Who are the members of the Harvard Corporation?

Amid the turmoil surrounding Harvard University President Claudine Gay, the university’s powerful administration is in the spotlight. Despite increasing criticism of Dr. Gay has thus far given the Harvard Corporation her support.

The Harvard Corporation – formally known as the President and Fellows of Harvard College – consists of 13 members (one position currently unfilled), is responsible for appointing the university president and is the arbiter of major policy decisions. Members, who meet several times a year, are not paid for their roles.

The board, the smaller and more powerful of two boards of directors at Harvard, dates from 1650making it the oldest company in the Western Hemisphere, according to the university. For generations, the company consisted only of the university president and six others, but in 2010 it expanded to 13 members amid calls for clearer communications with the broader Harvard community. according to the school’s Office of the Board of Governors.

Here’s what you need to know about the current members of the board.

Timothy R. Barakett

Timothy R. Barakett did that worked in the company and nonprofit sectors throughout his career. He founded a diversified asset manager, Atticus Capital, which he led as chairman and CEO for fifteen years. Mr. Barakett has also worked as an investor in philanthropy and was an alumni leader at Harvard, as evidenced by his work on the Harvard Campaign.

Kenneth I. Chenault

Kenneth I. Chenault is chairman and director of General Catalyst, a venture capital firm. He previously worked as chairman and general manager from American Express Company. Mr. Chenault has served on the boards of many influential companies, including IBM and Procter & Gamble. He is also a board member of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, and Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Mariano-Florentino (Tino) Cuellar

Mariano-Florentino (Tino) Cuéllar is a former justice of the California Supreme Court. Mr. Cuéllar worked in the White House the Clinton and Obama administrations and co-chaired the U.S. Department of Education’s Equity and Excellence Commission and the Immigration Policy Working Group for the Obama-Biden Transition Project. He also served as Special Assistant to the President for Justice and Regulatory Policy during President Barack Obama’s first term. For twenty years he was a member of the Stanford University faculty.

Paul J. Finnegan

Paul J. Finnegan is a former member of the Harvard Board of Overseers and a former president of the Harvard Alumni Association. Mr. Finnegan is the chairman from the Chicago-based private equity investment firm Madison Dearborn Partners, which he helped found in the 1990s. He is a current member and former chairman of Teach for America’s Chicago Regional Advisory Board and former treasurer of the organization’s national board of trustees.

Claudine Gay

Dr. Gay became president of Harvard in July and simultaneously serves on its board of directors. She is Harvard’s first black president and the second woman to hold the position. Dr. Gay earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in Harvard government. Read more about Dr. Gay.

Biddy Martin

Biddy Martin is a German researcher. Ms. Martin was chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the longest-serving provost of Cornell University, where she led financial aid and humanities initiatives. She was also the 19th president of Amherst College.

Karen Gordon Mills

Karen Gordon Mills served as administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration under Mr. Obama for more than four years. She was also a member of the National Economic Council.

Diana L Nelson

Diana L. Nelson does another former member of the Harvard Board of Overseers. Ms. Nelson has been deeply involved in alumni efforts; she co-chaired the Harvard College Fund and a Faculty of Arts and Sciences student task force. She has made her mark in the nonprofit sector and has held leadership positions in organizations focused on children and the arts. She was recognized by Queen Silvia of Sweden in 2007 for her work helping exploited children.

Tracy Pun Palandjian

Tracy Pun Palandjian is the CEO and co-founder of Social Finance, a nonprofit that invests in areas such as housing and education for low-income and historically marginalized populations. She is a board member for the Boston Foundation, one of the nation’s oldest community foundations. Ms. Palandjian is a former member of the Board of Trustees, where she served as Vice Chair of the Executive Committee and Chair of the School Committee and Visitation Subcommittee.

Penny Pritzker

Penny Pritzker is the managing member of the Harvard Corporation. Ms. Pritzker, a billionaire businesswoman, heir to the Hyatt hotel fortune and sister of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, was an early supporter of Obama’s candidacy for president and later served as U.S. Secretary of Commerce in his government.

Shirley M. Tilghman

Shirley M. Tilghman is the former president of Princeton University, known for her work in molecular biology. Ms. Tilghman also chaired the Review of Life Sciences at Harvard prior to her time on the board.

Theodore V. Wells Jr.

Theodore V. Wells Jr. is a trial lawyer And co-chair of the litigation department from the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. Mr. Wells served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and in 2011 he won the Thurgood Marshall Lifetime Achievement Award.

Rob Copeland, Maureen Farrell And Sara Mervosh reporting contributed.