Faculty
Researchers, Educators Rally in Downtown Boston To Protest Trump’s Research Funding Cuts
More than 300 researchers and educators rallied outside the John F. Kennedy Federal Building in downtown Boston on Wednesday to protest President Donald Trump’s attempted cuts to federal funding for research.
As Mass. Sues DOGE, HKS Professors Criticize Musk’s Broad Authority As ‘Absurd’
After Massachusetts joined thirteen states to sue the Department of Government Efficiency, Harvard Kennedy School professors are condemning the DOGE’s extensive use of executive power to cut federal spending.
When Professors Speak Out, Some Students Stay Quiet. Can Harvard Keep Everyone Talking?
A faculty committee urged the FAS to assure professors that their opinions outside the classroom will not affect what courses they can teach — and advised instructors to make sure students know they won’t be penalized for disagreeing.
Faculty of Arts and Sciences Diversity Dean Position Left Vacant For Nearly Two Years
Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences has been without an associate dean for diversity, inclusion, and belonging for nearly two years after Sheree M. Ohen left Harvard for Amherst University in April 2023.
HLS Clinic To File War Crimes Complaint With ICC Against Russia
HLS Professor Susan Farbstein, director of Harvard’s International Human Rights Law Clinic, announced plans to submit evidence of Russian war crimes in Ukraine to the International Criminal Court at a Thursday panel. Farbstein said the clinic plans to submit an Article 15 complaint to the ICC, alleging crimes against humanity, after documenting Russian military actions against civilians for over two years.
Historian Stephan Thernstrom Remembered as Humble Pioneer, Leading Opponent of Affirmative Action
Stephan Thernstrom, a social historian and strong opponent of affirmative action who taught at Harvard for over thirty years, died Jan. 23 in Arlington, Virginia.
Harvard Offers To Remove Time Caps for Preceptors in Union Negotiations
Harvard has agreed to end term limits on preceptor positions as part of a bargaining proposal offered to Harvard’s union for non-tenure-track faculty at a bargaining session on Thursday, walking back a firm line against changing the structure of academic employment.
FAS Faculty Praise Proposed Non-Attribution Policy, But Ask Whether It Will Stand Up to Subpoenas
A recent Faculty of Arts and Sciences report recommended that the FAS enforce a non-attribution policy for classroom speech — but professors questioned at a Tuesday meeting whether the proposed rule would allow statements to remain private in the face of subpoenas.
Faculty Report Finds Harvard College Students ‘Do Not Prioritize Their Courses’
A Faculty of Arts and Sciences committee released a report Friday concluding that many Harvard College students self-censor when discussing controversial topics and frequently prioritize extracurricular commitments over their academics.
Garber Appoints 16 Professors to Inaugural Faculty Advisory Council
Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76 appointed a slate of 16 faculty members to serve on the University’s inaugural faculty advisory council during the group’s first two years.
‘The Pinnacle of Practicality’: Harvard Computer Science Launches New AI Software Development Course
Harvard’s Computer Science department debuted a new course this semester — COMPSCI 1060: “Software Engineering with Generative AI” — an applied engineering course in which students use AI to follow the “software development lifecycle” to create a Software as a Service system.
Visual Arts Colloquium Hum 20 Will Become Department-Level HAA 10 in the Fall
Humanities 20, Harvard’s interdisciplinary art history colloquium, will no longer be offered under the Arts and Humanities division-wide “HUMAN” label and will instead be changed to HAA 10, a History of Arts and Architecture introductory course, starting this fall.
Harvard Begins Reviewing National Science Foundation Grants, Expanding Response to Trump’s Orders
Harvard Vice Provost for Research John H. Shaw sent an email Wednesday afternoon notifying faculty that the University would begin assessing National Science Foundation grants after the NSF instructed researchers to cease activities barred under President Donald Trump’s executive orders.
Harvard Schools Tell Researchers To Comply With Stop-Work Orders, Continue Other Federally Funded Projects
Research administrators at several of Harvard’s schools sent emails Tuesday afternoon urging faculty who received federal stop-work orders to comply, but to continue working on other federally sponsored projects as President Donald Trump’s federal funding freeze remains in limbo.
Harvard Settles Patent Infringement Lawsuit Against Samsung
Harvard agreed to dismiss a patent infringement lawsuit against Samsung, a South Korean tech conglomerate, and waived its rights to refile the suit on Monday.
Harvard Professor Vincent Brown Quits Legacy of Slavery Memorial Committee After University Lays Off Research Team
Harvard professor Vincent A. Brown resigned from a committee within the Harvard & the Legacy of Slavery initiative on Monday, condemning the University’s decision to lay off Harvard Slavery Remembrance Program staff in a scathing resignation letter.
Harvard Medical School Sends Delegates to Faculty Senate Planning Body
Professors at Harvard Medical School sent delegates to a University-wide faculty senate planning body in early January, making HMS the eighth of Harvard’s nine faculties to join the effort to design a faculty senate.
Win Against Hate or Loss for Academic Freedom? Harvard Faculty Split Over Antisemitism Settlements
Harvard’s Tuesday settlement of two Title VI lawsuits left faculty divided over whether new protections for Zionist beliefs were a boon for Jewish and Israeli students or a blow to free speech.
Robert Wolff ’53-’54, Social Studies’ Last Founding Father, Remembered as a Public-Spirited Philosopher
Robert P. Wolff ’53-’54, a political philosopher and activist who was the last surviving co-founder of Harvard’s Social Studies concentration, died in January at 91.
Nobel Laureate Martin Karplus ’51 Remembered as Attentive Mentor, ‘Pioneering’ Chemist
Martin Karplus ’51 developed ground-breaking computer models to study chemical reactions and molecular dynamics, mentored hundreds of scientists, and won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry. But his love for the sciences began with another discipline — biology.
Hospital Leaders Issue Warnings As Pro-Palestine Health Workers Rally Outside Brigham and Women’s
Doctors Against Genocide — a coalition of healthcare workers aimed at halting Israel’s war in Gaza — staged a demonstration at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and 14 other medical centers nationwide Monday afternoon.
Ten Stories That Shaped 2024
At Harvard, 2024 began with an ending — the chaotic close of Claudine Gay’s short-lived presidency. It would not be a quiet year. Pro-Palestine student protesters staged an encampment in Harvard Yard. Congress expanded its investigation into campus antisemitism, issuing threats alongside blistering reports. Amid it all, Alan M. Garber ’76 quietly ascended from the interim presidency to a permanent post at Harvard’s helm. Here, The Crimson looks back at 10 stories that shaped the University, and Cambridge, in 2024.
‘Opportunity to Experiment’: Visiting HBCU Scholars Praise Harvard’s Visiting Professorship Program
Four visiting professors from historically Black colleges and universities praised Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Visiting Professorship Program for offering the opportunity and funding to explore their scholarly work.