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

Illustration of a man looking through a pair of binoculars with three, not two, objective lenses

The Third Way

Ellen Langer rejects binary thinking, embracing instead a “third way.”

by Erin O’Donnell

Photograph of Vikram Patel visiting with family members of a farmer in Maharashtra, India, who committed suicide

Financial and mental health are linked

Around the globe, Vikram Patel finds, improvements in financial or mental health support both.

by Veronique Greenwood

Braxton Shelley sits at a keyboard

Musician and professor Braxton Shelley

A gospel scholar shapes music theory.

by Jacob Sweet

Drawing of a female mallard flying down to her nest on a Harvard rooftop with food for her seven ducklings, each bearing a letter on its chest spelling out H-A-R-V-A-R-D.

Headlines from Harvard’s history

Headlines from Harvard’s history

A group photo of the four Harvard undergraduates, including the author, with their project adviser and two local, older mentors

Community-engaged research lessons for students via Harvard’s Mindich Program

The Undergraduate learns about making knowledge mutual.

by Che Applewhaite

Andrew Rueb speaks to members of his team.

Harvard men’s tennis head coach Andrew Rueb

Andrew Rueb’s experience on the professional tennis circuit informs his coaching.

by Jacob Sweet

Sandra Susan Smith, profiled by Marina Bolotnikova

Sandra Susan Smith studies work and incarceration in an unequal, atomized America.

by Marina N. Bolotnikova

Photograph of Chris Wallace moderating 2020 presidential debate

Journalist Chris Wallace, profiled by Craig Lambert

Chris Wallace has “the toughest job of any television journalist.”

by Craig Lambert

Johnson plays his harmonica with the Boston Pops orchestra behind him.

Singer, songwriter, harmonica player Scott Albert Johnson

Scott Albert Johnson finds his path.

by Jacob Sweet

Portrait photograph of Marilyn Booth

Arabic translator Marilyn Booth

Marilyn Booth translates Arabic literature for Anglophone readers.

by Spencer Lee Lenfield