It had always been one of my many ambitions to investigate the success secrets of Harvard University and its renowned postgraduate institutions, particularly the Harvard Business School, during my previous avatars as editor of India’s first two business magazines. Alas, for numerous reasons, this ambition was never realised. Therefore this spring, when an opportunity presented itself to investigate the mystique of the world’s most admired university which routinely tops the comparative league tables of globally respected universities compiled annually by Times Higher Education-QS and the Shanghai Jiao Tong University, I enthusiastically embraced it, although I had been warned “they are like that only”.
Unfortunately, my carefully planned visit to Harvard turned out to be a less than delightful experience. Despite implicit and explicit promises made by top officials of the university’s communications department, Dr. Drew Faust, whose likeness graces the cover of this issue of EducationWorld, not only declined to meet with your correspondent, but also failed and neglected to reply to a half-dozen set of written questions which I was advised to send to her in advance. Ditto some other officials and faculty of this great hub of learning which dominates the charming town of Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Nevertheless having expended considerable time and resources travelling to Cambridge, Mass, your persistent correspondent was able to meet with some key Harvard personnel, get a look and feel of this globally most admired university, and gather valuable information which forms the subject of this first ever EducationWorld (estb.1999) cover story of an academic institution abroad. Therefore, if the small minority of diehard readers of this publication discern some admitted infirmities — notably failure to directly quote the president of this great institution of learning (and implicitly of good manners) — my apologies in advance.
While writing the first ever in-depth feature on the contemporary world’s most admired university, I have made a determined effort not to let this breach of promise, and acts of omission and commission of Dr. Faust and some of the university’s officials (which will be detailed to a judge of a competent court of law in the US), cloud my judgement of the great institution of learning to which they have done disservice by their churlish behaviour. Despite some lacunae, I believe this month’s cover story on Harvard University provides valuable insights into its unique combination of institutional qualities. In particular, enlightened “commercialisation of education” — a dreaded accusatory phrase in Indian academia — has made Harvard University’s ‘need-blind’ admission policy which makes the world’s most respected/admired varsity accessible to the brightest and best students worldwide, a reality. I believe there is much that Indian academics, politicians and interfering, busybody educrats and not least, the student community, can learn from this model institution of higher education.
And with World Environment Day (June 5) around the corner, our painstaking assistant editor Summiya Yasmeen beams a spotlight on the inching progress being made to integrate ecology and environment awareness into school curriculums.
