Installed
Alan M. Garber—named interim president on January 2, 2024, and the University’s thirty-first president (through June 30, 2027) the following August, was honored with a private installation ceremony at the Harvard Art Museums on Saturday evening, December 7. The event was attended by friends, family, members of the governing boards, deans and other University leaders, and four of Harvard’s six living former presidents—Lawrence Bacow, Drew Faust, Claudine Gay, and Lawrence Summers—who were on hand to present the symbols of authority, including the Charter of 1650. In his low-key remarks, Garber joked about another symbol of the office, and the circumstances under which he exercises its responsibilities: commenting on the notoriously uncomfortable Holyoke Chair, the turned sixteenth-century seat from which the president presides during the annual festival rites, he said, “[I]t’s not as uncomfortable as I expected it to be, but it was surprisingly warm when I sat on it during Commencement. It seems to be growing hotter by the day.” Read a full account, including his complete text, at harvardmag.com/garber-installation-24.
Postseason Football
In a major change in athletics policy, the Ivy League announced in December that it would begin participating in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoff. Since its 1954 inception, the league has not permitted its football teams to play in postseason games. But now, one Ivy League team will compete in the second tier of Division I playoffs, a 24-team, five-game, single-elimination bracket lasting from late November to early January. (In the common event of a shared title, the Ivy League will have to devise a tiebreaker to determine which team gets the playoff spot.) The change was initiated by the league’s 17-member student-athlete advisory committee, and accepted by the member schools’ council of presidents. Stephenson Family head coach for Harvard football Andrew Aurich said, “I’m excited for us to make some noise in the playoffs for years to come.” Learn more at harvardmag.com/football-playoff-bowl-25.
Against Institutional Neutrality
As this and other universities have adopted policies of “institutional neutrality,” intended to keep them free from politics and to preserve space on their campuses for unfettered individual discourse (see harvardmag.com/institutional-neutrality-24), two higher-education leaders have spoken out forcefully against the practice. In a November essay published by Elsevier, Peter Salovey, Yale’s president emeritus, put his institution’s famous free-speech principles in context but registered doubts about recent decisions: “I am concerned that not speaking on contemporary world affairs is an abdication of leadership responsibilities.” Of his own remarks on such matters, he said, “Quite frankly, I doubt I intimidated anyone into silence; it seemed to be just the opposite. I believe the philosophical case for institutional neutrality is overdone.” If freedoms of speech are granted to other community members, he concluded, “Does the president really need to take a pass?” And in a January Chronicle of Higher Education essay, “Institutional Neutrality Is a Copout,” the Rev. John I. Jenkins, Notre Dame’s president emeritus, explicitly critiqued the University of Chicago’s Kalven Report, the source for such policies, and Harvard’s recently adopted one, for making much of intellectual discourse by offering “no hint…of anything that might resemble moral pedagogy.” He observed that “For many of us, the narrowing of educational mission and the neutrality that so well accords with it eviscerates the university’s key educational aspirations,” which extend beyond intellectual skills toward providing an environment in which students “develop empathy toward those who are different, compassion for those who suffer, a thirst for justice, and the virtues needed to live a good life.” In pursuit of such aims, Jenkins wrote, “it is essential to articulate institutional values and the implications that flow from them.”
Antisemitism Settlements
The University has settled two lawsuits concerning antisemitism on campus, stemming from protests and other events at Harvard before and after the October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and the ensuing Middle East war. The settlements, with two nonprofit organizations, alleged violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Although Harvard did not admit wrongdoing or liability, it agreed in January to report annually on its response to discrimination or harassment related to “Title VI-protected traits,” and to dedicate a staff person to oversee such complaints and the reporting. Among other measures, it will also sponsor a yearly academic symposium on antisemitism; establish a partnership with a university in Israel; and adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism—the latter steps unusual among academic institutions. Read a full report at harvardmag.com/antisemitism-lawsuit-settlement-25. (The University also reached a resolution of a complaint brought before the U. S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, requiring Harvard to improve procedures to better handle claims of anti-Arab, -Muslim, and -Palestinian harassment and intimidation.)…Separately, the DOE concluded its investigations of similar “shared ancestry” discrimination claims stemming from the campus events of October 2023 and after, reaching agreements with Rutgers, the University of Cincinnati, five University of California system campuses, and Johns Hopkins. The agreements have typically stipulated that the schools reevaluate discrimination claims as a whole, revise the governing policies and train staff to administer them, and report on incidents of antisemitic and Islamophobic discrimination and their disposition.
Development Chief
James J. “Jim” Husson has been appointed vice president for alumni affairs and development, Harvard’s senior fundraising official, effective April 1, succeeding Brian K. Lee, who is retiring. President Alan M. Garber called Husson an “accomplished and admired leader in the field of advancement, [who] has devoted his career to strengthening institutions through both philanthropy and engagement.” He did so most recently at the University of Pennsylvania, as vice president for development and alumni relations. Earlier, he led development and alumni relations at Boston College. From 1989 to 1999, he worked in development at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and as major gifts director for the University Campaign. Learn more at harvardmag.com/husson-development-25.
NIL Utility
Crimson athletics has rolled out a “more robust Influencer platform for Harvard student-athletes,” Nichols Family director of athletics Erin McDermott announced. The One Crimson NIL Exchange “provides direct connectivity between businesses and individuals interested in working with” athletes to arrange deals for students who are “interested in monetizing their name, image, and likeness” as permitted under Ivy and NCAA rules. The tool can also be used to offer internships, mentoring, and other employment opportunities.
Marshall Scholars
Three seniors are among the 36 winners of Marshall Scholarships to begin studying in the United Kingdom next fall: history and literature concentrator Ryan Doan-Nguyen (an editorial intern at this magazine two summers ago); John Lin, whose primary field is human developmental and regenerative biology; and Laila Nasher, who is jointly concentrating in history and anthropology.
Early Admissions
Harvard College, perhaps stung by varying interpretations of the data concerning the diversity of students admitted to the class of 2028, has ceased issuing interim admissions data. Thus, it has offered admission to some of the applicants to the class of 2029 under the early action option, but declined to announce the number of aspirants or those accepted. Brown accepted 906 early applicants (including 90 under the QuestBridge matching program for low-income applicants) from a pool of 5,048. Yale admitted 728 (including 68 QuestBridge participants) from a cohort of 6,729. Both schools reported a decline in early applicants—perhaps reflecting the reinstatement of standardized testing requirements. Expect data on the College’s class of 2029 next autumn, after first-year students matriculate. The class of 2030 may include some Harvard QuestBridge scholars: in January, the College became the last Ivy to join.
Student Diversity
Following the release of somewhat murky data on the racial and ethnic diversity of class of 2028 undergraduates following the Supreme Court ruling of June 2023 outlawing consideration of race and ethnicity in admissions reviews (see harvardmag.com/admissions-demographics-24), a clearer trend may be emerging among professional schools. Harvard Law School enrolled 19 first-year black students last fall, according to American Bar Association data, down from 43 the prior year—3.4 percent of the class and apparently the lowest number since the 1960s. The number of Hispanic students also declined sharply, to 6.9 percent of the class. Nationwide, the number of first-year black law students increased modestly.…Separately, although the number of first-year medical students rose by about 1 percent nationwide, data compiled by the Association of American Medical Colleges showed declining matriculation by black students (continuing a three-year trend), Hispanic and Latino students, and first-generation and low-income matriculants.…And Students for Fair Admissions, the litigant against Harvard and the University of North Carolina in the 2023 case, lost a round of its similar suit against the U.S. Naval Academy; a U.S. District Court judge upheld the admissions exception the Supreme Court granted the military academies in its 2023 decision.
Faculty and Staff Diversity
The University of Michigan, whose diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs were considered perhaps the most extensive in the nation—and therefore a particular target of critics of the practice—has taken at least one step back. It will no longer require DEI statements in faculty hiring, promotion, and tenure decisions. Broader changes, affecting the institution’s large DEI staff and related budget, reportedly remain under consideration.
Financial Aid Arms Race
Spurred perhaps by their efforts to attract more diverse classes, beginning with more diverse applicant pools, and political criticism of college costs—particularly for families between the low and high ends of the income spectrum—many institutions have substantially augmented their undergraduate financial aid packages in recent months. Although some cover only tuition (Harvard’s no-cost program covers tuition, room, board, and fees for students from families whose incomes are below $85,000), the headline numbers have become particularly eye catching compared to what the College has on offer. Come this fall, MIT and the University of Pennsylvania will both waive tuition charges for students whose family incomes are less than $200,000 (up from the current $140,000). MIT has also upped its zero-cost threshold (covering all fees) to $100,000 from $75,00, while Penn holds at a $75,000 income threshold for no-cost attendance. Similar programs are proliferating at smaller private colleges and even large public systems, like the University of Texas (free tuition for families with incomes under $100,000), putting greater pressure on Harvard to up its own ante. That will come at considerable cost, since Crimson undergraduate financial aid is far from fully endowed, and at a time of other pressures, such as the imperative of increasing graduate student stipends, to the tune of millions of dollars in additional annual support (see “Graduate Gains” within “Reengineering Arts and Sciences,” March-April 2024, page 20).
Building Boom
Even as the private enterprise research campus and the University theater and housing projects power ahead in Allston (see “Allston Ambitions,” this issue), still more large projects loom on Harvard’s construction agenda. The Crimson has reported that both the new economics building, funded by senior fellow Penny Pritzker and her husband, Bryan Traubert (see harvardmag.com/pritzker-ecomomics-building-21), for which site preparation is evident, and the renewal of Eliot House will begin after Commencement. In January, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences announced a gift of undisclosed size from Joseph T. Tsai ’98, Jeffrey T. Tsai ’01, S.M. ’04, and Jason T. Tsai ’05 to name the event space and terrace in the economics building for their father, Hong-Tu Tsai. (Also announced were endowments for new economics professorships from Alexander Slusky ’89, M.B.A. ’92, and Danna Slusky; and Don Smith ’66.) The Eliot project, among the largest of the House renewal program, is expected to take two years. Interestingly, the Crimson also reported that the renewal program, initially expected to run from 2011 through 2023, at a cost of some $800 million, is now certain to extend into the next decade—and to cost twice as much. The extended time frame and inflated costs both reflect, in part, the effects of the pandemic.…And those who wish to be among the first users of the Rubenstein Treehouse, the University conference center rising alongside the enterprise research campus, can now plan bookings at rubensteintreehouse.harvard.edu—complete with nifty renderings and an online inquiry form.
Around Higher Ed
New Haven has approved Yale’s Dramatic Arts Building, a seven-story project that will accommodate the Yale Repertory Theater, Geffen School of Drama, and undergraduate theater, dance, and performance studies department—including rehearsal and performance spaces for the undergraduate Dramatic Association. Construction is scheduled to conclude in mid 2029.…U.S. District Court Judge Danny C. Reeves on January 9 scrapped the Biden administration’s Title IX regulations, which govern discrimination in education based on sex and—in the current iteration—discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation; the regulations became embroiled in national debates about transgender issues, and the scope of definitions of harassing conduct. As a result, the regulations, which have been continually redrawn under the Obama, Trump I, and now Biden presidencies, seem certain to be redrafted again in the new Trump term.
Honor Roll
Emery N. Brown, Zapol professor of anaesthesia, has been awarded the National Medal of Science, honoring his research on the effects of anesthesia on the brain.…David Walt, Wyss professor of biologically inspired engineering and professor of pathology, was honored with the National Medical of Technology and Innovation for co-inventing the DNA microarray used in large-scale genetic analysis.…Michèle Lamont, Goldman professor of European studies and professor of sociology and of African and African American studies, has been awarded the Kohli Prize, conferred by the eponymous foundation, for her scholarship on boundaries, inequality, and social worth.
Headlines
Eckstein professor of applied economics David M. Cutler is serving as interim dean of social science in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences for the spring semester; he fills in for Du Bois professor of the social sciences Lawrence D. Bobo, who announced that he would take a leave during the term for “personal matters.”…Effective last October, Harvard University Press arranged for W.W. Norton, one of the few remaining high-quality, independent publishers, to handle sales and distribution of all its books—an adaptation to changes in the industry’s channels from publishing through serving wholesale and retail customers.
