Rosovsky, Henry

Henry A. Rosovsky (September 1, 1927 – November 11, 2022) was an American economist and academic administrator who served as Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences of Harvard University, and occasionally as its acting president. After a career as an economic historian specializing in East Asia, and Japan in particular—where he served Harvard as professor of economics, then chair of its Department of Economics, and finally the Geyser University Professorship Emeritus—Rosovsky was named Dean of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) in 1973 by Harvard President Derek Bok. He continued to serve as Dean from 1973 to 1984, and again, as acting dean, in a period ending on July 1, 1991. He served as acting president of Harvard in 1984 and 1987. In those roles, he is cited for a variety of strong contributions, including in the support for developing quality academic and other programs for African American and Jewish studies and students. In 1985, Rosovsky became a member of Harvard's governing body, the Harvard Corporation, a position he served in until 1997. He was the first Harvard faculty member to do so in a century.