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Reporting on Your Behalf
Dear Readers , The pandemic has changed all of us—and even a venerable institution like Harvard, as we reported during this most unusual of Commencement seasons. Yes, the Class of 2022 enjoyed a traditional, in-person Commencement morning celebration …
Endowment Expectations
Following the near-record 33.6 percent investment return on endowment assets in fiscal year 2021 , and the inevitable adjustment in fiscal 2022—when financial markets took account of the pandemic stimulus and rising inflation, and the endowment yielded a …
President Garber’s Agenda
During a conversation in his Massachusetts Hall office on a remarkably balmy Halloween afternoon, President Alan M. Garber was expansive about his academic aspirations for the University he has led on an interim basis since last January , and as president …
After the Pandemic’s Peak
The good news is that the bad news isn’t so bad. That’s a quick interpretation of dean Claudine Gay’s annual report on the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS), and the accompanying financial results for fiscal year 2021, discussed with colleagues …
Financial Fitness
Harvard’s financial results for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023, released in October, depict University operations fully back to normal after the pandemic. With on-campus enrollment at a still-elevated level as students returned from leaves or …
Issue: January-February 2024
No More [Lovin’ That] Dirty Water
… Renaissance this summer … 88566 … Your Guide to Summer 2025 Along Boston Harbor … 1523 … 8466 … 1505 … 8472 … No …
Issue: July-August 2025
Harvard Offers to Pay More Than Half of West Station Cost
… MassDOT had initially planned to finish West Station by 2025, but announced last month that it would be 2040 before …
Football 2023: Harvard 45-University of St. Thomas 13
Let’s not kid ourselves. The Harvard football team’s 45-13 thrashing of St. Thomas on Saturday in the Crimson’s 2023 opener at Harvard Stadium had its uses. It kicked off a season-long celebration of 150 years of Harvard football (excepting 2020, of …
Harvard to Keep Arthur Sackler’s Name on Museum and Building
The Harvard Corporation has accepted a recommendation not to dename the Arthur M. Sackler Museum and Building, the University announced today. The denaming request was originally submitted in October 2022 by a group of students who argued that Arthur …
Mikhail Lukin Named University Professor
Mikhail Lukin, a global leader in quantum physics, has been named a University Professor. University Professors hold the highest faculty rank at Harvard, reflecting the eminence of their scholarship, and may teach and conduct research in any University …
2015 Dietary Recommendations Cover New Ground
A scientific report outlining new recommended dietary guidelines is already drawing attention in Washington D.C.—less for its fresh take on optimal diets than for its policy suggestions—and some of the authors joined a symposium hosted at the Harvard T. …
Behind the Scenes: The Language of Whales
I was chatting with a colleague on a cold Friday morning in late January some years ago when he told me about an ambitious effort to decipher the vocalizations of sperm whales. Most cetaceans produce “whalesong,” but sperm whales click to communicate, …
Brevia
Racial Justice in FAS Following the appointment of the University’s chief diversity and inclusion officer ( Brevia, September-October , page 21), Faculty of Arts and Sciences dean Claudine Gay announced in August that despite hiring constraints, she would …
Issue: November-December 2020
Presiding during the Pandemic
During a conversation on December 16, just as the first half of academic year 2021-2022 concluded, President Lawrence S. Bacow assessed the necessarily dual nature of his administration. The pandemic, he acknowledged, had overshadowed life since January …
Issue: March-April 2022
A Fiscal Faustian Bargain
The nomination of Boston as the U.S. host city for the 2024 summer Olympics preceded much public discussion of the potential benefits and costs. Andrew Zimbalist, Ph.D. ’74, is perhaps the foremost analyst of public investments in sports facilities and …
Issue: July-August 2015