WHY JOIN THE HARVARD GRADUATE SCHOOL OF DESIGN?

The Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD) educates leaders in design, research, and scholarship to make a resilient, just, and beautiful world. The GSD offers an unparalleled setting for interaction through the combination of disciplines—architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning and design, design engineering, real estate and housing—with an emerging research program and a robust public program of lectures and exhibition.
Job Description
The Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) invites nominations and applications for the position of Curator of the Loeb Fellowship. The School seeks a highly accomplished individual to continue to uphold and build upon the 50+ year legacy of the Loeb Fellowship. The successful candidate will provide leadership to the Loeb Fellowship and the Loeb Alumni community and will advance the Fellowship’s contributions and connections to the academic community of the GSD, Harvard University, and beyond.
The signature program of Loeb Fellowship is a year-long residential fellowship for mid-career practitioners who are likely to become influential leaders in shaping the built and natural environment, and whose work is dedicated to advancing constructive social effects in the US and around the world. Loeb Fellows spend an academic year at Harvard’s GSD, where they have access to the intellectual and critical life of the University. Each annual class of Fellows, approximately 10 each year, is selected based on their potential to use the resources of the GSD, the University, and the current and past Fellows to become even more effective leaders and to have a greater impact as a result of their Fellowship year. Now in its sixth decade, the Fellowship also supports the convening and initiatives of an active, engaged, and influential 500+ member Loeb Alumni community. Loeb Alumni continue to foster ongoing work within cities and communities across the globe, and increasingly within programs and courses at the GSD, to influence and develop effective and inclusive solutions to the urgent challenges involving the future of our global built and natural environment. For more information about the Loeb Fellowship, see: gsd.harvard.edu/loeb-fellowship.
Serving as Curator of the Loeb Fellowship offers an unparalleled opportunity to shape the future of leadership in the built and natural environments. You’ll have the unique privilege of stewarding a vibrant community of emerging mid-career innovators, change-makers, and thought leaders, enabling them to amplify their impact on pressing global challenges. Situated at the heart of one of the world’s premier academic institutions, you will enjoy the intellectual vitality and collaborative spirit of Harvard, with access to vast academic resources and a network of visionary professionals. This role presents the rare chance to leave a lasting mark, guiding an esteemed Fellowship through its next chapter and helping to empower generations of leaders who are redefining our cities, landscapes, and communities for the greater good.

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

• An advanced degree or commensurate experience in Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Urban Planning & Design, or Design Studies is required.
• Proven curatorial, staff, and program management, and/or development leadership in an educational/design setting, including architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, urban design, or related field is required.
• Experience working with academic leadership and faculty in an external relations context.

Reporting to the Dean of the GSD, the Curator provides vision and overall direction to the Loeb Fellowship program for mid-career professionals in design-related disciplines. As principal spokesperson for the program, the Curator directs outreach within Harvard and beyond. In addition to providing leadership to and management of the Loeb Fellowship in the four areas described below— Curation, Fellows, Alumni, Administration—the Curator will also be expected to contribute to the School through service to the GSD.
The Curator will set and manage a broad agenda that includes how the legacy of the program is maintained as well as how the future of the Fellowship can expand through the recruitment of new Fellows and the impact of its alumni. The GSD seeks a visionary leader to maintain the residential Fellowship program, engage an active alumni cohort in a way that harnesses their expertise, and explore new opportunities for impact in cities and communities, as the original patrons, John L. and Frances Loeb intended, and in ways that advance the academic excellence and mission of the GSD.

CURATION: Program and Fellows

• Drive strategic planning, including visionary thinking around expanded programming, engagement, outreach, and potential impact of Fellowship, Fellows, and Alumni.
• Develop relationships and programming across the GSD, Harvard, and beyond, working with diverse constituencies, including students, faculty, staff, alumni, and external stakeholders.
• Explore knowledge production opportunities that may include research, public programs, exhibitions, and publications.
• Together with the Dean, convene an advisory committee to deepen relationships across the School and the university.

FELLOWS: Loeb Fellowship Residency

• Convene cohort activities, including orientations, weekly seminars, retreats, and cohort travel, and dinners. Initiate and administer subsidiary projects and events, such as colloquia, seminars, and travel opportunities.
• Lead and serve on a nine-person Selection Committee for each cohort of Loeb Fellows. Direct annual Selection process, including recruitment.
• Serve as advisor to Fellows on yearly individual work plans. Have the ability to mentor and motivate Fellows as mid-career professionals to grow in their technical skills, vision, and leadership ability.
• Encourage Fellows’ integration and networking within GSD, across Harvard, and among Loeb Alumni. Facilitate contacts between the fellows and members of the GSD and Harvard communities.
• Collaborate with the Dean on the Senior Loeb Scholar appointment process and programming.

ALUMNI: Loeb Alumni

• Advance ongoing professional, intellectual, and social engagement among Loeb alumni while fostering deeper collaboration between the Loeb Fellowship program, Loeb alumni, current Loeb Fellows, GSD students, and faculty.
• Facilitate and communicate the development of shared projects, ensuring that the collective expertise and ideas of these groups are effectively integrated for mutual benefit.
• Collaborate with the Loeb Fellowship Alumni Association (LFAA) to pursue its mission by supporting alumni events and programs, including Loeb Fellowship Alumni Council (LFAC) grants and annual LFAA fall study tours.

ADMINISTRATION: Communications, Outreach & Engagement, Management

• Work with the GSD and Harvard Communications to develop and direct an overall internal and external communication strategy for promoting the Fellowship, including, but not limited to, Fellowship programming, recruitment, alumni promotion, and Loeb Fellowship Alumni Council programming.
• Build strategic relationships with other Harvard schools, programs, and centers, as well as with external partners across a range of disciplines to grow and maintain opportunities for learning and collaboration with resident and alumni Fellows.
• Establish partnerships with other media outlets to execute communications strategy.
• Develop both internal and external engagement strategy to advance access and relationships between Fellows, the GSD, the Harvard and other academic communities, as well as relevant communities of practice.
• Actively promote the Fellowship and its programs, including public speaking at conferences and events across the U.S. and the world.
• Identify, cultivate, and pursue a development strategy in collaboration with the GSD Development and Alumni Relations Office to execute an outreach, recruitment, and engagement plan.
• Identify and manage the Loeb Fellowship staff and capacity needs, including independent contractors and other partners.
• Direct financial management, including working with the Finance Office on an annual budget.

Qualifications