Judith D. Singer, the James Bryant Conant Professor of Education at Harvard University, will step down from her position as senior vice provost for faculty on June 30, according to an announcement from the university.
Singer has held the role since 2008, overseeing faculty development across Harvard. Her responsibilities included coordinating recruitment and retention efforts, advising on tenure processes, chairing the Provost’s Review Committee on Faculty Appointments, and managing policies affecting faculty affairs.
“Few people have done as much to nurture and sustain academic excellence across the University as Judy Singer,” said President Alan M. Garber. “When I returned to Harvard in 2011, she quickly became one of my most trusted advisers, a person of great discernment who is valued for her good humor as well as her knowledge and wisdom. I am grateful to Judy for her tireless work to fulfill our mission and to strengthen our community. I wish her all the best for her next chapter.”
University Provost John F. Manning added: “As senior vice provost for faculty, Judy has advanced faculty excellence through tireless and thoughtful work on the appointment and retention of exceptional scholars across disciplines, the shaping of policies that enhance their teaching and scholarship, and the development of initiatives to support work-life balance. We are deeply grateful for her extraordinary service to the University over many years.”
During her tenure, Singer led changes in faculty recruitment and promotion processes, developed best practices with partners across Harvard’s schools, created resources for appointments and benefits consultation, and implemented consistent procedures for reviewing academic positions such as endowed chairs.
Her office launched an online central hiring portal for faculty positions. In 2020, she helped facilitate Harvard’s transition to remote teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic while also examining its long-term impact on academic life.
Singer also worked on expanding support systems for faculty by overseeing medical leave policies, childcare resources, financial aid programs, improvements in mortgage-loan offerings, professional development events covering topics like op-ed writing and media training, networking opportunities for academics and their partners, and data collection efforts aimed at supporting policy decisions related to recruitment and retention.
Steven Hyman, who was university provost when Singer was appointed in 2008, said: “Judy Singer began her role at a time of turmoil at the University. With energy, intelligence, great judgment, and relentless determination, she improved processes for faculty hiring, promotion, retention, and even quality of life. Her success served equity, the prioritization of excellence, and much else that the University prizes.”
Drew Faust—Harvard president at that time—stated: “Judy Singer has brought fierce energy and a deep commitment to excellence and intellectual rigor to her role as senior vice provost. Her dedication to the fundamental values of scholarship and of universities has had an impact on the quality of the faculty that will be her enduring legacy.”
In addition to administrative leadership roles—including acting dean (2001–2002) with John B. Willett at Harvard Graduate School of Education—Singer is recognized for contributions in quantitative methods used in social science research fields such as education psychology medicine public health statistics; she has published nearly 100 papers/book chapters plus three co-authored books.
She holds a B.A. in mathematics from State University of New York at Albany along with a Ph.D. in statistics from Harvard University.
“It has been an honor to work closely with presidents, provosts, and deans these last 18 years toward our shared goal of supporting excellence across Harvard’s faculty,” said Singer. “I have been fortunate to lead a remarkable team in building the frameworks practices resources that enable Harvard to attract retain best brightest scholars from around world support them in their work.”
More information about faculty affairs can be found at the Office of the Senior Vice Provost for Faculty website.
