Harvard Magazine

05/07/2025

At the last regular faculty meeting of the 2024-2025 academic year on Tuesday, Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean Hopi Hoekstra articulated what most in attendance had already surmised: the federal government’s suspension of research funding will have lasting effects that will require “difficult decisions.”

Any resolution of the standoff, in which Harvard has rejected the government’s attempts to control who is hired and what is taught in Harvard classrooms, will likely involve a protracted legal process, Hoekstra told the capacity crowd of several hundred professors. And even if Harvard were to prevail in court, that would not guarantee the resumption of $3.5 billion in research funding frozen by the Trump Administration. She also noted that proposals to tax the University endowment represent a further threat to the revenue on which ongoing teaching and research depend.

“To preserve our mission, we must act now,” Hoekstra continued, even with imperfect and incomplete information—and she outlined three steps that FAS would take to help chart a path forward.

“To preserve our mission, we must act now,” Hoekstra says at faculty meeting

05/07/2025

On Monday, controversial far-right blogger Curtis Yarvin came to Cambridge to debate Harvard University political scientist Danielle Allen. Yarvin, whose fans include Vice President JD Vance and PayPal founder Peter Thiel, wants to replace American democracy with a monarchy. The pair took the stage together in front of 110 students, alumni, and locals.

The event, held at the Harvard Faculty Club, was not organized or sanctioned by the University. Instead, it was coordinated by Yarvin’s publisher, Passage Press, with support from Harvard’s John Adams Society, an undergraduate conservative group.

Yarvin’s ideas, though fringe and attention-seeking, have found an intellectual home in the “New Right” movement—and in the White House. Allen is “surprised by the degree of influence Mr. Yarvin has had, even among Harvard College students,” noting that a Harvard undergraduate was one of DOGE’s first employees. Allen continued, “I think people do need to understand Yarvin’s argument, both what people experience as its attractions, and its errors, which are profound.”

Popular monarchist debates Allen on democracy.

05/06/2025

Deaths attributed to Alzheimer’s have doubled during the past 30 years and will likely increase as baby boomers age. Anupam Jena, Joseph P. Newhouse Professor of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School and his colleagues decided to explore whether performing certain jobs might offer protection from Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia. What did they find?

Ambulance drivers and taxi drivers are around half as likely to die of Alzheimer’s disease than the general population.

Explaining taxi and ambulance drivers’ protection against Alzheimer’s disease.

05/06/2025

On Monday, five former Harvard University and Harvard Radcliffe Institute affiliates and fellows were honored with Pulitzers for their exceptional contributions to journalism and the arts. Their work spans prose on the harrowing realities in Gaza and photographs of the remnants of Syria’s war-torn past, to poetry about walking the dog.

Winners across five categories, from commentary on Gaza to criticism on public architecture

05/06/2025

The Harvard Alumni Association (HAA) has announced the recipients of the 2025 Harvard Medal, to be awarded in person during Harvard Alumni Day on June 6.

Established in 1981, the Harvard Medal recognizes extraordinary service to the University in areas that include leadership, fundraising, teaching, innovation, administration, and volunteerism.

Four people honored for exceptional service to the University

05/02/2025

On Tuesday afternoon, two stalwarts of the Harvard University faculty gave the last lectures of their careers: medical anthropologist and psychiatrist Arthur Kleinman and computer scientist Harry Lewis. After teaching at the University for a combined 95 years, both men—celebrated scholars in their fields and beloved mentors on campus—are leaving the classroom. Over the decades, they’ve ushered generations of students in and out of Harvard’s gates, including some with famous names: Paul Farmer, M.D. ’88, Ph.D. ’90; Bill Gates ’77, LL.D. ’07; Mark Zuckerberg ’06.

Bu something else, too, connects Kleinman and Lewis: throughout their careers, they’ve sounded the alarm, loudly and consistently, about the necessity of humanism and human relationships in science and technology.

Arthur Kleinman and Harry Lewis depart the classroom.

05/02/2025

Like many traditions fueled by shared passion, the annual Star Wars holiday on May 4th has no official origin or founding moment. For fans, it’s a day to celebrate the beloved cinematic saga that began with George Lucas’s 1977 space opera. "May the Fourth be with you," inspired by the iconic phrase "May the Force be with you," echoes the spirit of the films.

In The World According to Star Wars (2016), Cass Sunstein ’75 J.D. ’78, Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard Law School explores how the saga’s twists mirror constitutional change. As the Supreme Court reconsiders precedents, his take feels timely: stories—and laws—evolve, even when rooted in the past.

The Harvard Law professor and constitutional scholar on what Star Wars can tell us about today’s Supreme Court

05/01/2025

Harvard, in bloom🌷

04/30/2025

Dr. Jeffrey Lant, Ph.D '75, was a Harvard-educated historian and Woodrow Wilson Fellow. Tomorrow marks 7 days left to bid on his remarkable estate sale. Lant was a passionate collector and true connoisseur, building an exceptional library of rare books, manuscripts, art, and objects that mirrored his wide-ranging intellectual pursuits.



https://www.bonhams.com/auction/31313/the-collection-of-dr-jeffrey-lant-a-harvard-gentleman/

04/29/2025

On Tuesday, Harvard University published its long-awaited reports on campus antisemitism and anti-Muslim bias. The two reports fit together awkwardly. In some respects, they align. But in many ways, they diverge and even work against each other; what do these 532-page reports consist of, and what might their political implications be?

University publishes findings from thorough examinations of campus conditions.

04/29/2025

Harvard University announced on Monday that it will rename its Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging the “Office for Community and Campus Life.” The change comes amid mounting pressure from the federal government to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

The decision follows pressure from the Trump administration to eliminate DEI practices.

04/29/2025