The Color of Harvard

Emil GuillermoWho wants to be president of Harvard University? Or maybe the question is who should be the first African American president of the university?

That’s a question that moves us all in a good direction.

As Harvard is currently considering the role slavery played in its history, the idea of a Black president was the first thing that came to mind. It made me think of former U.S. President Barack Obama as a person who would bring stature as a double-executive first.

How does 'first African American president, first African American president at America’s most prestigious white supremacist-oriented university' sound?

But wouldn’t it be a letdown for Obama?

After all, Obama hired Larry Summers — the former Treasury secretary — to serve as his director of the White House U.S. National Economic Council. And that was after Summers was president of Harvard.

Of course, Harvard just announced the search committee headed up by Penny Pritzker. She’s not just a billionaire heiress and philanthropist, she’s the 38th U.S. Secretary of Commerce under Obama.