Harvard Magazine

10/20/2025

In its game last Saturday at the Stadium, Harvard Football took down Merrimack 31-7. Harvard—which entered the game ranked No. 18 in the Stats Performance Football Championship Series poll and rose to No. 14 with the win—remains undefeated, moving to 5-0 overall (and 2-0 in Ivy play).

The Crimson stay unbeaten and uncover a new star.

10/20/2025

According to new research from Harvard University linguists, a small group of Siberian hunter-gatherers changed the way millions of Europeans speak today.

Most Indo-European languages share a common ancestry: you can hear it in the echoes between the English "mother," Spanish "madre," Russian "mat’," German "mütter." But then there are äiti, anya, ema—the words for “mother” in Finnish, Hungarian, and Estonian. These are Uralic languages—unrelated to their Indo-European neighbors—and their origins have long puzzled researchers.

A small group of Siberian hunter-gatherers changed the way millions of Europeans speak today.

10/16/2025

On Tuesday, Harvard University philosopher Michael Sandel received one of the field’s highest honors: the Berggruen Prize for Philosophy and Culture.

Established by the Los Angeles-based Berggruen Institute, it comes with a $1 million prize and is awarded each year to a thinker whose work “has led us to find wisdom, direction, and improved self-understanding” in a rapidly changing world.

He sat down with Harvard Magazine for a wide-ranging conversation on globalization and inequality, the rise of right-wing populism, Harvard’s struggle against the Trump administration, the dark side of meritocracy, and the real purpose of higher education.

The creator of the popular ‘Justice’ course receives a $1 million award.

10/16/2025

Harvard University's annual financial report for the fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2025 was published on Thursday. The report shows a $113 million operating deficit and suggests severe financial and academic challenges on the horizon.

In particular, the data reflects the Trump administration’s unprecedented fiscal and regulatory assault on the University, including shocks to federal research funding, a sharply higher tax on the endowment, and attempts to limit foreign students’ enrollment.

🔗Read here: https://www.harvardmagazine.com/university-finances/harvard-endowment-financial-report-fiscal-year-2025

📸 Photo by Niko Yaitanes / Harvard Magazine.

10/15/2025

For the second year in a row, the question of how to teach healthy dialogue was a prominent topic of discussion at the 2025 Harvard Initiative for Learning and Teaching (HILT) conference.

During a breakout session titled “Discovery and Discomfort: Facilitating Productive Disagreement,” faculty members from different parts of the University shared their strategies for improving classroom discussions—especially as campuses continue to wrestle with difficult conversations in the wake of the October 7 attacks and the war in Gaza.

A facilitated conversation about facilitating conversation

10/15/2025

Our November-December 2025 issue is now LIVE on site!

Linguistic mysteries, pioneering breakthroughs in gene editing, and some of the most realistic floral still life art in the world...enticed yet? Read free now.

🔗: https://harvardmagazine.com/2025/11

🎨: Illustration by Sébastien Thibault

10/15/2025

Last Friday night, Harvard Football prevailed 34-10 over Cornell, bringing the season record to 4-0 overall and 2-0 in league play.

The Crimson, who came into the game ranked No. 22 in the national Stats Performance Football Championship Series poll, had to work hard for this triumph. “I walked back and forth between both sides of the ball and I was telling them, ‘We have adversity, let’s see how we respond,’” said Stephenson family head coach Andrew Aurich of the tightening of the game in the fourth quarter. “Obviously, when you end up winning 34-10, it was a very good response.”

The Crimson stays unbeaten following a hard fight with the Big Red

10/14/2025

After being detained by U.S. Customs after returning from spring break, Harvard University undergraduate Andrés Muedano reflects on the challenges and unexpected fears international students currently face.

His column examines the broader implications of recent immigration policy shifts and the pressures placed on students navigating life, and academic life, in today's political climate.

What is the price of a Harvard education?

10/14/2025

As generative AI becomes as common as word processors and spreadsheets, educators are shifting from debating whether to allow it in classrooms to creating clear guidelines for how to use it effectively.

At Harvard’s Initiative for Learning and Teaching (HILT) conference in late September, faculty from across the University shared some of the ways they’re rethinking assignments and instruction with AI in mind.

Faculty across Harvard are rethinking assignments to integrate AI.

10/10/2025

Once more famous than Rembrandt, 17th-century Dutch artist Rachel Ruysch is finally getting her due.

Now through December 7, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA) presents Rachel Ruysch: Artist, Naturalist, and Pioneer—the first major retrospective of her work since her death in 1750.

Ruysch’s lush, moody floral still lifes were marvels of both beauty and science. The daughter of a botanist, she painted rare, exotic species from around the world (many never before seen in Europe at the time) alongside meticulously detailed butterflies, beetles, and lizards. Her art, it turns out, is more than stunning; it’s an overlooked archive of biodiversity.

Now on display at the Museum of Fine Arts, a Dutch painter’s art proved a treasure trove for scientists.

10/10/2025

“The classroom must remain the center of gravity for our students,” said Dean Hopi Hoekstra at the first meeting of the Harvard University Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) of the school year.

Hoekstra noted the challenges outlined in a report released last winter by the Classroom Social Compact Committee, which suggested that classwork is a lower priority than extracurriculars and other pursuits for many students, that grade inflation is widespread, and that some students and faculty feel uncomfortable sharing their views and opinions in classroom discussions—whether for fear of looking uninformed or out of concern about political backlash.

Also at the meeting, Hoekstra referenced Harvard’s current financial challenges and noted the work of three committees announced in the spring: workforce planning, research continuity, and resources.

Class schedules and academics are at the top of the agenda for Harvard faculty.

10/10/2025

Three Harvard University-connected scholars were named MacArthur Fellows this week: Robinson professor of mathematics Lauren K. Williams, political scientist Hahrie Han ’97, and astrophysicist Kareem El-Badry.

Commonly nicknamed “genius” grants, MacArthur fellowships are awarded across disciplines and are intended to both recognize major accomplishments and facilitate future ones.

A mathematician, a political scientist, and an astrophysicist are honored with “genius” grants for their work.