Lawrence Bacow

About Lawrence Bacow

Lawrence Seldon Bacow (; born August 24, 1951) is an American economist and retired university administrator. Bacow served as the 12th president of Tufts University from 2001 to 2011 and as the 29th president of Harvard University from 2018 to 2023. Before that, he was the Hauser leader-in-residence at the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard Kennedy School. Bacow began his academic career in 1977 at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he was a professor of environmental studies in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning before becoming the department's chair and ultimately the university's chancellor. After serving as president of Tufts, he joined the Harvard Graduate School of Education and was a member of one of Harvard University's governing boards, the President and Fellows of Harvard College. On June 8, 2022, Bacow announced he would be leaving the presidency of Harvard in June 2023 after five years in office.