Lawrence Bacow

President Emeritus, Tufts University

Lawrence S. Bacow has served as the president emeritus of Tufts University from 2001 to 2011. He is a lawyer and economist whose research focuses on environmental policy. President Emeritus Bacow is also known as an advocate for broader access to higher education, the importance of need-based financial aid, and the role of civic engagement in colleges and universities. Prior to coming to Tufts, he was the chancellor and Lee and Geraldine Martin Professor of Environmental Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After stepping down as President of Tufts, Dr. Bacow became President-in-Residence in the Higher Education Program at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education; he is serving in this role for a second year during 2012-13. He is also a Senior Advisor to Ithaka S+R and was one of the authors of its major 2012 study of the barriers to the adoption of online learning systems in U.S. higher education. Dr. Bacow is a member of the Harvard Corporation and serves on the boards of directors of Boston Properties, Liquidnet, and Loews Corporation. A member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, as well, he received his S.B. from MIT, J.D. from Harvard Law School, and M.P.P. and Ph.D. from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.