Building The Foundations

In conceptualizing this new Allston campus, the key challenge will be to create a community that is fully integrated and connected to Cambridge. The community which we envision will move the Law School and the Graduate School of Education (GSE) to Allston to join the currently isolated Business School, in order to establish a dynamic new professional school campus. Several museums and many of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences’ science research facilities should also make the move over the bridge.

Currently, the GSE has the most to gain from relocating. With the appointment of Ellen Condliffe Lagemann as its new dean, GSE will be looking forward to a period of change and rejuvenation, and a large area of land that allows its presently cramped campus space to expand will go a long way toward that goal. By physically locating it next to other schools, Harvard can send a clear message that the Education School is as valuable a part of the University as the other graduate schools—which is in line with promise of strong financial support that Summers made to Lagemann upon her arrival.

Although it has in the past resisted moving, Harvard Law School (HLS) also stands to gain tremendously. HLS has remained behind Yale Law School in national independent rankings in the past several years, a fact often attributed to HLS’ greater size. By moving into a new space, HLS has the opportunity to hire the new faculty they need, increasing the personal attention students receive.

A consolidated professional school campus also creates unique opportunities for inter-disciplinary collaboration. Already, a growing number of people are seeking dual professional degrees, and that trend will only grow. By physically linking the Law School, the Business School and the Education School, the University has a chance to more effectively bring together scholars from across disciplines.

Relocating research facilities will allow the science departments to update and expand its laboratories in ways that are impossible in the limited space available in Cambridge. As scientific inquiry extends into uncharted areas, scientists will need the additional space Allston provides for more cohesive and organized expansion, instead of the intermittent construction of disjointed facilities that has characterized recent growth. The move to Allston will also allow graduate students who work in the labs to feel more connected to the larger graduate community. Science instructional facilities, on the other hand, should remain in their Cambridge locations—and the additional space on this side of the river will give them a chance to modernize and expand, providing even non-concentrators dynamic science instruction.

Fostering a new sense of community on the Allston campus will require relocating not only the professional schools, but also moving museums and building better graduate student housing. Moving the Peabody and Zoological Museums will allow for more modern and accessible spaces, so that the general public has greater access to large popular exhibits like the glass flowers. Building graduate school dorms, with mixed options for families, individuals and roommates, will make graduate students feel more connected to the Harvard community.

While we recognize that the University’s plans may conflict with the wishes of some of Allston’s current residents, the University can work with the community and their representatives so they have advance notice—in this case potentially decades—to plan for the future. The University should contribute to community centers, as they did in helping to fund the Allston branch of the Boston Public Library. At the same time, we should not forsake Cambridge—payments in lieu of taxes there must continue, regardless of how many graduate students move to Allston.

Essential to the Allston campus’ success will be a lively commercial center, similar to Harvard Square but with crucial design improvements. The University must make a concerted effort to work with local businesses to construct a square that maintains its own unique personality. More appealing public spaces which are accessible to all should be built—Allston could then serve as a transportation hub between Cambridge and Boston. The University, given the expanse of the new design, will not only need more modern and frequent shuttles, but will also need to work with the MBTA to ensure that bus routes are maintained throughout the campus. Allston should become not simply an extension of Harvard, but Harvard’s gateway to the rest of Boston.

The realization of these plans will not be seen for many decades, and the transition period will be difficult. But in the end, Harvard has the opportunity to create an unprecedented, lively campus that will bring together Faculty members, graduate students and undergraduates, all pursuing shared academic goals. And in doing so, the University must create an energetic, connected community—coexisting with the one in the Yard. But this will not be an undertaking without unique and formidable challenges. Tomorrow we will explore the ramifications of this important project.

Click here to view a detailed map of Harvard's Allston holdings.