Failed Bid: Bill Ackman’s Harvard Board Candidates and Zuckerberg’s Backed Candidate Denied Ballot Spot

Harvard alumni backed by billionaires fail to make cut for board ballot
A group of Harvard alumni, supported by billionaire investors Bill Ackman and Mark Zuckerberg, have failed in their bid to secure spots on the ballot for Harvard University’s governing board. The candidates were seeking positions on the board of overseers, the second-highest governing body of the Ivy League school. The candidates backed by Ackman and Zuckerberg were critical of Harvard’s management and called for changes in areas such as free speech, student protection, and financial management. However, they fell short of the required threshold of votes needed to secure a spot on the ballot.
Harvard has been facing turmoil over allegations of antisemitism, plagiarism, and financial mismanagement. The university’s president, Claudine Gay, resigned last month amid criticism of her handling of the antisemitism issue on campus. The allegations have been denied by Gay and the university.
The board of overseers is responsible for approving or rejecting the hiring of Harvard’s president. It consists of 30 members, with five seats up for election each year. Only Harvard alumni are eligible to vote in the election.
The candidates supported by Ackman and Zuckerberg faced an uphill battle as they were not endorsed by the Harvard Alumni Association, which interviews and selects candidates for the ballot. In 2016, Harvard increased the number of signatures required to get on the ballot without the association’s endorsement, aiming to limit the influence of special interests in the election process.
While the candidates backed by Ackman and Zuckerberg did not succeed this year, they plan to try again next year as write-in candidates on the ballot. The last successful challenge to the board of overseers was in 2020 and 2021 when a coalition of graduates called Harvard Forward got four candidates elected, advocating for the university’s endowment to divest from fossil fuels.
The board of overseers, though not as powerful as the smaller Harvard Corporation, still holds influence through its visitation process, which allows members to ask questions and assess Harvard’s faculty and departments.
It remains to be seen how these recent developments will impact Harvard’s future and its ongoing efforts to address the issues raised by its critics.