Lawrence Bacow

Lawrence Bacow
Lawrence Bacow in 2006
29th President-elect of Harvard University
Taking office July 1, 2018
Succeeding	Drew Gilpin Faust
12th President of Tufts University
In office September 1, 2001 – July 29, 2011
Preceded by	John A. DiBiaggio
Succeeded by	Anthony Monaco
Personal details
Born	(1951-08-24) August 24, 1951 (age 66) Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Spouse(s)	Adele Fleet Bacow
Residence	Brookline, Massachusetts, U.S.
Alma mater	Massachusetts Institute of Technology Harvard University

Lawrence Seldon Bacow (/ˈbeɪˌkaʊ/; born August 24, 1951) is an American lawyer, economist, and author. He was elected the 29th President of Harvard University on February 11, 2018; he is set to assume office on July 1 succeeding Drew Faust. Bacow is the Hauser leader-in-residence at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government's Center for Public Leadership. He was previously three years at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and has been a member of the Harvard Corporation, the university’s governing board, since 2011.

Previous to his election to the Harvard presidency, he served as the 12th President of Tufts University from September 2001 to July 2011. He began his academic career as a professor of "environmental policy, negotiation, economics, and the intersection of law and public policy" at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). After 24 years of service, he concluded his time at MIT as department chair and the chancellor of the university.

Lawrence Seldon Bacow was born on August 24, 1951 in Detroit, Michigan. His mother emigrated from Europe at age 19 to escape World War II and Nazi persecution, she was the only member of her family to survive Auschwitz. His father was brought to America as a child to escape pogroms. He grew up near Pontiac and was a part of the Boy Scouts of America; he would eventually rise to be an Eagle Scout. The organization would give him the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award later in life.