Alumni Profiles

Spotlight stories on alumni who are leading, innovating, and making a difference.

Black and white photo of Joseph Murray in a white lab coat sitting in an office.

The Harvard Doctor Who Made Kidney Transplants Possible

Nobel Prize recipient Joseph E. Murray dedicated much of his career to organ transplant surgery.

by Diane Speare Triant

Teresa Chen honors the restorative powers of delicious hot liquids.

Healthy eating through soup

Teresa Chen ’64 promotes healthy soup-making and -eating.

by Krysten A. Keches

Once Amy Nathan learned to love piano lessons, she decided to share the joy.

Helping young musicians succeed

Amy Nathan ’67 aims to help kids over musical rough patches with The Young Musician’s Survival Guide.

by Krysten A. Keches

Sophie and Philip Wharton show off their pre-Montreal style.

Unicycling philanthropists

Philip Wharton ’82 and daughter Sophie ’11 pedal 100 miles for Afghan and Pakistani children.

by Krysten A. Keches

Richard Peña at Lincoln Center, with a New York Film Festival banner at right, behind him

New York Film Festival program director Richard Peña

Richard Peña ’75 is program director of the New York Film Festival.

by Craig Lambert

Scheft (left) shares a laugh with his boss.

Letters & Letterman

Bill Scheft ‘79 writes comedy for David Letterman, as well as novels.

by Craig Lambert

David Malan

David J. Malan

Expert multitasker David Malan introduces students to computer science.

Gregg Hurwitz

Slaying Dragons

A crime novelist explores the deepest cracks in the human heart.

by Nell Porter-Brown

In Yup’ik lore, the crane—depicted in the mask above—connotes stealth, power, and insight. The human face on the bird’s belly represents its <em>yua,</em> or spirit—the part of the animal that understands, and can relate to, humans. The porcelain “teeth” that border the face are a reminder to use one’s innate gifts to good effect, or risk being consumed by them. The porcelain “bones” hanging from the wings ward off evil spirits; wooden rings represent this world and the spirit world.

Mnemonic Masks

Inspired by his Yup’ik heritage, Phillip Charette educates through his art.

by Elizabeth Gudrais

Agee as an aspiring writer at Harvard, cigarette and Dostoevsky's <em>The Posses

Vistas of Perfection

A profile of writer James Agee, at Harvard and beyond

by Adam Kirsch

Caroline Farrar Ware

A brief profile of the activist and scholar

by Anne Firor Scott