Bill Ackman's Analysis of Harvard

The indefatigable Bill Ackman has quantified Harvard in a slide deck done in the style of a corporate takeover analysis. I am particularly pleased by slides 24ff---the first time, as far as I can recall, that anyone has noticed or attached any significance to the change in Harvard College's Mission Statement. I wrote the first version he cites, with editorial help from Jeremy Knowles and Neil Rudenstine---first time anyone had written such a document, unless you count, as I tried to do, the Charter of 1650. I was surprised by the change made by a later College administration, and didn't understand the thinking behind it; whether its significance is what Ackman suggests is for others to decide.

I am also, of course, delighted to see the extraordinary comparison between numbers of students and faculty in computer science and in other fields! It's been a long slog to get there.

PS. This is my first blog post in a long time! For those who missed it, I had an article in Harvard Magazine over the summer--part nostalgia, part a gloss on Artificial Intelligence. Hope you enjoy it.