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Weighing In
The resignation of President Lawrence H. Summers became grist for a torrent of commentary worldwide, much of it highly political, even ideological. On March 12, in the Sunday Telegraph , Tisch professor of history Niall Ferguson—no left-wing …
Issue: May-June 2006
Ups and Downs
The shadows on the field at Harvard Stadium were lengthening, and so were Harvard’s chances of stealing the 138th playing of The Game from favored Yale, when Crimson quarterback Charlie Dean led his offense onto the field with 1:25 left in the third …
Issue: January-February 2023
Jennifer A. Doudna, Ph.D. ’89, and Emmanuelle Charpentier Share Chemistry Nobel
The 2020 Nobel Prize in chemistry was awarded jointly this morning to Emmanuelle Charpentier, of the Max Planck Unit for the Science of Pathogens, Berlin, and Jennifer A. Doudna, Ph.D. ’89, of the University of California, Berkeley, for their development …
General Counsel Diane Lopez to Retire
Harvard’s vice president and general counsel Diane Lopez will retire at the end of February, the University announced today. She has served in the role since 2019—a tenure that has encompassed a high-profile admissions lawsuit , an investigation into …
Cambridge 02138
A Note to Readers The “7 Ware Street” column does not appear in this issue, which is somewhat shorter than usual, given continuing constraints on our advertising partners. We decided it was important to make space available for more of your letters to the …
Issue: January-February 2021
How the Endowment Distribution Is Set
The news that the value of the Harvard endowment declined by 5.1 percent in fiscal year 2016 , ended last June 30, refocused attention on how the Corporation determines what funds will be distributed to the University its schools. That determination is …
Bringing Art to Life
In October 2021 , Cecilia Zhou ’23 sat in her bedroom and painted her face black and white. She meticulously striped the colors across her chin, cheeks, and forehead, checking the angles in her camera. Zhou was not mimicking a zebra or a penguin: she was …
The Medical-Robotics Revolution
What if a cardiac surgeon could operate on a beating heart without opening the patient’s chest? Or a flexible robot could navigate the delicate branching of blood vessels, or bronchi in the lungs, and then stiffen to perform surgery at its tip? Or a …
Issue: May-June 2022
Has Harvard’s Endowment Stopped Growing?
Trees don’t grow to the sky. Nor, apparently, do financial investments. After several years of relatively robust returns on endowment assets invested by Harvard Management Company (HMC)— 15.4 percent in fiscal year 2014 (ended June 30 of that year); 11.3 …
Slow and Steady
Scott Kline , J.D. ’88, thought he might run fast in the Hartford Marathon. Not fast fast, but fast for a 60-year-old retired lawyer. The early November weather in Connecticut was supposed to be mild, and he was feeling well-rested despite having run two …
Provincetown in the Off-Off Season
J anuary in Provincetown can’t promise the carnival sizzle of summertime. But with the population whittled to around 1,000, and only 20 or so restaurants and bars open, the tip of Cape Cod offers, instead, “a wonderful, quiet romance,” says David Drake, …
Issue: January-February 2020
Allston planning options outlined
Harvard released on June 2 a report by New York planning firm Cooper, Robertson & Partners on its long-term visions for an Allston campus. The report is presented here (as a PDF), as well as the official letter from President Lawrence H. Summers , and the …
Money Matters
The investment return on Harvard’s endowment assets during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2018, was 10.0 percent and the endowment’s value on that date reached $39.2 billion—up 5.7 percent ($2.1 billion) from $37.1 billion a year earlier. N.P. Narvekar, …
Issue: November-December 2018
Predicting Viral Variants and Vaccine Cures
In medicine, “There’s a quiet revolution happening at the moment,” says professor of systems biology Debora Marks. Most people have become familiar with artificial intelligence through chatbots such as ChatGPT, which function by predicting the next word …
Issue: November-December 2024
A Borrower Be
In late 2008 , at the depths of the financial crisis, the University borrowed $2.5 billion, expensively (at tax-exempt and taxable interest rates of 5.4 percent and 5.8 percent) to shore up its liquidity and provide flexibility within the endowment, and …
Issue: November-December 2015