph.D. through a joint program between HBS (Harvard Business School) and Harvard’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in 1998.

Khurana earned his B.S. from Cornell University. He began graduate studies at Harvard in 1993, earning his Ph.D. in 1998. He was appointed to the HBS faculty in 2000 and became co-master of Cabot in 2010. He taught at Massachusetts Institute of Technology between 1998 and 2000. Prior to graduate school, he worked as a founding member of Cambridge Technology Partners.

“I’m honored to have this opportunity to serve the College and work with the faculty, students, and staff to create a transformative educational experience for our students. I am convinced that, working together, we will have a significant and positive impact on the College,” said Khurana.

In a statement to students on the institute website, Pfister said that Professor Khurana will bring energy, passion and a commitment to undergraduates when he takes on the role of dean this summer.  

“Rakesh Khurana is a faculty leader who embodies the interconnectedness of Harvard. His experiences as a graduate student, an award-winning teacher at HBS, and the master of an undergraduate House give him a unique perspective on the University, and his deep respect for the liberal-arts model and the residential education will serve him well as he guides Harvard College,” said Harvard President Drew Faust.

As a member of the Harvard community, Khurana led or served on a number of policy-making panels, including the Committee on Academic Integrity, Campus Culture, and the Alcohol and Other Drug Services Campus-Community Collaborative.

In 2011-2012, he co-chaired the Committee on Harvard College Alcohol Policy. Most recently, he served on the task force charged by Faust with recommending policies related to the privacy of electronic communications conducted at Harvard.