Dean Jay Light to Retire

On December 2, Dean Jay Light announced his plans to retire at the end of the academic year after a career that spanned 40 prolific years at Harvard Business School. Light commented that he has been considering retirement for some time now and that the decision was not precipitated by any specific event.

University President Drew Faust noted that she will be assembling a search committee in the coming months, and that potential candidates will be identified on a global basis. She said the process will necessitate “cast[ing] as broad a net as possible” and that Harvard University has not identified any specific candidates as of yet.

In being asked what areas he believes HBS should focus its developmental efforts on going forward into the near future, Light cited two areas:

-Continually striving to become a more global institution, as the practice of business becomes increasingly global; and
-Fostering new pedagogical approaches to developing leaders that will complement existing methods (e.g., small group skills that supplement large group courses).