Yesterday's News

1914

A $50,000 budget deficit (due partly to construction expenses) for the 1913-14 fiscal year prompts a proposal to raise College tuition from $150 to $200, the first increase since 1870.

 

1924

The editors note that although a violent reaction against the lecture system is occurring nationwide, Harvard intends to retain the tried and true teaching method. The editors suggest that “the best method of instruction is neither lecture system nor the discussion method, but a combination of the two.”

 

1934

The Harvard Psychological Laboratory announces, after a pioneer investigation of the field, that radio has a somewhat dulling effect on the higher mental processes of its listeners.

 

1939

The Student Employment Office has added baby-tending to its regular list of jobs. Those undergraduates who wish to sign up must first pass a course in essential techniques, offered by the superintendent of Stillman Infirmary, and will then earn 20 cents an hour, plus carfare.

 

1964

Radcliffe students may now go from Lamont Library’s rear entrance to the classrooms on the sixth floor but not into the rest of the building.

 

1969

Harvard deans agree it would be wrong to speak for their schools on public issues, yet some demand the right to act as individuals and protest the war in Vietnam. Dean of the Medical School Robert H. Ebert is one of 600 medical men involved in a streetcorner campaign of talking to passers-by about the war and handing out cards of protest to be signed and sent to President Nixon.

 

1974

Associate professor of the history of science Barbara Gutmann Rosenkrantz ’44 becomes the first woman appointed master of a House—Currier. Her husband is named co-master.

 

1989

The University plans to begin a trademark licensing program, controlling the use of the Harvard name on “insignia goods,” such as clothing, mugs, glasses, watches, and pens. Royalties from the program will be directed to a fund for student aid.

Click here for the November-December 2009 issue table of contents

You might also like

Five Questions with Professor Peter Der Manuelian

Harvard professor of Egyptology on unsolved mysteries, cats, and the beauty of ancient craftsmanship.

“A Game of Inches”

Harvard women’s basketball prepares for its rematch with Columbia. 

Nieman Foundation Leader Departs

Ann Marie Lipinski led the organization through a time of unprecedented change for journalism.

Most popular

The Green Star State

Cheap renewable energy could position Texas to become a major producer of clean hydrogen fuel.

Safe Streets

Working to curb road deaths

Social Media Use and Adult Depression

A survey reveals suprising links between social media use and depression in adults.

Explore More From Current Issue

Is Gambling Becoming a Public Health Crisis?

Responding to the explosive growth of online gambling and sports betting, a new report urges governments to regulate with public health in mind.

The New Boston Athenaeum

Find “the joy of discovery and power of this unique place.”

A Contentious Era for U.S. Higher Education

President emeritus Neil L. Rudenstine on changes in the academy and society that made universities more contentious—and diminished support for humane learning