Thursday, 4:30 PM
Leading candidate bows out of contention for Harvard presidency
(AP Photo/Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Paul Fetters)
Thomas R. Cech, shown above in a 2005 photo, said today he did not want to give up his commitments to the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to become president of Harvard University.
By Marcella Bombardieri, Globe Staff
One of the leading contenders for the presidency of Harvard University, Thomas R. Cech, said today that he has withdrawn from consideration.
Cech, in a telephone interview with the Globe, said he is not ready to give up his commitments to the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, where he is president, or the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he maintains a biochemistry lab.
"I already have a great job at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and a commitment to its work promoting biomedical research and education through the country and the world," he said from Colorado.
Hughes is the second biggest philanthropy in the United States and supports some of the nation's top scientists.
Cech notified Harvard's search committee this morning, he said.
The Globe reported Saturday that Cech was one of the final candidates in the search, which could end as early as this weekend or as late as next month. The Globe also reported that the leading inside candidate appeared to be Drew Gilpin Faust, according to sources familiar with the search.
