Letter to the Editor: Administration is not Pursuing Student Body Expansion

To the Editor,

Last week’s story regarding the size of the undergraduate student body at Harvard used my words to imply that we had not just considered the question, but that we were actively pursuing a plan of expansion. I want to emphasize that Harvard is not actively pursuing any such plan at this moment. To expand the size of the undergraduate student body, we would have to build more classrooms, add additional faculty members, expand our academic and health support services, and—because we are a residential college—construct new undergraduate housing. We would not embark on such an effort without significant engagement with our neighboring Allston, Boston, and Cambridge communities. Our focus today, in the capital budget of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, is on completing the important process of renewing our existing undergraduate Houses in Cambridge and on the development of the new home for the Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences along Western Avenue.

Sincerely,
Michael D. Smith


Michael D. Smith is Edgerley Family Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.