Danielle Allen University Professor

A high-ranking position for a new member of the faculties

Portrait of Danielle Allen

Danielle Allen | Photograph by Jim Harrison

Political theorist Danielle Allen, who came to Harvard just last year—she is professor of government, professor of education, and director of the Edmund J. Safra Center for Ethics—has been appointed Conant University Professor. University Professors hold the highest faculty rank at Harvard, reflecting the eminence of their scholarshp; they are free to teach and conduct research in any University school. (Chinese literature scholar Stephen Owen is also a Conant University Professor.)

Allen’s scholarship was profiled in depth in “The Egalitarian,” published in the May-June 2016 Harvard Magazine. She is known to a wide readership through her commentaries for The Washington Post.

Read the University announcement here.

You might also like

Trump Administration Asks Appeals Court to Restore Harvard Funding Cuts

The government’s lawyers homed in on a jurisdictional argument for its authority to to terminate federal grants. 

Three Harvard Alumni and a Former Postdoc Named MacArthur Fellows

A labor economist, an organic chemist, a physicist, and a memory researcher were honored with 2026 “genius” grants.

At Harvard’s IOP, Two Views of Diversity Get a Hearing

Professor Cornell William Brooks and Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts hold a lively debate on DEI and Project 2025.

Most popular

Trump Administration Will Investigate Alleged Visa Fraud at Harvard

The announcement comes two days after a federal appeals court heard arguments about an international students ban.

Harvard Weathers a Year of Turmoil

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

Research misconduct by former Harvard professor Marc Hauser reported

Federal investigative agency reports on former Harvard psychology professor’s work

Explore More From Current Issue

Colorful word cloud with various emotions and ideas related to learning and reflection.

But it can’t replace human connection.

Portrait of a man in a denim shirt beside a blue book cover for "Gretal and the Great War" featuring an illustration of a leg holding an army helmet..

The Gretel and the Great War author on how the Lampoon derailed his science career—and set him on a literary path.

Caricature of a young man in front of red doors, wearing a green striped sweater.

In 1954, Gregory Corso moved into Eliot House. How he stayed there is a literary legend.