Who is Alan Garber, interim president of Harvard?

Alan M. Garber, an economist and physician who is provost and chief academic officer of Harvard, will now serve as interim president.

The Harvard Corporation described Dr. Garber as “a leading and broad-minded scientist” in a rack on Tuesday. “We are fortunate to have someone with Alan’s breadth and depth of experience, astute judgment, collaborative style and exceptional institutional knowledge to advance key priorities and guide the University through this interim period,” the Corporation said.

Dr. Garberwho was appointed provost in 2011, has a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard and an MD from Stanford. He is a member of the Association of American Physicians, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the National Academy of Medicine.

Lawrence H. Summers, former president of Harvard and former Secretary of the Treasury, said in an email that Dr. Garber, “who is universally loved, admired and respected, is an excellent choice as interim president.”

In an interview with The Harvard Crimson in November, Dr. Garber said he regretted the university’s initial statement in response to the war in Israel and Gaza. The statement was denounced by politicians, academics and Jewish groups who said it did not condemn Hamas strongly enough, and he spoke favorably of a more powerful statement that followed Dr. Gay, who condemned Hamas for “terrorist atrocities.”

Dr. Garber added that the crisis over the university’s response to the war was the most serious Harvard faced during his tenure as provost.

“The community was immediately divided, and that is not true of every crisis we face,” he told The Crimson. “It is a combustible situation, in which many people are grieving.”

Dr. Garber was reportedly considered a contender to become Harvard’s 29th president, but in 2018 the mail went to Lawrence S. Bacow. In 2022, Dr. Garber Crimson told him that he was “very happy” as provost, and last year as Dr. Gay became the university’s 30th president.

According to the Harvard Corporation, Dr. Garber to serve as president “until a new leader for Harvard is identified and takes office.”

Anemona Hartocollis reporting contributed.