John P. Reardon

John Paul Reardon Jr. (February 25, 1938 – June 23, 2026) was an American administrator who was the athletic director at Harvard from 1978 to 1990 and executive director of the Harvard Alumni Association from 1990 to 2014.

Early life and education Reardon was raised in Cohasset, Massachusetts. His father, John P. Reardon Sr., was a surgeon, and his mother, Rosamond T. Reardon, was a schoolteacher. Reardon graduated from Milton Academy in 1956.

Career at Harvard In 1965, Reardon accepted a position in the Harvard admissions office. He rose to the position of associate dean of admissions and financial aid for Harvard and Radcliffe Colleges. On September 12, 1977, he was named Harvard's athletic director. He took office the following February. Reardon took over the department during a $30 million athletic construction project that included the construction of the Gordon Track and Tennis Center, renovations to Harvard Stadium, the Bright-Landry Hockey Center, and Dillon Fieldhouse, and the conversion of the Briggs Athletic Center into a basketball arena. He also brought Harvard athletics into compliance with Title IX. He remained AD until his successor, Bill Cleary, took over in 1990. He remained head of the Harvard Alumni Association until his retirement in 2014.

Other work Reardon was also a member of the boards of the Dana–Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Magazine, and the Harvard Clubs of Boston and New York City, chair of the Cohasset school committee, and a trustee of Thayer Academy and the Roxbury Latin School.

Reardon died at his home in Weymouth, Massachusetts, on June 23, 2026, at the age of 88.