Faculty News
Khurana Suggests Trump Admin Is Using Antisemitism Fears As Pretext for Campaign Against Higher Ed
Harvard College Dean Rakesh Khurana said at a Faculty of Arts and Sciences meeting on Tuesday that the federal government has weaponized genuine concerns about campus antisemitism to justify its attacks on higher education.
Center for Middle Eastern Studies Leaders Dismissed for Alleged Lack of Balance in Events on Palestine, Harvard AAUP Says
Interim Harvard Dean of Social Science David M. Cutler ’87 dismissed the Center for Middle Eastern Studies’ faculty leaders on Wednesday because he felt their programming on Palestine was insufficiently balanced, according to a Monday press release from Harvard’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors.
Harvard Launches ‘Impact Labs’ To Fund Social Scientists Who Partner With Outside Organizations
Harvard will pilot a program — named Harvard Impact Labs — to fund collaboration between social scientists and leaders in the public and private sectors.
Faculty Searches in Limbo As Freeze Interrupts Hiring Processes Across Harvard
Harvard’s imposition of a hiring freeze on Monday morning interrupted faculty hiring processes across the University, leaving professors scrambling to figure out how to fill vacancies — and how to keep their departments’ work running if they can’t.
Harvard Poised To Eliminate Option To Take Gen Ed, QRD Courses Pass-Fail
Faculty of Arts and Sciences professors expressed broad support at a Tuesday FAS meeting for proposals to eliminate the option to take courses fulfilling the Harvard College General Education and Quantitative Reasoning with Data requirements on a pass-fail basis.
Non-Tenure Track Faculty Deliver Petition on Time Caps to Harvard President Garber
Non-tenure-track faculty delivered a petition with almost 1,400 signatures calling for an end to time caps to top Harvard officials on Thursday as the group’s new union bargains for its first contract with the University.
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.
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.
SEAS Professor Jennifer Lewis Awarded James Prize
The National Academy of Sciences awarded Harvard professor Jennifer A. Lewis the 2025 James Prize in Science and Technology Integration. Lewis’ work uses ink to 3D print biological materials such as human cells.
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.
Faculty Senate Planning Body Launches Work
The planning body tasked with designing a University-wide faculty senate held its first meeting in early December, launching its work after seven of Harvard’s nine faculties voted to move forward.
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.
Former U.S. Ambassador to China To Return to Kennedy School Professorship
Former U.S. Ambassador to China R. Nicholas Burns will return to the Harvard Kennedy School as a professor this April, joining the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, the University announced earlier this week.
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.
‘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.
Harvard’s Derek Bok Center Lays Off 5 Employees Under New Faculty Director
The Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning quietly laid off at least five employees over the past two weeks as part of a restructuring effort, reducing its total staff by almost 25 percent.
Harvard Law School Faculty Votes to Establish Faculty Senate Planning Body
Harvard Law School faculty members voted to support the creation of a University-wide faculty senate planning body during a meeting on Thursday.
Harvard College Will Place Students on Involuntary Leave for Missing 2 Weeks of Class
Harvard College students who miss two weeks of classes will be placed on involuntary leaves of absence “in most cases” under a Student Handbook amendment that will take effect in the 2025-26 academic year.
Harvard Kennedy School Faculty Votes In Favor of Faculty Senate Planning Body
The Harvard Kennedy School’s faculty overwhelmingly voted to in support of a University-wide faculty senate planning body, according to a Wednesday email obtained by The Crimson.
Harvard President Garber Gently Ribs Larry Summers at 70th Birthday Conference
Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76 teased University Professor Larry Summers about the former Harvard president’s “brazen spirit” at an economics policy conference in honor of his 70th birthday.
Harvard President Alan Garber to Convene University-Wide Faculty Advisory Council
Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76 will convene a University-wide council of faculty advisers — a move that comes after months of advocacy from faculty who want an expanded role in school-wide decisions.
Harvard Wants To Talk About Israel-Palestine. Can It Succeed?
After over a year, the University still struggles with fostering dialogue on Israel-Palestine. Where does the problem lie?
Harvard Hires 8 New Climate Faculty Across FAS, Graduate Schools
Harvard hired eight new climate faculty members in 2024 as the Salata Institute continues to expand climate research and hiring, the University announced earlier this month.
David Laibson, Rumored Frontrunner for College Dean, Says He Doesn’t Want It
Economics professor David I. Laibson ’88, who many expected to be a leading candidate to become the next dean of Harvard College, has informed Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean Hopi E. Hoekstra that he does not want the job.