Alumni & People

curation of alumni people, faculty and student profiles

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

Arabic translator Marilyn Booth

Marilyn Booth translates Arabic literature for Anglophone readers.

by Spencer Lee Lenfield

Novelist Maggie Shipstead and “Great Circle”

Maggie Shipstead’s time-spanning, globe-circling new novel

by Dan Kelly

Andrew Knoll, “A Brief History of Earth,” reviewed by Jonathan Shaw

Andrew Knoll on the planet’s past—and fraught future

by Jonathan Shaw

Pediatrician Eileen Costello, profiled by Nell Porter Brown

A pediatrician cares for a city’s children.

by Nell Porter-Brown

Overseer and alumni association candidates

The Overseer and Harvard Alumni Association director slates

Wilbur Cross, Martin Feldstein, and Charles William Eliot

Wisdom from the Great Depression—plus an accomplished economist, and rowdiness on the Charles

by Primus VI

Why Petitioning is Vital for Democracies

Petitioning campaigns are a vital complement to democratic voting.

by Jonathan Shaw

Dr. Jeffries balloons across the Channel

Two explorers strip to stay aloft.

by Jacob Sweet

The Third Way

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

by Erin O’Donnell

Financial and mental health are linked

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

by Veronique Greenwood