Search
Harvard Dives Into Data Science
The two faculty leaders of a new data-science initiative announced today that Harvard aims to build a significant data-science institute in Allston to support research, education, and entrepreneurship in a rapidly growing field University leaders say is …
Micro-units: A New Trend?
The micro-unit trend (see “Living Large in Tiny Apartments,” from the May-June 2013 issue) may have originated in cramped cities like Tokyo and Paris, but it is now starting to develop in the United States. In November, the city of San Francisco unveiled …
“Our Planet in Microcosm”
US. Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China Nicholas Burns addressed the 659 members of the Harvard Kennedy School’s class of 2024 at their Class Day on May 22, bearing a message of hope. Amid a litany of challenges facing this generation of …
Harvard Basketball's Unlikely MVP
In the summer of 2017, men’s basketball assistant coach Brian Eskildsen was on vacation in Rome, eating a gelato, when he heard someone shout, “Eski?” He looked up to see Justin Bassey ’20 smiling back at him. The encounter was pure …
Harvard Medical School Dean Flier to Step Down
Jeffrey S. Flier , dean of Harvard Medical School (HMS) since 2007 , today announced that he would step down on July 31. Flier, an endocrinologist who specialized in the causes of obesity and diabetes, wrote a brief note to his colleagues conveying his …
Hempton Named Divinity School Dean
President Drew Faust has announced that David N. Hempton , McDonald Family professor of Evangelical theological studies, will become the new dean of Harvard Divinity School, effective July 1. He succeeds William A. Graham, who announced in September that …
The Context: Universities Pushed to Reckon with Slavery
This is the third post of "The Context"—a biweekly series of archival stories—offering our readers a useful background to some of the most important subjects in the news today. We hope you enjoy it. In the past few years , universities across the country …
Amending Undergraduate Academics
Working its way through an unusually full academic agenda at the faculty meeting on March 1, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) held initial discussions of proposals to change how undergraduates register for courses, allow double concentrations, and …
A Gate of Whimsy
By Harvard standards, the gate outside Lamont Library wasn’t really a gate. “It was just an extension of the fencing,” says Nazneen Cooper, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences’ assistant dean of campus design and planning. Unlike the Yard’s other notable …
Issue: March-April 2021
A Quartet of Crises
In retrospect, Harvard’s crisis during and after the Great Recession of 2008-2010 was a piece of cake. Yes, the University lost $11 billion to $14 billion in endowment and other assets, and had to incur costly debt, and devote more resources to financial …
Issue: November-December 2020
An Astronomer's Desert Photography
At twilight, the bulbous hoodoos and sculpted plateaus of the Sonoran Desert lose their depth, standing like cardboard cutouts against the dim blue sky. The illusion lasts only a few minutes, but that’s when photographer Stephen Strom ’62, Ph.D. ’64 is in …
Issue: July-August 2022
Blockmate Backstories
This year will mark the second time Harvard hosts its annual Housing Day for first-year students online—last year, in the rush of campus closing, and this year, with more time to prepare. On Friday, the College will reveal each freshman’s assigned House …
Changemaker in Admissions
The fourth of seven children, David L. Evans grew up in Arkansas in one of the nation’s poorest counties. His grandmother was born into slavery, and his parents, who died before Evans graduated from high school, were sharecroppers with little formal …
Issue: September-October 2020
What the Public—and Teachers—Think About School Choice
Annually since 2007, Education Next, a journal of opinion and research about education policy, has asked a representative sample of U.S. adults for their opinions on a range of education policies. The design provides for a sampling of teachers and African …
Issue: September-October 2016
Coronavirus Closes Classes
The third shoe has dropped, as the coronavirus outbreak continues to spread. The University’s site for information on countermeasures is updated continuously. Highlights appear here. Updated March 12, 2020, 2:45 p.m.: Ivy League athletic practices and …