Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has become the latest businessman to join the fight to decide Harvard University’s future as the elite college tries to move past months of controversy and turmoil.
The Facebook founder and Priscilla Chan, a philanthropist and Zuckerberg’s wife, led a virtual event on Friday in support of Sam Lessin, a venture capitalist and Zuckerberg’s former Harvard classmate. Lessin was also an early executive at Facebook, which Zuckerberg started as a student at the elite university.
Lessin is one of several candidates running for a seat on Harvard’s Board of Overseers, the college’s second-highest governing body, which commands 50 visiting committees. The board has a voice in the hiring and appointment of certain officials to the Harvard Corporation.
The Slow Ventures co-founder has said that free speech on Harvard’s campus and ensuring the safety of students are among his top priorities. Lessin has also been critical of Harvard’s heavily maligned response to the Israel-Hamas war and accusations of antisemitism on the college’s campus.
[Anything Lizard Man says, expect him to do and endorse the exact opposite. For example, the Great Censor is suddenly a “free speech advocate”? What a hoot.~ Beege]
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