Etchemendy to Harvard: Drop Dead At Stanford, provost John Etchmendy strongly denied that he has any interest in the Harvard presidency.

He said in September, “It is flattering that my name is mentioned in connection with the Harvard presidency, but I have no intention or desire to leave my current position, which I believe is the best position in higher education."

(Shirley Tilghman said that the Princeton presidency was "the best job in higher education." Well...who's right?)

Today he tells the Stanford Daily, "“My feelings haven’t changed. All I will add is that I’m sure there are equally qualified and much more appropriate candidates for the position.”

Etchemendy joins a fairly long list of people who have adamantly said that they do not want the Harvard job: Amy Gutmann, Ruth Simmons, Shirley Tilghman, Mary Sue Coleman of the University of Michigan....

Hmmm.

Maybe the real story here isn't who the next Harvard president will be—but why so many people are saying no to Harvard....

The conventional wisdom is, they don't mean it. But what are the implications for Harvard—and about Harvard—if they do?  ¶ 10:29 PM