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

Lafayette’s Unexpected Gift to George Washington: Pheasants

The two birds will be on display at Harvard this summer.

Harvard Weathers a Year of Turmoil

The federal government has launched unprecedented actions against the University. Here’s a guide.

Harvard art historian Jennifer Roberts teaches the value of immersive attention

Teaching students the value of deceleration and immersive attention

Explore More From Current Issue

Decorative wrought iron gate framed by leafy branches, captured in sepia tones.

Former Indiana University president Thomas Ehrlich looks back on curriculum, co-education, and other major trends.

Three young women posed side by side against red background.

The 2026-2027 Ledecky and Summer Undergraduate Fellows

A football player in a white jersey evades a defender in a green uniform on the field.

Despite personnel losses, Crimson captain Xaviah Bascon is upbeat about the 2026 season.