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

Photograph of David Damrosch

David Damrosch promotes world literature

David Damrosch’s literary global reach

by Spencer Lee Lenfield

Photograph of John Fish

On YouTube, watch vlogger John Fish grow

On YouTube, watch John Fish grow.

by Jacob Sweet

Photo of a defunct Saturn dealership

Excerpt from “Transaction Man” by Nicholas Lemann

“The rise of the deal and the decline of the American dream”

A stage set from “The Bridges of Madison County”

Lighting and set designer Elizabeth Mak communicates stories

Lighting and set designer Elizabeth Mak communicates stories.

by Nina Pasquini

A still from “Reneepoptosis” by animator Renee Zhang

Animator Renee Zhan profiled by S.I. Rosenbaum

Animator Renee Zhan finds self-discovery in strange landscapes.

by S.I. Rosenbaum

Teenagers watch a television screen showing a glamorous actress smoking.

New addiction risks in the war on smoking

Two public-health veterans warn of new smoking risks, especially for the young.

by Jonathan Shaw

Photograph of redeveloped Boston Government Center, 1971

Ann Forsyth reviews “Saving America’s Cities” by Lizabeth Cohen

In the history of urban renewal, a glimmer of the possibilities of social policy today

by Ann Forsyth

Illustrated portrait of John Rawls

John Rawls and the remaking of political philosophy

The lasting influence and limitations of John Rawls’s political philosophy

by Marina N. Bolotnikova

Elizabeth Thomas shown on her couch at home with her own small dogs, Chapek and Kafka, and her son’s large dog, Clover, whom she watches when he is away.

Elizabeth Marshall Thomas profile

Elizabeth Marshall Thomas’s “laser beam” insights into the lives of animals and humans

by Marina N. Bolotnikova

An illustration depicts the torso of a patient as teams of tiny, Lilliputian physicians run tests and examinations.

Isaac Kohane studies exceptional responders

Do patients who defeat cancer hold biological secrets?

by Bennett McIntosh