Commencement Kickoff: Phi Beta Kappa Literary Exercises

With poet Albert Goldbarth and orator James Engell, Gurney professor of English literature and professor of comparative literature

Our Commencement coverage begins with the Phi Beta Kappa service, featuring poet Albert Goldbarth and Gurney professor of English literature and professor of comparative literature James Engell. 

The Sanders Theatre event honors graduating seniors who have been inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa Society, which recognizes outstanding scholarly achievement.

Click here for a list this year's Phi Beta Kappa graduates. Listen here to last year's Phi Beta Kappa address, by Nobel laureate Steven Weinberg, formerly Higgins professor of physics at Harvard. At the 2007 event, C.D. Wright (Guggenheim Fellow, MacArthur Fellow, and professor of English at Brown University) read one of her poems, and Jeremy Waldron, University Professor at the New York University School of Law, explored the Bill of Rights in the context of the international movement to secure universal human rights through the actions of individual countries. Hear Wright read here and Waldron's speech here.

Most popular

An animal’s journey from grief to love shows how much humans need each other, too.

The Supreme Court Affirmative Action Rulings: An Analysis

The underlying arguments project clashing worldviews of race and appropriate remedies.

The Roman Empire’s Cosmopolitan Frontier

Genetic analysis reveals a culture enriched from both sides of the Danube.

Explore More From Current Issue

A vibrant group of dancers in colorful outfits poses on a stage with shiny decorations.

The Harvard Arts Medalist wants his smash-hit Cats revival to reach “as many young queer people” as possible.

Vibrant urban scene at dusk featuring a mural on a building and illuminated structures.

The Goel Center in Allston will open for performances in the fall of 2026.

Two colorful octopuses swim among vibrant coral and sea life in a lively underwater scene.

New Harvard research finds octopuses go beyond sight and touch to find mates.