Commencement 2020
Harvard Schools Host First In-Person Graduation Ceremonies in Three Years
Harvard's 12 schools hosted their first in-person graduation ceremonies in two years this week.
30,000 Chairs: Planning Harvard’s Triple Commencement
On Thursday, thousands of students, family members, and friends inundated Harvard Yard for the Class of 2022’s Commencement. On Sunday, tens of thousands more will do the same in celebration of the Classes of 2020 and 2021. An occasion of this magnitude demanded careful preparation, administrators say.
Following Student Activism, Harvard Hosts Inaugural AAPI/APIDA Graduation Ceremony
After activism from student organizations on Harvard's campus, Harvard held its first annual graduation ceremony for Asian-American, Pacific Islander, and Desi American students in Tercentenary Theatre on Monday.
Bob Scalise’s Rules for Life
Scalise led Harvard's Athletics Department to athletic achievements, weathered its crises, and defended it from succumbing to the growing professionalization of collegiate sports. He will retire this summer.
Protected by Decades-Old Power Structures, Three Renowned Harvard Anthropologists Face Allegations of Sexual Harassment
Senior Anthropology professors Theodore C. Bestor, Gary Urton, and John L. Comaroff have weathered allegations of sexual harassment, including some leveled by students. But affiliates said gender issues in the department stretch beyond them.
Comedian Conan O’Brien Addresses College Class of 2020
In Harvard College’s first-ever virtual graduation ceremony, the Class of 2020 celebrated its achievements and commemorated its losses on Thursday with a colorful address from comedian Conan C. O’Brien ’85.
A Letter From The Class Marshals
Tomorrow isn’t promised; we know this now more than ever before. Remember that even in this time dominated by uncertainty, every moment is worth embracing, because we’ve seen firsthand what happens when we wait.
The Arrest of a Harvard Professor
Experts say the "academic espionage" case of Charles M. Lieber, the former chair of Harvard's Chemistry department, speaks volumes to souring U.S.-China relations.
Living Through History: The University-Wide Effort to Preserve the Pandemic
Harvard projects aim to preserve stories and evidence of the historic pandemic for future generations.
Defining Public and Private in the Smith Campus Center
Smith Campus Center planners intended to create both a Harvard-focused community center and a public building open to Cambridge residents, but controversies over the treatment of non-affiliates and homeless individuals have highlighted the difficulty of striking that balance.
Incoming Harvard Freshmen Imagine an Unprecedented Start to College
As the Class of 2020 graduates without the fanfare typical of a grand commencement ceremony, the Class of 2024 looks forward to entering Harvard as the world continues to fight an era-defining virus.
The Past and Present of Harvard’s Residential Dilemmas
If students return to campus at any point in the coming months, the house system and residential life they will experience is likely to be substantially different, thanks to COVID-19.
‘The Senior Spring That We Didn’t Get’
With just five days left on campus as Harvard students, seniors in the College had to pack up all their possessions, bid uncertain goodbyes, and reconcile themselves to an unknown future.
‘Working As One’: Cambridge Responds to School Closures
When the coronavirus pandemic caused many academic institutions to close in mid-March, students were sent home to transition to remote learning. Cambridge Public Schools was no exception.
A ‘Hairball Of Issues’ in Store for Fall Campus Reopenings, Experts Say
After the spring semester has come to a close and large portions of the country begin easing restrictions brought on by the outbreak, Harvard administrators must consider the question: what will happen in the fall?
The People’s Parity Project is Trying to Change Law in America
Founded in 2018, the People’s Parity Project aims to reform the legal profession by working to end harassment, combat injustice, and protect workers’ rights in the legal field.
‘A Black Box’: Harvard Affiliates Debate the University’s Tenure System
A review of FAS's tenure promotion system has prompted conversations about how universities increase the range of identities represented in the research they produce and the courses they offer — and also bolster the diversity of the historically white, male, and upper-class academy itself.
As COVID-19 Affects Low-Income Communities, Greater Boston Legal Services Aids Those Hardest Hit
Amid rising numbers of unemployment and eviction cases, Greater Boston Legal Services has helped to fill resource gaps and provide legal aid to those most negatively impacted.
‘Foci of Infection’: Harvard’s History of Infectious Diseases, Explained
Coronavirus marks only the latest chapter in a long history of campus responses to infectious disease, from smallpox in the 1700s to swine flu in 2009, though no outbreak has ever before precipitated such a large-scale and long-term closure.
Discord in the Big Tent
Four years ago, the Harvard Republican Club denounced Donald Trump. As he runs for re-election, what happens next?
How COVID-19 Made a Harvard Epidemiologist Into a Public Ambassador for Science
“I got a call from the Prime Minister of Israel who just wanted to talk about what they were doing,” Marc Lipsitch said. “That's a level of advice that I've never been asked to do before and has been really interesting.”
After Going Viral, Undergraduate Council Leaders Struggle to Find Footing
For a Harvard Undergraduate Council election, the attention directed towards James A. Mathew ’21 and Ifeoma E. White-Thorpe ’21 was unprecedented, helping propel them to a narrow yet resounding victory.
Who Does Harvard’s Endowment Serve?
At the close of Fiscal Year 2019, Harvard’s endowment was valued at $40.9 billion, the largest sum in its history. Then came the coronavirus pandemic.
‘A Recipe for Instability’ As Multiple Harvard Unions to Seek Contracts Amid Pandemic
The University’s contracts with four of those unions will expire later this year, forcing Harvard to renegotiate the agreements nearly simultaneously during a global pandemic.