(Source: Harvard University)

Harvard has narrowed its list of presidential candidates, and once again I'm not on it. But a few prominent educators are, including two women. Harvard's never had a woman president.

A recent Boston Globe article, featured below, revealed this handful of wannabes. Conspicuously absent are two women mentioned earlier: Ruth Simmons of Brown and Amy Gutmann of Penn. This list, however, remains fluid.

Here's a bit from the article:

Harvard University has narrowed its hunt for a president to a handful of candidates, including three Harvard administrators and a Nobel Laureate who heads a scientific research institute, according to people familiar with the search.

The Harvard insiders on the short list are the provost, Steven E. Hyman, a neuroscientist; the dean of the law school, Elena Kagan; and the dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Drew Gilpin Faust.

Another top contender is Thomas R. Cech, a 1989 Nobel Prize recipient in chemistry who is president of the multi billion dollar Howard Hughes Medical Institute, one of the top philanthropies and research organizations in the world. [....]

The status of each of the five names was confirmed by at least two people familiar with the presidential search committee's discussions. All spoke on the condition of anonymity because the committee's proceedings are confidential.

Although the search is entering its final stages, it remains fluid. One of the sources who would not give the exact number of candidates said the committee is now considering fewer than 10 people. Harvard hopes to complete its search by early February, although committee members do not want to rush their work, the source said.

Read the full account here.