I was surprised and impressed by the amount of preparation that...

I was surprised and impressed by the amount of preparation that Harvard put into MHBA’s visit. President Faust greeted us on arrival, and there were speeches by the Dean and Dean of Admissions. The tone of these speeches was very refreshing. While there was a thorough discussion of scholarship options, there was none of: “Harvard will consider you.” There was a lot of: “Please consider Harvard.” Dean Khurana happened to walk by while I was taking the previous photograph.

“It’s difficult to stay on top for 40 years,” he explained. “Not to mention 400 years. For an organization to remain relevant, there has to be a certain sense of restlessness. For us, that means continuing to grow the circle of ‘who we are.’ Back in the 1700’s, Harvard meant rich white men of a certain religion. Since then, we’ve expanded to include women, different religions, and different ethnicities. If we want to stay relevant and real, we’ve got to continue to grow that circle. If our definition of excellence becomes a zip code or a test score, we’ll become little more than a museum or tourist destination.”