Remembering a distinctive Harvard Magazine voice

A distinctive Harvard Magazine voice remembered

Kit Reed at work, April 1977

Photograph by Christopher S. Johnson

When Christopher (“Kit”) Reed retired as executive editor in 2007, concluding 39 years of service to this magazine’s readers, we observed, “Had he not written with such humor and grace, and with such wry appreciation for the University’s traditions and foibles, his colleagues would have resented bitterly his calm confidence at the keyboard, no matter how pressing the deadlines.” Fortunately, he was not really gone after that leave-taking: he continued crafting Treasure into early 2015, with a final column last spring, and he manned The College Pump through this past May-June.

Outside the office, Kit was an extraordinary plantsman (colleagues cherish specimens from his garden), and although ill, he took an immediate shine to the July-August article on botanizing expeditions by the Arnold Arboretum—a place he loved and had written about beautifully. His death, on July 21, reminds us of the high standards he set and maintained so well for so long, and of the dear friend we have lost.

~The Editors

You might also like

In Sermon, Garber Urges Harvard Community to ‘Defend and Protect’ Institutions

Harvard’s president uses traditional Memorial Church address to encourage divergent views.

Highlights from Harvard’s Past

The Medical School goes coed, University poet wins Nobel Prize. 

Free Speech, the Bomb—and Donald Trump

A Harvard cardiologist on the unlikely alliances that shaped a global movement to prevent nuclear war

Most popular

Two Years of Doxxing at Harvard

What happens when students are publicly named and shamed for their views?

A New Narrative of Civil Rights

Political philosopher Brandon Terry’s vision of racial progress

How MAGA Went Mainstream at Harvard

Trump, TikTok, and the pandemic are reshaping Gen Z politics.

Explore More From Current Issue

Illustrated world map showing people connected across countries with icons for ideas, research, and communication.

Why Harvard Needs International Students

An ed school professor on why global challenges demand global experiences

Man in gray sweater standing in hallway with colorful abstract art on wall.

How Do Single-Celled Organisms Learn and Remember

A Harvard neuroscientist’s quest to model memory in single-celled organisms