Harvard-wide Women's Weekend is a first

Harvard’s first University-wide Women’s Weekend

Harvard’s first University-wide Women’s Weekend drew more than 400 alumnae and friends to campus in November to network, get reacquainted with people and places, and educate themselves during often pointed and personal panel discussions and workshops that touched on sexuality, race, work-life balance, public service, and women’s health and rights across the globe.

Addressing attendees at an evening reception in Harvard Business School’s Spangler Center, President Drew Faust celebrated the “once unimaginable” gathering of women at Harvard—or at any number of universities that had barred their entry: “When I was in college I was not allowed to wear pants to class. I would not have been able to apply to Princeton or Yale, or get a credit card without a male co-signer.” (Read more on her remarks and other weekend events at harvardmag.com/womens-weekend-16.)

The three-day program, organized by the Harvard Alumni Association, was developed in partnership with similarly focused Shared Interest Groups. Not on the weekend agenda, but prompted by events, was sharp discussion of sexist behavior by some of Harvard’s men’s sports teams (see page 23).

You might also like

A New Narrative of Civil Rights

Political philosopher Brandon Terry’s vision of racial progress

Bringing Korean Stories to Life

Composer Julia Riew writes the musicals she needed to see.

Being Undocumented in America

Karla Cornejo Villavicencio’s writing aims to challenge assumptions. 

Most popular

At Harvard College Convocation, an Emphasis on Open-Mindedness

Garber, other leaders sidestep politics but welcome international students.

How MAGA Went Mainstream at Harvard

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

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

Illustration of scientists injecting large syringe with mitochondria into human heart.

Do Mitochondria Hold the Power to Heal?

From Alzheimer’s to cancer, this tiny organelle might expand treatment options. 

People sit in lawn chairs near a rustic barn at Cider Garden in New Salem on a sunny day.

CiderDays Festival Celebrates All Things Apple

Visiting small-batch cideries and orchards in Massachusetts

Whimsical illustration of students rushing through ornate campus gate from bus marked “Welcome New Students.”

Highlights from Harvard’s Past

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