The fate of this decades-old consulting operation provides a glimpse into the problems and potential solutions of a burgeoning University.

At its largest, HIID outsized some Harvard graduate schools with a budget of about $40 million. But the task force cited the institute's size and lack of integration into the University's academic mission as reasons it should go.

"Many of those who replied to the Task Force observed that HIID had not effectively linked its activities with other parts of Harvard," the report reads.

"Given the fact that it's big and far-flung, it needs to be closely connected to the schools," Thompson says.

The task force concluded six months of discussion about HIID by suggesting the institute's functions be distributed among University graduate schools.

"It's not that we should be worried about expansion or bigness," he says. "It's how the different parts of the University relate to one another."

Making sure expansion fits in with teaching and research is the key, Thompson says.

"How can we coordinate and manage in ways that benefit the University as a whole?" Thompson asks. "That's both a problem and an opportunity. That's not so much the result of the University expanding...that's a result of the world out there expanding."