Alumni & People

curation of alumni people, faculty and student profiles

Conan O’Brien in a dark suit and light shirt, smiling and posing with hands clasped.

Conan O’Brien Named Harvard’s 2026 Commencement Speaker

The comedian, host, and 1985 graduate will deliver remarks at the May 28 ceremony. 

by Schuyler Velasco

“This global, diverse, vibrant community”

Alumni Association President Ty Moore

by Nell Porter-Brown

Honoring Alumni Interviewers

Miller-Hunn Award recipients

Serhii Plokhy in his Harvard office, smiling with his arms crossed. Behind him hangs a Ukrainian flag signed by Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko

The Return of History

Ukrainian scholar Serhii Plokhy on the war in his home country

by Lydialyle Gibson

Anwar Floyd-Pruitt standing off a red, white, and blue mural he painted after George Floyd’s death. Floyd's right hand is bandaged after he was attacked while painting the mural.

Getting His Reps in

Anwar Floyd-Pruitt’s wildly profuse art

by Lydialyle Gibson

Ben Purkert headshot

The Men Who Can’t Be Saved

Novelist Ben Purkert’s playfully serious look at masculinity

by Stuart Miller

Amir Bitran

Making Music Out of DNA Loops

Composer and biophysicist Amir Bitran ’16, Ph.D. ’23

by Nancy Walecki

Portrait of editors Rebecca Panovka and Kiara Barrow

The New Little Magazines

Keeping literature and long-form journalism alive

by Nancy Walecki

The New Crew

The 2023-24 Ledecky Undergraduate Fellows. 

A large group of donkeys entering Harvard Yard with a few elephants interspersed.

The Elephant in the Room

Conservative undergraduates’ campus debates

by Max J. Krupnick

Colorful Geometric Illustration

In Defense of Liberal Arts

A semester abroad clarifies the value of the curriculum back home.

by Sofia Andrade