He earned his Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
He rose to the position of associate dean of admissions and financial aid for Harvard and Radcliffe Colleges.
[5] During his tenure, the 1988–89 Harvard Crimson men's ice hockey team won the NCAA Division I championship and the Harvard crew won the 1985 Grand Challenge Cup at the Henley Royal Regatta.
[5] In 1988, Reardon took on the additional role of associate vice president for university relations.
On May 8, 1989, he announced that he would step down as AD to become the executive director of the Harvard Alumni Association.