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Core objectives
Harvard Graduate School of Education Professor Paul Reville talks about the new national standards for K-12 education, known as the Common Core State Standards, and the recent controversy surrounding their implementation.
Faculty Council meeting held Nov. 20
On Nov. 20 the members of the Faculty Council approved the Harvard Summer School course list for 2014.
Northern exposure
Harvard Kennedy School Professor Michael Ignatieff talks about why he put aside academia to make an improbable and ill-fated foray into Canadian politics.
A Paris errand
At a UNESCO ceremony in Paris, Harvard literary scholar Homi K. Bhabha underscored the global need for a “new humanism” that peacefully connects a culturally diverse world.
Change is on the runway
A Harvard conference will emphasize the rising influence of landscape architects in airport design and decommissioning.
A poet’s own epitaphs
Two months after his death, poet Seamus Heaney returned to Harvard, in spirit, for a celebration by friends who loved him “on and off the page.”
Professor Robert R. Bowie dies at 104
Robert R. Bowie, the Clarence Dillon Professor of International Affairs Emeritus and founder and first director of the Center for International Affairs (now the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs) died Nov. 2 at the age of 104.
Faith, hope, and government
In Washington, D.C., two Harvard deans faced off in a discussion, “Religion and Politics in a World of Conflict,” explaining how leadership is vital to many nations to maintain a steady, open, middle path to resolving differences.
National digital library gains traction
The Digital Public Library of America, with Harvard in its heritage, celebrates its first six months with an idea conference in Boston.
The digital Dickinson
Houghton Library and Harvard University Press are two of the leading partners in the new Emily Dickinson Archive, a joint venture with other institutions that brings together most of her poem manuscripts.
Nine named 2013 Cabot Fellows
Nine professors in Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences have been named Walter Channing Cabot Fellows. The 2013 honorees were awarded for their distinguished publications.
Poetry spreads its web
At month’s end, Professor Elisa New will begin teaching “Poetry in America,” her first digital course on HarvardX.
Faculty Council meeting held Oct. 16
On Oct. 16 the members of the Faculty Council heard a review of the life sciences concentrations and discussed library journal pricing. They also heard an ...
Howard Gardner: ‘A Blessing of Influences’
One of an occasional story in which Harvard faculty members recount their early influences, Howard Gardner recalls the mentors who helped to shape his early academic career.
The poetry of water
Harvard anthropologist Steven Caton made his name studying tribal poetry in Yemen three decades ago. But it was memories of a tribal war that drew him back to that nation in 2001, and the scarcity of water he discovered there launched him into a new avenue of investigation.
At Du Bois awards, the stars aligned
The six medalists at the W.E.B. Du Bois awards included a White House adviser Valerie Jarrett, playwright Tony Kushner, U.S. Rep. John Lewis, Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court Sonia Sotomayor, the commissioner of the NBA David Stern, and Hollywood director Steven Spielberg.
Biography of a bronze
September marked the 375th anniversary of benefactor John Harvard’s death, and the beginning of a course that uses his statue in Harvard Yard to instruct students about the realities of two vanished eras.
Narrative of the body, with a nasty twist
Many modern chronic diseases result from mismatches between how our bodies evolved to be used and how we use them today, Harvard evolutionary biologist Daniel Lieberman writes in a new book.
A professorship and a MacArthur
Jazz musician and composer Vijay Iyer, who won a MacArthur Foundation grant, in January will become the first Franklin D. and Florence Rosenblatt Professor of the Arts in Harvard’s Department of Music.
The watchword is innovation
Innovation, whether it’s large, small, solo, or institutional, is an increasingly important part of Harvard, a university working to maintain its clearly defined sense of self and at the same time evolve to meet future needs.
Cooperating in educating
The Harvard Campaign will help support growing advancements in interdisciplinary collaboration and integrated knowledge across the University.
Unraveling Maya mysteries
For decades, Harvard’s Bill Fash and his wife, Barbara, have worked in Copán, Honduras, to restore, preserve, and protect Maya culture and history for future generations.
Recalling a lab-led rescue
Professor Howard Green stumbled across a skin transplant technique that involved growing keratinocytes into full skin layers, making him a pioneer in regenerative medicine.
Shopping around
The start of a new semester signals many things, one of which is "shopping week," where undergraduates sit in on classes and check out syllabi before committing to a course.
Faculty Council meeting held Sept. 11
On Sept. 11, the Faculty Council welcomed new members, reviewed history and policies, elected subcommittees for 2013-14, discussed the work of the council in the new academic year, and discussed proposed changes to the Q Guide.
Religion and conflict in Syria
Members of the Faculty of Divinity are expressing doubts about the prospect of a U.S. military strike in response to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's ...
Destination space
Jessica Meir, an assistant professor of anesthesia at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, is the latest member of the Harvard community given a chance to head to space, joining moon-walkers and Hubble Space Telescope repairmen as she trains to become a NASA astronaut.
Lasering in on tumors
In the battle against brain cancer, doctors now have a new weapon: an imaging technology that will make brain surgery dramatically more accurate by allowing surgeons to distinguish between brain tissue and tumors, and at a microscopic level.
Pinched minds
The accumulation of money woes and day-to-day anxiety leaves many low-income individuals not only struggling financially, but cognitively, says Harvard economist Sendhil Mullainathan. In a study featured in Science, he reports that the “cognitive deficit” caused by poverty translates into as many as 10 IQ points.
Atop the Amazon rainforest
Harvard air chemistry expert Scot Martin is working with the Department of Energy, as well as several international partners, to track how pollution above the pristine Amazon rainforest is changing the climate.
Eat, play, sleep
As freshmen move into dorms in and around the Yard, fellow students, faculty, and administrators offer their advice on how best to adjust to the Harvard experience. Their suggestions range from maintaining basic wellness to making sure to have fun.
Lepore to deliver Radcliffe lecture Sept. 10
Award-winning author and Harvard Professor Jill Lepore will talk about her latest title, “Book of Ages: The Life and Opinions of Jane Franklin,” on Sept. 10 at the Radcliffe Institute.
Incoming HGSE dean on his passion for education
James E. Ryan, a leading scholar of education law and policy, will become the new dean of the Graduate School of Education his fall.
Joseph L. Henry
Nothing about Joseph L. Henry was ordinary. In his academic career he excelled noticeably above others -- as a student, teacher, department chair, dean, board member, national policy adviser, and as a mentor to many health professionals and policy makers.
Fritz Heinz Bach
Fritz Heinz Bach, a brilliant transplant immunologist and the Lewis Thomas Distinguished Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School died of a cardiac arrest on Sunday, August 14, 2011 at his home at Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts. He was 77 years old.
Roger William Jeanloz
Roger William Jeanloz, Professor of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology emeritus at Harvard Medical School, died shortly before his 90th birthday on September 28, 2007, in the south of France where he was on holiday with his wife, Dorothea.
William Nunn Lipscomb Jr.
At a Meeting of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences on March, 5, 2013, the Minute honoring the life and service of the late William N. Lipscomb, Jr., Abbott and James Lawrence Professor of Chemistry, Emeritus, was placed upon the records. Professor Lipscomb was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1976 for his studies on the structure of boranes.
Mary Ellen Avery M.D.
Dr. Mary Ellen Avery died on December 4, 2011 at the age of 84. She was best known to the world for her ground breaking research on the cause of hyaline membrane disease (later called Respiratory Distress Syndrome), an illness that claimed the lives of an estimated 10,000 infants in the United States each year. That discovery catapulted her to leadership positions in the United States and Canada and to the highest honors offered by national societies.
Rolla Milton Tryon Jr.
At a Meeting of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences on March, 5, 2013, the Minute honoring the life and service of the late Rolla Milton Tryon, Jr., Professor of Biology, Emeritus, was placed upon the records. Professor Tryon was curator of ferns in Gray Herbarium and an authority on the taxonomy and geography of ferns and fern allies.
Mary Ellen Wohl
Dr. Mary Ellen Wohl, known internationally for her research in pediatric pulmonary diseases, passed away at age 77 in October, 2010 at Rogerson House in Jamaica Plain. Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, she had served as Chief of the Division of Respiratory Diseases at Children’s Hospital Boston for 22 years and Director of its Cystic Fibrosis Center for 19 years, saving and touching countless lives along the way.
Joy by the Yard
Snapshots of Harvard’s 2013 Commencement, a day marked by sunshine and warmth as well as rituals, honors, and good wishes.
Jane Alexander honored by Radcliffe
Jane Alexander, actor and arts advocate, will be awarded the Radcliffe Medal on Friday, Radcliffe Day 2013. The medal is given to individuals whose life and work have significantly and positively influenced society.
Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Breaking Boundaries, Creating Solutions | One Harvard
Innovation and Entrepreneurship harnesses interest in socially conscious business by allowing students to tap into Harvard Business School faculty and the ilab resources.
Leadership in Education: Re-Imagining Learning | One Harvard
The Doctor of Education Leadership (Ed.L.D.) degree was created as an interdisciplinary effort that offers students access to a wide range of Harvard courses and faculty.
Changing the Foundations of Science: Harvard Stem Cell Institute | One Harvard
In the nine years since its founding, The Harvard Stem Cell Institute has become the world leader in stem cell biology.
Hopi and Niroshi | From My House to Our Harvard
Harvard faculty encourage creative learning by helping students develop one-of-a-kind courses and concentrations. From My House to Our Harvard | 2012 FAS Film
Shinagel’s legacy honored
Michael Shinagel was honored on May 14 for his accomplishments as dean of the Extension School, a position he has held since 1977. He will be retiring at the end of this academic year.
Mourning that vexes the future
In a new paper, Professor of Psychology Richard McNally and graduate student Don Robinaugh say that while people suffering from complicated grief — a syndrome marked by intense, debilitating emotional distress and yearning for a lost loved one — had difficulty envisioning specific events in their future, those problems disappeared when they were asked to imagine an alternate future that included their lost loved one.
Projectile learning
Students in Matthew Liebmann’s “Encountering the Conquistadors” class recently got a feel for prehistoric life, trying their hands at an ancient weapon called the atlatl.
Reflections on a nuclear mission
Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics and Nobel laureate Roy Glauber reflected on his two years in Los Alamos, N.M., during World War II as part of the Manhattan Project, which developed the world’s first atomic bomb.