The windows in David Deming’s University Hall office — his new favorite spot on campus — overlook the back of the John Harvard Statue, offering him a daily view into a vital intersection of campus life: undergraduates making their way to class, and tourists stopping for photographs and to rub the statue’s foot for good luck. Deming, who stepped into the role of Danoff Dean of Harvard College on July 1, called these scenes “daily reminders” of the importance of teaching, learning, and research at Harvard.
“I care a lot about the institution and what Harvard stands for, and the impact Harvard has in the world, and I wanted to contribute to that,” said Deming, an economist who holds appointments in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the Graduate School of Education, and at the Kennedy School of Government, where he serves as the Isabelle and Scott Black Professor of Political Economy. “But I also want to keep the part of me that still loves being a teacher and a researcher and discovering new things about the world.”
Deming, who grew up the son of a minister and a book editor in Tennessee, plans to be a regular presence at student events, in the dining halls, and around the Yard this semester, experiences he will share on his Instagram page.
In this conversation with the Gazette, edited for clarity and length, Deming discusses his goals for the fall semester and beyond.
It’s the start of your first academic year as dean of Harvard College. How are you feeling?
I feel great. This is a momentous time for Harvard and a very important job, but I feel incredibly supported by the larger Harvard community: students, staff, faculty, and University leadership. Everyone’s been really welcoming, and I’ve been impressed by the high level of capability of everybody around me and the dedication to the mission of the College. I have a great team in place.
As an economist who studies education, technology, and the labor market, how has your academic background prepared you for this role?
I’ve worked for many years on issues related to higher education, social and economic mobility, jobs, technology, skills, the future of work, and AI — all the things that are swirling around Harvard and higher education right now. It does give me a perspective that is grounded in this moment in the higher education landscape: What are the challenges that young people are facing in college, what are employers looking for in new graduates? I’m trying my best to bring some sense of my scholarly expertise to the job, talk about my research, talk about others’ research, and place things we’re doing in larger context whenever I can.
What are your goals toward recentering academics?
Young people have so many demands on their attention and time right now — social media, of course, but extracurricular activities, jobs. We need to make the case to students that the classroom is worth engaging with. Part of doing that is cultural, talking about the importance of the classroom experience and intellectual life at Harvard. I think of the classroom as an almost sacred space where you can have conversations and experiences and learn things that you can’t get anywhere else in life — when you graduate, you won’t get that opportunity again.
“We need to make the case to students that the classroom is worth engaging with. Part of doing that is cultural, talking about the importance of the classroom experience and intellectual life at Harvard.”
Another part of it is making sure that our classes are the crown jewels of the Harvard College experience, so students come in and they’re immediately engaged. In the GenEd Program, Expos 20, and First-Year Seminars, we are working with instructors — and Dean Amanda Claybaugh and her team in the Office of Undergraduate Education (OUE) — to make those courses as good as they can be. We have excellent teaching and learning here, but we need to continue to up our game to center the classroom experience.
How are you approaching the use of generative AI on campus?
I want to raise community awareness and try to get us moving in a productive direction, so that someday soon we can have a sensible approach to AI at the College-wide level. We’re not even three years into the release of ChatGPT so I don’t think it’s fair to expect Harvard or any other university to already have a fully worked-out strategy for how to deal with the challenges of generative AI. Having said that, as a new dean I’m seeing firsthand how AI is everywhere in the lives of our students. It obviously requires some changes in the way we teach and learn. If you have a technology that can give you a sophisticated answer to any question you ask, the temptation is to shortcut your own learning process. It’s very important that we figure out our approach as quickly as possible, given the speed at which AI is being adopted. So we’re working with the Bok Center for Teaching and Learning and within the OUE on a solution that takes into account the many different approaches faculty are taking, ranging from banning AI to embracing it. Inaction isn’t an option.
What is your plan for the new Office of Culture and Community?
The Office of Culture and Community subsumes many of the functions that Harvard College previously administered that were organized around identity groups, such as the Harvard Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations, the Harvard College Women’s Center, and the Office of BGLTQ Student Life. It also encompasses new programming for military veterans and religion and spirituality, among other things. We hope we will be able to serve students better than ever, but our programs are organized under a broader office that does not, as a matter of policy, funnel students into resources deterministically based on their identity. Students who have those identities will still be supported, and we will still engage enthusiastically in programming that celebrates their identities. The work itself is still really important, both to me personally and to the College more broadly. We’re going to be hosting a ton of events over the next couple of weeks, and I hope students will come out and see for themselves. I hope the community will bear with us as we figure out the right way forward.
“The work itself is still really important, both to me personally and to the College more broadly. We’re going to be hosting a ton of events over the next couple of weeks, and I hope students will come out and see for themselves.”
I imagine you have been learning a lot about Harvard College. What are some early impressions?
You’re going to hear me talking a lot about all the great things that our students do. So much of what happens on Harvard’s campus has absolutely nothing to do with what you read or hear about Harvard in the news. Yes, there’s controversy swirling around higher education right now, but our students are here to learn and grow. And they’re more excellent than ever. In 2024 we had eight Rhodes Scholars, twice as many as the next-highest college. We finished in the Top 10 in the Putnam Mathematical Competition for the 10th year in a row. We had 13 medalists at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics.
I want our community to be proud of who we are and what we stand for. It’s easy to feel beaten down by all the challenges we face, but the reality is that Harvard is a great university and a monument to human progress. Our faculty do world-class research and our students go on to do incredible things that serve their communities and society. You can consider me the No. 1 cheerleader for Harvard College.
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