Harvard names dean of business school

Jay O. Light, acting dean of Harvard Business School since last summer, was officially appointed to the position yesterday by Harvard University president Lawrence H. Summers.

''I'm honored and excited and maybe even a bit daunted," said Light, 64, who joined the prestigious school's faculty in 1970.

Light worked closely with the former dean, Kim Clark, who left last year to become president of Brigham Young University-Idaho. Under Clark, Light was involved in the school's strategic planning and new initiatives.

Light said there would be ''more similarities than differences" between his tenure and that of Clark.

''If I were to describe dean Clark, I would describe him as someone interested in innovation, and I am too," he said. ''If there's anything I represent to the school, it's someone who will keep pushing for change."

The school has no mandatory retirement age, and Light said he expects to be dean ''for the indefinite future," though he noted that deans serve at the discretion of university presidents.

Bowing to faculty unrest, Summers plans to step down as president of Harvard in June and former university president Derek Bok will serve as interim president until a replacement for Summers is found. Summers said he chose Light after consulting with the faculty advisory committee, other members of the faculty and alumni, students at the business school, other Harvard officials, and with Bok.

''He and I spoke about it. He and Jay spoke," Summers said. ''It was a decision that I made and I believe one that he enthusiastically supports."

Harvard Business School has a history of promoting deans from within. Light is the school's ninth dean; with the exception of the founding dean, every one was chosen from within the school, a spokesman said.

And other business schools have promoted interim deans to permanent status in recent years, noted Richard Schmalensee, dean of the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Schmalensee is a case in point. And in 2000, the University of Pennsylvania selected interim dean Patrick Harker to head its Wharton School.

''Jay is a very solid guy, and he has deep roots in the school," Schmalensee said. ''He is, as the British would say, an awfully safe pair of hands."

George Parker, a finance professor at the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University, said Light's ''reputation is first class."

''Harvard is fortunate to have someone of Jay's caliber," he said.

Light is an expert in finance and investment management and as dean, he said he would continue to emphasize collaboration with other schools in the university even as he seeks to follow Clark's lead in broadening the school's global reach.

In a statement, Clark said Light is ''especially well prepared to lead the school in an age of innovation, globalization, and technology."

As acting dean, Light oversaw the completion of the school's successful $600 million fund-raising campaign and the launch of new faculty initiatives in healthcare and science-based business.

Summers said the decision to select Light was made several weeks ago. One reason why the decision wasn't disclosed until yesterday was the fact that Light recently had knee surgery.

Light wanted to be able to walk without crutches when his appointment was disclosed, a school spokesman said.

Chris Reidy can be reached at reidy@globe.com.