Who: Interim President of Harvard University since July 1, 2006, former President of Harvard University, 1971-91, and Professor of Law.

Current residence: Cambridge, MA.

Spotlight: Derek Bok is both sequel and prequel to Larry Summers in his position as interim president of Harvard while the search for a permanent replacement is underway. He's in the limelight this week for Harvard's decision to relinquish early admission to the College, a plan pushed by Dean of Admissions William Fitzsimmons and championed by Bok. The interim president explained his views in the Harvard Gazette.

Old School: Bok is far from new to Harvard (or new to anything, really—he's 76). A professor of law, he became president after three years as Dean of the Law School. In his twenty years as president, Bok developed facets of the University that undergraduates now take for granted: he instated the Core Curriculum, every student's favorite selection of classes, introduced the Office for the Arts, and pushed for the admission of more female students. According to the New York Times (subscription required), however, he was criticized for his reluctance to divest from South Africa during apartheid.

Hopes and dreams: Bok reported three main goals for his Second Coming in an interview with the Resource, Harvard’s staff newspaper (Harvard access only): to finish the undergraduate curricular review—which reevaluates the very same pesky Core Curriculum that he established during his original tenure; to work towards the integration of the different fields of science as per the new report of the Committee on Science and Engineering; and finally, to take care of that whole Allston-campus business, which he believes "will give a physical boost" to what he sees as a melting pot of different faculties and fields.

Musings on learning: The Globe calls Bok “a dedicated educator”: this is a man who cares whether students are, in fact, learning anything. He has written extensively on college education, including a recent book, Our Underachieving Colleges, published last year.

Friends: Jeremy Knowles, Dean of FAS, another former Harvard administrator reinstated as a temp. Bok appointed Knowles and the two have formed an undergraduate curricular review tag-team.

Dish: In addition to his long-term role as President of Harvard, Bok sidelined as an environmentalist, picking up litter on the way to work.

Quotable: Viewing himself as primarily a writer and teacher, he has called his administrative career at Harvard a "23-year digression".

Wheels: President Bok was known in his first term for the VW beetle he drove to work and parked in a garage.

*Biography of Derek Bok [harvard.edu]
*Harvard to eliminate early admission [Harvard Gazette]
*Bok earns Grawemeyer Award in Education [Harvard Gazette]
*A familiar figure takes over in interim [Boston Globe]
*Harvard opting out on early admissions [Boston Globe]
*Harvard move stirs rethinking of college admission policies [Boston Globe]
*Harvard studies ways to promote teaching [Boston Globe]
*Are colleges failing? [Boston Globe]
*Examining the Crimson's civic slide [Boston Globe]